Lightcone ResearchFellowship

Join us at the frontier of AI-assisted research to help set the standard for rigorous science in the age of AI agents. Bring your project; we’ll provide hands-on support, model credits, and a cohort across disciplines.

Apply by
20 Nov 2026
Format
Remote
Fellowship
Dec 2026 – Feb 2027
Cohort
4–6 Fellows
Apply nowWho should apply

The fellowship

You’ll bring your own research project and join a small interdisciplinary cohort of Lightcone Research Fellows. Working closely with our engineers and scientists, you’ll apply Lightcone’s tools to your research and help shape their development as a design partner. Through this Fellowship program, we aim to develop best practices for using AI agents in science while keeping results understandable, transparent, and reproducible across disciplines.

The three-month fellowship runs remotely from December 2026 to February 2027 and ends with the Paris Agentic AI for Science Summit, where Fellows will be invited to present their work to a wider community of developers and users of agentic AI for science. We’ll share the cohort’s lessons and best practices and feature Fellows’ projects in our communications, aiming to showcase rigorous, transparent, and reproducible science with AI agents.

What Fellows receive

Hands-on support from the Lightcone team
Get individual onboarding and direct access to our scientists and developers through Slack. We’ll help you apply Lightcone’s tools to your research, work through problems with you, and adapt the tools to your project’s needs.
Frontier AI model credits
We’ll provide Claude or Codex tokens to support your research throughout the fellowship.
A small cohort from different fields
Meet weekly with other Fellows to discuss your research and compare how you’re using AI agents, including what’s working and where you’re getting stuck.
An invitation to present in Paris
Join us at the Paris Agentic AI for Science Summit to present your work and meet other researchers and tool builders. Travel support is available. Read the wrap-up of our Berkeley summit.
Recognition as a Lightcone Research Fellow
List your acceptance to this competitive programme on your CV, and share your research with a wider audience through Lightcone’s communications.

Who should apply

We’re looking for early-career researchers with a specific project they want to work on using AI agents and an interest in developing best practices for high-quality research that others can reproduce and extend. We welcome applications from all disciplines and will select 4–6 Lightcone Research Fellows.

Projects already underway are welcome. A nearly finished analysis is also a good fit if you’d like to make it easier for others to check and reuse.

We’ll look for clearly defined projects that can be ready for publication by spring 2027, and applicants who can commit to the programme. We’ll also consider the range of disciplines in the cohort and how others could check and build on the research.

You will need

  • Access to the computing resources your project needs, whether a laptop, a laboratory cluster, or an HPC facility.
  • Agreement from your PI or supervisor to participate.

What we ask

  • Use Lightcone’s tools to carry out at least one scientific analysis with the aim of publishing the results.
  • Join the weekly cohort call to share progress, discuss your experience using AI agents in your research, and exchange strategies with other Fellows.
  • Tell us where the tools fall short and help decide what to improve, including by taking part in feedback conversations.
  • The fellowship involves testing experimental tools and research practices. Please choose a project with room for experimentation; your graduation or other critical deadlines should not depend on its successful completion.

Timeline

  1. 30 Oct – 20 Nov 2026

    Applications open

    Early applications encouraged

  2. By Monday 23 November

    Applicants notified

  3. Early December

    Kickoff and onboarding

  4. Mid-January

    Midpoint virtual meeting

  5. End of February 2027

    Paris Agentic AI for Science Summit

    Exact dates to follow

How to apply

Early applications are encouraged. Tell us about your project, how far along it is, and what you’d like to accomplish during the fellowship. The application form also asks about your institution, career stage, computing resources, and who else in your group will take part. You’ll need to confirm your supervisor’s agreement and your availability, including for the Paris summit.

Apply now

Deadline · 20 November 2026

Questions about the fellowship? Write to us at info@lightconeresearch.org.