First Class of Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Announced

 Simons Foundation, May 2023

This fall, nearly 30 students will attend Stony Brook University as the first ever Simons STEM Scholars. With support from the Simons Foundation, these accomplished students — all among the top in their year — will receive full scholarships, programmatic support, academic advising, and assistance finding internships and research opportunities. On May 5, 2023, 25 of the incoming Scholars celebrated their acceptance into the program at a signing ceremony hosted at the Simons Foundation’s New York City headquarters.

2023 Class of Junior Fellows Joins the Simons Society of Fellows

 Simons Foundation, April 2023

The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce the 2023 class of Junior Fellows in the Simons Society of Fellows. The 10 researchers are outstanding early-career scientists and mathematicians based in the New York City area. The fellows hold expertise in a diverse range of fields, including neuroscience, biophysics and number theory.

Map of Space-Time Distortions Reveals Universe’s Dark Matter Distribution, Proving Einstein Right

 Simons Foundation, April 2023

By closely measuring the distorted path taken by the universe’s oldest light, researchers with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration have mapped out the distribution of dark matter in the cosmos with unparalleled precision. The results shore up Einstein’s theory of gravity, provide new insights into the nature of dark matter and expose critical information about the universe’s fundamental properties.

Adapted from University of Pennsylvania press release.

Simons Foundation Accepting Applications for Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Fellowships

 Simons Foundation, March 2023

The Simons Foundation is now accepting applications from undergraduate students to participate in the Simons Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience, or SURFiN, for the 2023–2024 academic year. The program’s goal is to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in neuroscience research.

New Testing Approach Diagnoses COVID-19 With Near-Perfect Accuracy

 Simons Foundation, February 2023

By inspecting the body’s immune response at a molecular level, a research team has developed a new way to test patients for COVID-19. Their method can potentially catch infections a matter of hours after exposure — far earlier than current COVID-19 tests can detect the virus — with near-perfect accuracy. The team describes their innovation, which is still in the early stages of development, in the February 27 issue of Cell Reports Methods.

Simons Foundation Scientists Named as Sloan Research Fellows

 Simons Foundation, February 2023

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded its prestigious research fellowship to four past and present Simons Foundation researchers. This year’s 125 fellowship recipients “represent the most promising scientific researchers working today,” according to the program’s website. “Their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada.”