Heising-Simons launches Astronova postdoctoral fellowship for instrumentation

On 14 January 2026 the Heising-Simons Foundation announced a new multi-year fellowship to support postdoctoral scientists developing instrumentation for astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and planetary science. The Astronomical Innovation (Astronova) Fellowship will fund up to two scientists per year at select host institutions for four years, beginning in Fall 2026.

Astronova Fellows will receive support for projects that design, develop, fabricate, characterize, test, or commission instruments that direct, collect, detect, or characterize photons from astrophysical sources. Examples of eligible technologies include optics, imagers, spectrometers, astrophotonic devices, coronagraphs, data acquisition and control, and other related systems; instruments may be ground-based, airborne, or space-based.

Key features include a flexible research award covering salary, benefits, and discretionary spending over a four-year term with potential for a fifth-year extension; access to an Innovation Fund beginning in year two; catalytic support for fellows who obtain faculty or research positions during the fellowship; and instrumentation-specific professional development and networking, including an annual research summit.

The first application cycle is open now and closes at 2 p.m. Pacific Time on February 27, 2026. Applicants will be notified of selection status in May 2026, and the two new Astronova Fellows will be publicly announced in June 2026.

Key Topics

Science, Heising-simons Foundation, Astronova Fellowship, Astronomical Instrumentation, Innovation Fund, Spectrometers