Today’s undergraduates will be writing the first dissertations based on Rubin LSST data. The time is now to engage undergraduates in LSST-related research and connect them to the networks that will increase their likelihood of success.
Program Overview
The LSST Discovery Alliance (LSST-DA) Annual Summer Student program brings an international cadre of students at member institutions together at a major Rubin LSST collaboration meeting. Historically, this has been at the annual Rubin Project and Community Workshop.
The value of this program is far more than the funding provided to pay for student participation in the meeting. The added value lies in the professional development, cohort building, and networking provided as core features of the program.
At the summer meetings, students have the unique opportunities to interact with Rubin Observatory LSST scientists and engineers, attend student-oriented breakouts, tour cutting-edge facilities (such as the University of Arizona Caris mirror lab), participate in the opening plenary, and present their LSST-related summer research at a dedicated poster session.
Generous donations from LSST-DA friends and the Heising-Simons Foundation-funded Expansion Partnership program (2025 – 2026) have recently supported:
2024 – A cohort of 10 students, including 3 from international members (UK and Brazil), to attend the 2024 Rubin Community Workshop (RCW) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA.
2025 – A cohort of 17 students, including 4 from international members (Poland, Canary Islands, Brazil, and Canada) and 8 students from expansion partner institutions. The 2025 RCW took place in Tucson AZ.
2026 – A cohort of 15 students, including 2 students from international members (Mexico and Poland). All students are from either an expansion partnership institutions. The 2026 RCW is taking place at SLAC National Lab in Menlo Park, CA.
“The importance of networking really shone through in this workshop, as people were very personable and felt very welcoming.”
-2024 Summer Student
Read more about past Summer Student Program cohorts. Support LSST-DA to continue the Summer Student Program and other initiatives.
LSST Discovery Alliance gratefully acknowledges the Heising-Simons Foundation for partial support of the Summer Student Program in 2025 and 2026.
