FirstPrinciples Foundation AI-Native Physicist Fellowship

FirstPrinciples Foundation · Remote · 12 months, full-time · Starts January 2027 · Apply by October 31, 2026

Frontier AI is changing how physics research gets done. Behind the scenes it's changing how we work but how it's being tracked, verified and held accountable varies. This fellowship makes that knowledge rigorous and shareable.

We fund physicists to pursue an ambitious research project of their own, using AI to unlock current knowledge and accelerate the science. The deliverable is not just the science but also your AI workflow. Document what worked, what failed, and how you verified results.

Cohorts: We are reviewing for our inaugural cohort starting in January 2027. We expect to host 3 cohorts a year, starting in January, May and September.

$75K–$150K (paid in local currency, adjusted for cost of living and experience) for the 12 months, plus compute, API credits and frontier AI platform access.

Who we want: Working physicists past the PhD: senior postdocs, research scientists, junior faculty and independents. We offer flexible terms for faculty sabbaticals.



Late-stage PhD students with a strong track record are welcome. Pure ML-methodology projects and black-box "AI for science" proposals are not a fit.

An application unlike the usual. No cover letter. Proposals and reference letters are optional. Answer questions about your project in an online portal.

Required: Eligibility confirmations (including willingness to publish your methods and results openly), contact details, academic background, short written answers about your project and how you use AI, a CV, a publication list and a compute/token budget.

Optional: 2–3 page research proposal, recommendation letters, a demo of how you work with AI, method write-ups and links.

Next: The program lead and advisory committee triage applications into a shortlist, and shortlisted candidates interview with them.

Create an Account & Apply: https://firstprinciplesfoundation.my.site.com/grants

More Information: https://www.firstprinciplesfoundation.org/programs

Questions: [email protected]

📌 FirstPrinciples Foundation AI-Native Physicist Fellowship (Canada)
🏢 FirstPrinciples Foundation
📍 Canada