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Category: Science

Beyond Funding: How the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship Provides Transformational Support to Researchers in Planetary Astronomy

“By far, [the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship is] the best thing that’s ever happened to me professionally…It launched my career.” Peter Gao, 51 Pegasi b fellowship alumnus Astronomer Peter Gao specializes in the atmospheres of planets beyond our solar system. Much of his work is theoretical; he hypothesizes about planets that scientists know exist. Like …

New Open Call for Science Events and Gatherings

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program announces a new Open Call for Science Events and Gatherings. This is the first of two such calls that will run throughout 2025; the second will open in winter 2025.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Opens Access to the Largest 3D Map of the Universe

For as long as humans have gazed at the sky, they have longed to attain a deeper understanding of our universe: When did it begin? How has it evolved? What are its properties? In March 2025, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) released the largest dataset of its kind, with information on 4 million stars, 13.1 million galaxies, and 1.6 million quasars. With this new data, DESI has achieved the remarkable feat of building the largest 3D map of our universe to date.

Eight Post-Doctoral Scientists Awarded 51 Pegasi b Fellowship

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program is pleased to announce a new class of 51 Pegasi b Fellows, comprised of eight outstanding early career scientists focused on advancing our understanding of exoplanets, solar system science, planet formation and evolution, planetary atmospheres, protoplanetary disks, and other closely related research areas. “This year’s fellows join a community of …

A Shot in the Dark

Researching one of the most puzzling unsolved problems in physics. Written by Michael Blanding This essay is part of The Stories that Make Us, featuring key efforts in the Foundation’s history. Photos of FASER installation, a visit by Mark Heising and Jim Simons, and experiments, courtesy of CERN. Photos by: 1) Maximilien Brice and Julien …