Twenty-four early-career astrophysicists have been selected for the second class of the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program. As described in an earlier newsletter article (The New NASA Hubble Fellowship Program), NASA has combined the Einstein, Hubble, and Sagan fellowships into a single program, the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP). The NHFP, like the fellowships that superseded it, supports outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research in any area of NASA Astrophysics, using theory, observation, experimentation, or instrumental development.
The NHFP preserves the legacy of NASA's previous postdoctoral fellowship programs; once selected, fellows are named to one of three sub-categories corresponding to NASA's "big questions":
The NHFP received 385 applications from astophysicists who are completeing their PhD this year, or have completed their PhD in the last three years. In January, seven topical panels met to sort through the applications. Ten of the new fellows were chosen directly by the panels, and the remaining fourteen were chosen by a committee made up of the panel chairs and the Selection Chair from short lists created by the topical panels. About three-quarters of the Panel members and chairs came from the U.S. astrophysical community; the remainder hailed from Europe.
Fellows receive a salary and funds for their research and can take the fellowship to a U.S. host institution of their choice. However, no more than two new fellows are permitted to go to any one institution in a given year, and no more than five fellows may be resident at any host instituition—a limitation that will become important next year, the third year of the program. The list below provides the names of the 2019 awardees, their host institutions, and their proposed research topics:
