Host Institutions

There are two categories of host institutions for LSSTC Catalyst Fellowships – LSSTC member institutions (those that are accepting Fellows in 2022 are listed in the left-hand column, below) and institutions that we refer to as expansion sites (some examples of which are listed in the right-hand column, below).

LSSTC member institutions have demonstrated their interest in Rubin LSST science, and have invested in the scientific success of Rubin LSST by joining LSSTC.  Whether large or small, these institutions (or consortia of institutions) have faculty and staff whose expertise and research interests make them extremely well suited for hosting postdocs intending to conduct LSST-related research. 

In addition to fostering discovery using LSST data, LSSTC aims to enlarge the networks of researchers and students using these data. In pursuit of these aims, one astrophysics Catalyst Fellow in each cohort will sit at an expansion site -- an institution that is not yet a member of LSSTC and that does not typically host prize postdocs.  Astrophysics applicants interested in conducting their research at an expansion site can select from the list below or propose a site of their own choosing.  Proposals for expansion sites that have small astrophysics faculty, that are historically Black and indigenous colleges, that are minority-serving, or that are under-resourced will be looked upon most favorably.  LSSTC will help establish a mutually beneficial partnership between each expansion sites that ends up hosting a Fellow and an appropriate LSSTC member institution. Moreover, whereas most Fellows will have three-year terms, Fellows who sit at expansion sites will have four-year terms as well as a supplemental annual research allowance on top of the standard research allowance for Fellows. Expansion sites may be a particularly good fit for applicants interested in a future faculty position at this type of college or university.

Finally, three of the LSSTC member institutions listed below – Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, and the University of Washington – are helping to lead a new initiative called LINCC, the LSST Interdisciplinary Network for Collaboration and Computing, with which the Catalyst Fellowship is associated. Astrophyiscs Fellows who sit at those institutions will have the opportunity to get deeply involved in the development, testing, and early use of LINCC software (LINCC Frameworks).  They will also be offered four-year terms (contingent upon satisfactory performance and the availability of funds) to enable them both to participate in tools development and to publish.  More information

Each institution can only host one astrophyiscs Fellow, so astrophysics applicants will provide a primary and backup host-institution choice on their application.  An applicant's primary and backup choice for host institution do not need to be from the same category. The following institutions are already hosting Catalyst Fellows in astrophysics, and so are not eligible to accept new astrophysics Fellows for this application cycle: Princeton University, Rutgers University, University of Arizona (LINCC Hub site), University of Oxford, and Washington State University (Expansion Site). Princeton, Rutgers, UA, and Oxford remain eligible, however, to host LSSTC Catalyst Fellows in the social sciences.


*ELIGIBLE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE POSTDOC ONLY