LCO is proud to partner with the Heising-Simons Foundation to create a unique new research and community-building initiative for members of three participating Rubin Science Collaborations.
The Preparing for Astrophysics with LSST Program offers several avenues of support for members of three of the Rubin Science Collaborations, including Transients and Variable Stars (TVS), Stars, Milky Way and Local Volume (SMWLV) and the Solar System Science Collaboration (SSSC).
The program consists of four elements:
- Kickstarter Grants Program: supporting research by the Science Collaboration community and fostering participation by communities that have been historically withheld from astronomy
- Publications: supporting the costs of publishing research in peer-reviewed journals
- Workshops: providing access to online meeting platforms and services
- Computing and software training: providing access to training in the advanced software development skills and tools needed for Rubin science.
The program focuses strongly on overcoming barriers to participation in research, recognizing that these can take many forms, and that some communities face systemic challenges that hamper their involvement in astrophysical research.
Full information about this groundbreaking program can be found on the program website.