The 51 Pegasi b fellowship was established in 2017 to support early-career researchers in planetary astronomy with four host institutions participating. Since then, the program has supported fifty-eight fellows and expanded to twenty-four host institutions across the United States. With this open call, the Foundation would like to add approximately 4 more host institutions to the program in 2026.
The Foundation has been deliberate in our slow expansion of fellowship host institutions because we want to make sure that there are sufficient astronomical resources and planetary astronomers at all host institutions to ensure the success of our fellows at this critical stage of their careers. We also want to establish personal relationships with the faculty, staff, and administrators at our host institutions through in-person site visits. The goal of these site visits (required before any institution joins the program) is for us to understand the culture of research, equity, and inclusion at each host institution. In addition, unlike many other prize fellowships where host institutions are not involved in the selection process until the fellowships are awarded, we rely on host institutions to perform an initial review of candidates and select their top candidates for further review by the Foundation.
With this open call, the Foundation would like to invite institutions that meet the five eligibility criteria to apply for consideration as a host institution.
Watch the video below to learn more about what makes the fellowship special.
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