Thank you for joining us in Tucson!
The LSST Discovery Alliance Catalyst Symposium brought together the Catalyst Fellows, Catalyst Postdoc Alliance Members, Catalyst Mentors, and other members of the LSST Discovery Alliance Community.
The 2025 LSST-DA Catalyst Symposium took place on November 17-19 in Tucson, AZ, at the Westward Look Resort. It was held in parallel with the LSST-DA Board of Directors and Alliance Members meetings.
The structure of the meeting was a Hack Day (Monday), followed by two days of plenary and breakout sessions focusing on all aspects of the Catalyst Fellowship (Tuesday and Wednesday).
Registration
Registration for the 2025 Catalyst Symposium is now closed.
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The Catalyst Fellowship
The LSST Discovery Alliance Catalyst Fellowship funded by the John Templeton Foundation (the Catalyst Fellowship) is an innovative research fellowship that brings astronomers and social scientists together in a convergent, multi-disciplinary cohort of postdocs engaging with teams of mentors and other collaborators in the growing Rubin Observatory LSST science community. It invests in early-career astrophysicists who are well positioned to work with Big Data from Rubin LSST and to make exciting discoveries in the first years of LSST operations. It also supports early-career and senior social scientists conducting research on the practice of astrophysics in the era of Big Data. In addition to improving the practice of science, the Catalyst Fellowship strives to engage and train a diverse new generation of Fellows who will become experts in LSST’s capabilities–to help them to: do great LSST research, develop their leadership skills, and serve as community resources for years to come.
The Fellowship currently supports eight postdoctoral Fellows in astrophysics who are pursuing LSST-related science throughout three-to-four-year terms and two postdoctoral Fellows in the social sciences who will work collaboratively with the Fellows and the broader Rubin LSST community.
In 2025-2026, the Catalyst Fellowship also supports the LSST-DA Catalyst Postdoc Alliance. The Catalyst Postdoc Alliance supports a broad community of early career scholars from around the world with the potential to become leaders in the Rubin community, both through their scientific research and their commitment to the constructive and inclusive practice of science with big data. The 2025 Catalyst Symposium will serve as the first in-person gathering of the Catalyst Postdoc Alliance.
Catalyst Symposium Goals
The goals of the third annual Catalyst Symposium are: 1) to give the astrophysics community the opportunity to learn about and potentially participate in the research and other activities being undertaken by Catalyst Fellows in astrophysics and the social sciences; 2) to strengthen networks and communication among the direct participants in the Catalyst Fellowship, Catalyst Postdoc Alliance and the broader Rubin LSST community; and 3) to advance the training, mentoring, and community-impact goals of the Catalyst Fellowship project.
LSST Discovery Alliance gratefully acknowledges the John Templeton Foundation for its support of the Catalyst Fellowship. Thank you!
