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

Scientific software is a critical component of research, enabling scientists to analyze and reduce data, perform simulations, automate tasks, and produce and visualize results. As such, the development and maintenance of broadly applicable scientific software have become an increasingly important intellectual endeavor. While scientific software experts are crucial members of research ventures, their career prospects beyond postdoctoral-level positions are limited.

The Simons Foundation invites applications for funding to support new research professor positions (e.g., “clinical professor,” “professor of practice” or “research professor,” the titles and roles depending on the university) in existing academic departments (the “host institutions”) to be filled by scientific software-focused researchers. The Scientific Software Research Faculty (SSRF) Award will support researchers who have a strong track record of leadership in scientific software development. The aim of this program is to stimulate the development and maintenance of core scientific software infrastructure in academic environments through creating a new, long-term, faculty-level career path.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. (or equivalent degree) in mathematics, astronomy or theoretical physics and have played a leading role in developing or maintaining scientific software in one or more of these fields. Applicants with Ph.D. degrees in other related fields of science — such as 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.

SSRF Awards may be hosted at any public or private Ph.D.-granting institution in the United States. There are no citizenship or country requirements to apply. Awardees must be hired into a new clinical professor, professor of practice or equivalent-level positions in a mathematics, astronomy, physics or similar department such that a maximum of 50 percent of their time is dedicated to teaching and/or supporting computational efforts within the department. The position need not be tenure track but must not be term limited. Awardees must be allowed to have principal investigator (PI) status on grants.

As part of the program obligations, awardees will be invited and expected to attend an annual meeting held at and paid by the Simons Foundation.

Simons Foundation (“the Foundation” or “SF”) employees who receive a W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) from the Foundation, including employees of the Flatiron Institute, may not apply as a principal investigator (PI) to any SF or Simons Foundation International (“SFI”) requests for applications (RFAs) released by the Foundation. PIs and any project personnel listed on the application who will receive funding for salary; travel; support for students, postdocs or research staff; and/or lab equipment, computing time or other individual expenses may not be employees of the Foundation, which includes the Flatiron Institute.

• Award Amount:
  • The SSRF award provides five years of salary support for the awardee’s academic-year salary and fringe benefits, whether normally paid over 9 or 12 months, as follows: 100 percent salary for each of the first two years and then 50 percent each year for the next three years. For the last three years, the host university is expected to provide the other 50 percent of salary support each year through conventional departmental teaching appointments.
  • The award will also provide a $50,000 annual research allowance for the awardee.
  • Additionally, indirect costs to the host institution, up to 20 percent of the modified total direct costs, see Simons Foundation Policies.
• Award Duration: Five years; starting no later than September 1, 2028.
• Number of Awards: The foundation expects to grant up to six new awards through this call.
• Future Funding: This funding is potentially renewable, but the expectation is that the university department hire an SSRF awardee into a legitimate teaching position that is specified in their academic handbooks and not into a position that the university funds from external grants and/or contracts which must be repeatedly secured to support salaries and research activities (or “soft-money” positions), that would be terminated after the initial five years and/or that is not dependent on the foundation for future funding.

The $50,000 allowance provided to the awardee may be used at the awardee’s discretion to support expenses in the following categories:

• General research expenses
• Salary support and related benefits, including tuition support, for staff/research scientists and postdoctoral, graduate and/or undergraduate research assistants
• Scientific domestic or international travel by the awardee and their students
• Small equipment, supplies and other expenses, such as computers, computer support, publication expenses, stationery, books and membership fees
• Expenses related to travel or hosting scientific visitors and collaborators
• Workshop development and organization

The total allowance can be allocated across years as needed, as long as the total request does not exceed $250,000 over 5 years.

Note: PI summer salary is not an allowable cost.

SSRF awards are granted through a two-stage process.

First Stage/Letter of Intent:

The first stage, the letter of intent (“LOI”), is a competitive process in which applications are reviewed by a committee of scientific domain and software experts. SSRF awardees are selected based on this first stage application. Upon selection, the applicant must find an eligible host institution and be hired into an eligible position (as described above) and start by September 1, 2028.

LOIs must be completed electronically and submitted via the Simon Award Manager (SAM) by January 21, 2027, at 12 p.m. (noon) Eastern time. LOIs do not require institutional sign-off. Please refer to the How to Apply tab for further instructions. LOIs will be reviewed by an external review panel.

Notification of the status of the LOI will be sent by May 31, 2027.

Second Stage/Full Proposal:

The second stage (“Full Proposal”) is non-competitive. Full proposals should be submitted as soon as the SSRF award faculty hiring has been completed and will be due no later than three months prior to the award start date, and no later than June 1, 2028, for September 1, 2028, start dates. The proposal will affirm that the position meets the eligibility criteria outlined above. Full proposals will go through an administrative review only, via Simons Foundation staff.

Notifications of the intent to fund will be sent no later than two months prior to the award start date. Award notifications will be sent no later than one month prior to the award start date.

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 The Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (“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.

Additional award terms may be included in the official award notification. Grantees are subject to the conditions outlined in their official award notification.

Many of the greatest ideas and discoveries come from a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds and experiences. The Simons Foundation is committed to advancing basic science and mathematics to benefit humankind and expand our collective understanding of our world. As part of our mission, we support partners, programs and initiatives that seek to broaden the scientific community and open pathways to science and mathematics careers.

The Simons Foundation provides equal opportunities to all applicants for funding without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status or any other protected category under federal, state and local law.