Early Science with the LSST
Supports early career scientists in forming new teams to pursue innovative, high-risk research using data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s LSST.
Funder: Research Corporation for Science Advancement
Due Dates (Anticipated): November 2026 (Proposal submission deadline) | May 2027 (Application to participate deadline)
Funding Amounts: $60,000 per team member (direct costs) for one year; teams of 2–3 fellows per project
Summary: Supports early career scientists in collaborative, high-risk research to maximize discoveries from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s LSST data.
Key Information: Only Scialog Fellows (invited early career faculty or independent researchers) are eligible to submit proposals; team formation occurs at the annual meeting.
Description
This opportunity is part of the Scialog: Early Science with the LSST initiative, designed to catalyze foundational, cross-disciplinary research that will maximize the scientific impact of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). As LSST begins to deliver an unprecedented volume and complexity of open-access astrophysics data, this program aims to overcome the lack of seed funding for early discoveries and to foster new collaborations among early career researchers in fields such as astronomy, cosmology, theoretical physics, astrophysics, computational modeling, data science, and software engineering. Through an annual, highly interactive conference, approximately 50 early career scientists work together to form new teams and propose high-risk, high-impact projects that address fundamental questions about the Universe using LSST data.
