BSSw Fellows receive recognition and funding to be advocates of high-quality scientific software and leaders in the field.
Timeline for 2026 BSSw Fellowship Program
Applications are now closed for the 2026 BSSw Fellowship Program. Check back in summer 2026 for info about the 2027 application process.
- Thursday, August 14, 2025: Fellowship application process opens.
- Tuesday, September 16, 2025 1:00-2:00 pm EDT: Fellowship webinar, Q&A. Subscribe to our mail list to be notified about details. Please see the FAQ page, where we will post Q&A slides, as well as the questions that have been raised (with answers, of course!)
- Friday, October 31, 2025: Application deadline, before midnight, PDT. This is a firm deadline that will not be extended.
- January 2026: Announcement of selection of 2026 BSSw Fellows.
- April 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027: Period of performance for 2026 BSSw Fellows.
- October 2026: Fellowship class honored at the US-RSE Annual Conference
The BSSw Fellowship program fosters and promotes practices, processes, and tools to improve developer productivity and software sustainability of scientific codes. BSSw Fellows are selected annually based on an application process that includes the proposal of a funded activity that promotes better scientific software through a publicly available artifact. We select at least three Fellows per year and honorable mentions as appropriate. Each 2026 BSSw Fellow will receive up to $25,000 for an activity that promotes better scientific software. Activities can include organizing a workshop, preparing a tutorial, or creating content to engage the scientific software community.
Application Format
Experience:
- Short C.V. or Resume File (PDF only) 2-pages or less
- Describe your work relevant to scientific software (1000 - 1500 characters).
- Describe your background and experience relevant to being a BSSw Fellow (1000 - 1500 characters).
Proposed work and impact:
- What is the name (or tag line) of your proposed project? (max 100 characters).
- What would you do as a BSSw Fellow? (1500 - 2000 characters).
- What technical impact do you foresee from your efforts? (1000 - 1500 characters).
- What broader community impact do you foresee from your efforts? (1000 - 1500 characters).
- Which BSSw focus areas and subtopics apply to your proposed work? (500 characters). Specify all that apply. See https://bssw.io for a list of focus areas and subtopics (e.g., Focus Area: Planning; Subtopic: Requirements).
- Does this proposal build on any previous fellowship work in the Better Scientific Software community? If so, please state how your proposal is different and/or complimentary to existing work. (500 characters). Write-ups of past fellowship projects can be found at https://bssw.io/pages/meet-our-fellows
Questions must be answered directly in the fields of the online application form. Answers provided elsewhere (e.g., GitHub repo) and linked in the application form will not be reviewed.
Applications for the BSSw Fellowship Program
Applications are closed for the 2026 BSSw Fellowship Program. Please check back for information about the 2027 BSSw Fellowship application process; subscribe to our mailing list to receive details.
Q&A Webinar about the BSSw Fellowship Program
We hosted a Q&A webinar for the 2026 BSSw Fellowship Program on September 16, 2025. The webinar provided an overview of the BSSw Fellowship Program, information about the application process, and an opportunity for questions (and answers). Check out the Q&A below.
Slides and Q&A for the 2026 BSSw Fellowship Q&A Webinar:
Please subscribe to our mailing list to receive further details about the BSSw Fellowship Program, including telecon information for a Q&A session to take place in September.
More information, including on-line application
The BSSw Fellowship Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Science Foundation.
