Scientific Software Research Faculty Award – Request for Applications 2027–2028: FAQs

The aim of this program is to stimulate the development and maintenance of core scientific software infrastructure in academic environments through the creation of a new, long-term, faculty-level career path in response to this call. A person in an existing research faculty position or who will be promoted into one before the due date and time of the Letter of Intent (LOI) is not eligible to apply. The award only supports those who will be hired into new research positions. A person in an existing faculty position would be eligible only if they were to fill a newly created position in response to this call.

Yes, computational physical chemistry is eligible.

No, currently, the program is only open to theoretical physics.

Proposals in computational quantitative biology aspiring to create high-impact software based on mathematically sound and adequately complex models of biological systems may be considered.

There is not a career level requirement; the candidate must be able to meet the requirements outlined in the eligibility section of the RFA. Postdocs are eligible candidates.

Applicants with Ph.D.’s in other related fields of science — such as in computational atmospheric and ocean science, biophysics, chemical physics, geoscience — may also be considered as long as their proposed computational research is at the level of mathematical sophistication comparable to the standards in mathematics and theoretical physics and addresses basic science problems in the above fields.

There is no minimum requirement in place. However, the intent is for these positions to be seen as an asset to the universities and departments by contributing teaching and computational support

The main consideration is that the proposed funding of the position in a given university should not be coming from some other grant or grants but should be university funding

The award should be used primarily for work that is related to scientific software or that supports a research program or group working on scientific software development and maintenance. For example, theoretical work on methods or algorithms relevant to scientific software infrastructure would be in scope, but the funding should not be used to support other, unrelated work.

Indirect costs are allowed for this award and must follow our indirect cost policy (see our Policies and Procedures). The indirect cost rate is nonnegotiable.

For assistance navigating SAM, please refer to the SAM frequently asked questions and instructional videos webpage.

No, there is no limit.

For assistance navigating SAM, please refer to the SAM frequently asked questions and instructional videos webpage.

No. Please be advised that all deadlines are in U.S. Eastern time. We recommend registering early and submitting with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline hour. Site traffic can slow page-load times. You will not be able to submit after the deadline has passed.

If changes are required to the application after submission, you must first contact [email protected]. Applications can only be changed prior to the deadline

Only one person can edit a record at a time. A record will be locked for editing if another user already has it opened, and a gray bar will display at the bottom of the record to prevent multiple users from overwriting one another’s changes. Ask other users at your institution to close the application, then refresh your page. If this still does not correct the issue, please reach out to [email protected].

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations, The Simons Foundation, Inc. (“the Foundation” or “SF”) reserves the right to refer an application to SFI for consideration and funding. SFI and SF have entered into an agreement pursuant to which SF provides program operations and grant administration services, including payment processing, to SFI. SFI grant recipients are subject to SF Policies and Procedures.

All applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please refer to the submission instructions for detailed steps on how to complete and submit your application. You will not be able to submit if the deadline has passed. We will not accept applications or individual application materials submitted via email or mail.