Simons Foundation Announces 2026 Pivot Fellowship with Full Salary and $10K Research Stipend

Context The Simons Foundation launched the Pivot Fellowship to accelerate breakthroughs that arise when scientists move beyond their primary fields. Targeting faculty with proven records, the program funds a year‑long immersion in a distinct natural‑science, mathematics, or engineering discipline. Applicants must secure a year of leave from their home institution and cannot hold another salary‑supporting fellowship during the training year.

Key Facts - Applications open on March 2, 2026 and close at 12:00 p.m. ET on May 14, 2026. Submissions are made through the Simons Award Manager platform, with separate forms for fellows and mentors. - Selected fellows receive full salary coverage for one academic year plus a $10,000 allowance for research, travel, and professional development. - Each mentor is awarded a $50,000 research fund to cover equipment, supplies, personnel, travel, publication fees, and tuition‑related costs. Indirect costs are capped at 20 % of modified total direct costs. - Funding decisions will be announced in Fall 2026. Awardees must activate funding within 18 months of notification. - After the fellowship year, participants may apply for up to $1.5 million in additional funding over five years to continue work in the new discipline.

What It Means By removing salary risk and providing a dedicated research budget, the Pivot Fellowship lowers barriers for senior scientists to acquire new technical skills and forge interdisciplinary collaborations. The mentor grant ensures host labs can integrate fellows without straining existing resources, potentially accelerating the adoption of novel methods across fields such as astronomy, neuroscience, and data science. The program’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion broadens access, aiming to diversify the pool of interdisciplinary innovators.

Watch for the Fall 2026 award announcements and the subsequent rollout of multi‑year grants that could reshape research trajectories across the United States.