[Deadline Extended] WBAI Incentive Award 2026 — Call for Nominations (May 31)

[山川宏]

Dear Colleagues,

The Whole Brain Architecture Initiative (WBAI) is currently accepting nominations for the 2026 WBAI Incentive Award.

During the nomination period, we discovered that the application form was temporarily not functioning properly. We have therefore extended the submission deadline to **May 31, 2026**. The form has now been restored, so if you previously experienced difficulties submitting an application, we kindly ask you to try again.
https://wba-initiative.org/25135/

■ About the Award

The WBAI Incentive Award recognizes individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to the development of brain-inspired artificial general intelligence. Past recipients have opened new possibilities in AI technology and its applications, generating significant ripple effects across the field.

Recent recipients include:

・Meysam Hashemi (2025 recipient, INSERM / Aix-Marseille University)
  Co-implemented the first Virtual Brain Twin and applied whole-brain Bayesian inference to patient-specific connectomes

・Aran Nayebi (2025 recipient, Carnegie Mellon University)
  Reverse-engineering of natural intelligence using embodied agents and whole-brain data

・David Rawlinson (2024 recipient)
  Exploration of neural architectures based on biologically grounded approaches

・Sūn Yùwěi (2023 recipient)
  Development of algorithms leveraging Global Workspace Theory

Full list of past recipients:
https://wba-initiative.org/wbaiia_awardees/

The next recipient could be you.

■ Nomination Overview

・Eligibility: Individuals, teams, or organizations (no restrictions on age or affiliation)
・Scope of evaluation: Research and development achievements from the past five years (through the end of 2025), including publications, datasets, and software
・Submission deadline: **May 31, 2026** (extended due to form issues)
・Award: Certificate and prize money of 50,000 JPY

■ How to Apply

Please submit your nomination through the form below (functionality confirmed):
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecFFQEUKMZdvZeUybJa1Tn7AUseWqnOkTZmyBjEqgYG6P2Dg/viewform

*Additional materials may be requested as needed.

The award ceremony will be held at the 11th Whole Brain Architecture Symposium, scheduled for the summer or autumn of 2026.

Both self-nominations and nominations of others are welcome. In addition to nominating your own work, if you know of researchers whose contributions deserve recognition, we would be grateful if you would nominate them or share this announcement with them.

Your research could be the key to advancing brain-inspired AI technology. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity.

Hiroshi Yamakawa
Representative, Whole Brain Architecture Initiative (WBAI)