Aspen Center for Physics’ cognizant grant agency is the National Science Foundation (NSF), current grant #PHY-2210452. Since 1972, the NSF has generously provided grant monies annually. NSF funds are used to support housing costs for participants who are not receiving additional financial support from ACP, as described below. All physicists who do not receive support from a specific fund or foundation below will be supported by the NSF through a weekly housing stipend. Physicists do not need to apply for financial support to receive the NSF housing stipend.
Financial Support | Summer
Financial Support for Summer Participants
Additional Financial Support
Aspen Center for Physics encourages participants, especially those early in their careers, those with families, and those from underrepresented groups, institutions, and countries, to apply for our summer program. We have a limited amount of additional financial support for participants who fall into these, and other, special categories.
We have included descriptions of the financial support that is available to participants below. Descriptions of each foundation/fund are below — and are listed within the summer application. Participants who are interested in receiving support will be asked to write a brief narrative describing their need for support on their application. For example, if you are traveling with young children, you should include that in your narrative paragraph to be considered for the Daycare Fund, etc. Priority for financial support will be given to applicants who apply to our program for two or more weeks.
Please note that physicists who receive support from the Simons Foundation or Sloan Foundation will not receive the weekly NSF housing stipend, as their housing will be covered by these grants. However, physicists who do not receive support from the Simons Foundation or Sloan Foundation will automatically be supported with a weekly housing stipend from our NSF grant. Recipients of additional financial support from funds other than Sloan or Simons are still eligible for the NSF housing stipend.
If you apply for financial support during your application and are accepted, we will let you know the amount of support you will receive in your acceptance letter to the summer program.
Foundations and Funds
- SIMONS FOUNDATIONThe Simons Foundation has generously provided funds to support physicists coming from countries where science funding is not strong or from economically disadvantaged countries in addition to postdocs and underrepresented groups. The Simons grant pays for an accepted individual's registration fee, shared housing while in Aspen (one's own room in a two- or three-bedroom apartment), and a portion of air travel, which will vary from year to year, but may not cover all of one's travel expenses.
- SLOAN FOUNDATIONSupport from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation aims to reduce barriers to participation in the summer programs of the Aspen Center for early-career scientists belonging to domestic underrepresented groups in physics departments across U.S. institutions, including (but not limited to) gender, ethnicity, and race. The Sloan grant pays for an accepted individual's registration fee, shared housing while in Aspen (one's own room in a two- or three-bedroom apartment), and a portion of air travel, which will vary from year to year, but may not cover all of one's travel expenses.
- DAYCARE FUNDIf you are traveling to Aspen with your children, you can apply for our daycare fund which provides a partial subsidy, but will not cover the entire cost of daycare for two weeks.
- DURAND FUNDBernice and Randy Durand have supported the Center in countless ways since its inception in 1962. In 2020, they donated funds to create a lasting legacy of helping young physicists, especially women and members of underrepresented groups who might not otherwise participate, to participate in the Center's programs for periods long enough to obtain its full benefits.
- PAULA JOHNSON FAMILY SUPPORT FUNDPaula Johnson was Finance Manager at Aspen Center for Physics for 14 years. Paula's unique relationship with the community of physicists who passed through the Center has been commemorated through the Paula Johnson Family Support Fund. This fund was established in 2016 in memory of her welcoming spirit and enthusiasm for helping families have fun together during the Aspen Summer Program. It will help to support where needed, including child care assistance and supporting family activities.
- RAMOND FAMILY FUNDPierre Ramond, a former ACP President, and his three daughters, now grown, happily recall their many summer trips to Aspen. They established this fund in 2008 to encourage physicists to bring their children with them to develop wonderful family memories of their own.
- SHAHAM FUNDPhysicists donated to this fund in memory of Jacob Shaham who died in 1995 and came to Aspen for 17 years between 1971 to 1990. This fund offers travel support to junior scientists traveling to Aspen from Israel.
- TRUSTEE FUNDThe Trustee Fund honors deceased former trustees who volunteered their time to shape the Center into a collaborative campus that is conducive to deep thinking with few distractions or demands. To date, the fund honors Elihu Abrahams, Phil Anderson, Steve Berry, Peter Carruthers, Stirling Colgate, Bob Craig, David De Young, Bernice Durand, Edward Hudson, Peter Kaus, Sydney Meshkov, Dick Norton, David Schramm, Richard Slansky, Lincoln Wolfenstein, and Fred Zachariasen. Junior scientists may be awarded support from this fund each year.
“I believe the workshop will impact my research very positively in years to come… the support of the Sloan foundation was essential to help me cover some of the high costs of Aspen and be able to participate in this unique opportunity.”
– Juan Rodriguez Nieva