Summer Program at AstroAI
We are now accepting applications for the 2026 AstroAI Summer Program! Please apply through the AcademicJobsOnline portal, located at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31486. Applications are due by February 10, 2026. Please send any questions to astroai-intern@cfa.harvard.edu.
About the Program
Join AstroAI for a transformative summer research experience in 2026, where undergraduate and graduate students will collaborate with AstroAI scientists at the exciting intersection of astronomy and artificial intelligence. Students will gain hands-on experience analyzing astronomical data, developing new algorithms, and exploring groundbreaking discoveries in astrophysics. As part of this immersive program, you will work alongside a multidisciplinary team, expand your professional network, and build valuable research and technical skills that will set you apart in today's competitive scientific landscape. Whether you are looking to build a solid foundation for graduate school or further your career in astrophysics, data science, or AI, the summer program at AstroAI is the perfect launchpad for your journey.
These positions will be paid and housing will be provided. The program is expected to last 10 weeks, beginning in early June and ending in mid-August and take place fully in person at the Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Successful applicants will be matched with a supervisor and carry out a research project in the intersection of Astronomy (or Earth Sciences) and AI. Project topics include, but are not limited to, multi-modal large language models for astronomy, physical generative AI for astronomy, transient source detection and classification, exoplanet atmospheres and biosignatures, the stellar lifecycle, detecting methane and nitrogen concentrations in Earth's atmosphere, and black hole formation and evolution. In addition, program participants will attend the 2026 AstroAI Workshop.
2025 Summer Program Recap
During the summer of 2025 we hosted the AstroAI summer program at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian for the first time. The program brought together young researchers from the US and abroad to a collaborative space that was incredibly successful at achieving collaborations both between the AstroAI students, and also between them and other members of the CfA community. AstroAI summer interns worked during the summer side-by-side with world-renowned experts on AI as it applies to astronomy and the physical sciences, on topics that are having significant impact on the field. For example, several of the summer students worked on generative approaches to extract information from large and complex astronomical datasets and simulations in order to tackle pressing problems in cosmology, exoplanet science, high energy astrophysics, and large language models. The program has promoted new collaborations between AstroAI and AI researchers in the students' home institutions, including MIT, McGill University, ETH Zurich, and the Polytechnic University of Milan among others.
Students regularly attended the AstroAI lunch seminar, a weekly event that brings together all those who are interested in applying AI to their research. They also maintained a busy collaboration schedule by attending the all-hands AstroAI meeting once per week as well as individual group meetings. The students particularly enjoyed the welcoming and collegial environment of AstroAI that supported their research. Worth mentioning is the fact that the AstroAI interns actively participated in the organization of the 2nd AstroAI workshop (July 7-11) with over 80 in person attendees. The students took part in logistics, and general assistance for other attendees, but also had the opportunity to interact with experts on data-centric AI, interpretability in AI, computer vision, among other cutting-edge fields.
