Deadline:
March 31, 2025
Location(s)
United States of America
At the moment, the location remains undecided. However, we've successfully conducted sprints in both in-person and hybrid formats. We aim to finalize the details in the upcoming months and will keep all applicants updated on the latest developments.
Overview
The NASA FRONTIER DEVELOPMENT LAB is an AI R&D accelerator that tackles knowledge gaps useful to the space program and humanity.
Details
NASA FDL
FDL is an artificial intelligence research accelerator established to apply AI technologies to challenges in space science & exploration for the benefit of all humankind.
The program is a public / private partnership between NASA and commercial partners, including Nvidia, Intel, IBM, Google and Lockheed Martin, who as part of the partnership provide expertise and vast compute resources necessary for rapid experimentation and iteration in data intensive areas.
FDL’s special sauce is its interdisciplinary research teams - which are composed of two subject specialists from the space sciences and two specialists from the data sciences. The teams are handpicked by world class mentors and work together in an intensive sprint over the Summer.
FDL also has international partners, including Space Resources, Luxembourg and the European Space Agency, ESA and this year, FDL is also running challenge teams in Europe.
WHY APPLY?
Be part of the team
Interdisciplinary teamwork is at the heart of the FDL-X philosophy, and our experience has shown that a mix of skill sets creates results far greater than the sum of their individual parts. Working closely during the eight-week research sprints, teams achieve outputs that might otherwise take years.
Our growing international network provides great value for its members, many of whom have continued work on projects they began at FDL-X.
Researchers have also gone on to join some of the world’s most prestigious technology, Earth Observation companies and academic institutions in a variety of roles. FDL-X projects have been featured in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, posters and numerous news features.
Build best practiceS
Best practices in artificial intelligence are still emerging, and FDL-X is at the forefront of developing effective workflows for AI development in the space sector. Our team-focused approach enables an expertise chain that can tackle problem definition, data source aggregation, workflow composition, algorithm development, creation of inference models and deployment in an efficient manner. We are conscious that teaching machines to learn is different from traditional software development and this requires a new approach.
UNLOCK Powerful partnership opportunities
FDL-X has developed strong relationships with world-class AI researchers and leaders in technology. Their support helps us overcome hurdles using solutions that would usually be beyond the easy reach of researchers, such as state-of-the-art hardware to facilitate rapid iteration and a wealth of experience and expertise in building robust AI workflows.
Help humanity
FDL-X brings brilliant minds to big questions - such as ‘can we democratize ML for faster, more effective preparation for and response to natural disasters and extreme weather events?’ - and gives researchers a chance to develop solutions with the potential to advance science, inform debate and save lives. From asteroid characterization to early-warning systems for natural disasters, there is huge potential to make a difference with FDL-X.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
What sort of applicants are we looking for?
The participants of FDL-X are PhD or Postdoc level researchers in AI, data science, space sciences or software engineers. Successful candidates are matched to form small (three-person) multi-disciplinary, complementary teams for the research sprints. FDL-X carefully curates teams from all the researchers that make it through to the final selection pool balancing deep subject expertise, technical capacity and knowledge and abilities to work across disciplines.
Can I apply as both an AI/data science, space science researcher and software engineer?
Over time, we have seen a shift as more applicants bring both ML and space science experience to the table. These applicants do tend to lean in one direction, however, when it comes to specialty, we ask all applicants to align themselves with one of four categories:
- ML/AI/ Data Scientist
- Hybrid - Specialty ML Lead
- Energy / Space (Domain) Science Scientist
- Hybrid - Specialty Energy / Space (Domain) Scientist Lead
Your choice will not affect your application positively or negatively. A frank self-assessment of your skills is important. We select for potential and curiosity as well as skill set, and if there is a lack of domain experts, researchers with experience in related fields or technologies will be considered.
WHAT ARE THE DATES OF THE FDL-X RESERACH SPRINT?
The FDL-X research sprint is expected to take place from late June to mid-August. This will be followed by a publication phase to allow teams to focus on polishing results by continuing to review and improve on their work. A showcase to NASA will take place towards the end of September and researchers will be asked to submit their finalized technical memos to AGU and NeurIPS.
FDL-X will be an 8-week full-time paid effort and the work will be carried out over three phases. You may be expected to join a three day ‘problem decomposition’ virtual meeting. Your full-time commitment is expected throughout the duration of the research sprint and there will be commitment required during the publication phase as well.
Dates
Deadline: March 31, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
IS THERE A FINANCIAL INCENTIVE FOR ATTENDING FRONTIER DEVELOPMENT LAB?
Participants will receive a stipend, accommodation and transport for the 8 week duration.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
