ARP Research Residency
Professional scientific research, part-time.
For the joy of doing science.
Open questions in professional science
Contribute your expertise
Six months, part-time
Online collaboration
For the joy of doing science
Free, by invitation
We created the Research Residency as a community where we can keep doing science at any stage of life, alongside studies, work, family, and other commitments. Residents may be a few years into college or bring a PhD and years of professional research experience.
For us, much of the joy comes from the process of doing science itself. If that resonates with you, feel free to leave your contact details in our interest form.
What Residents do
Teams of three to six Residents work with a research partner on an open problem at the intersection of science and modern technology. The team investigates the scientific context and the partner's workflow, shapes a useful research question, decides which methods fit, and tests what those methods can reveal. AI may be part of the work when it fits the problem, but it is not assumed to be the answer.
Residents take responsibility for different parts of the work while contributing to the investigation as a whole. This is research and development: the outcome is not known in advance, but the team works toward a result the partner can use, such as an analysis, model, research workflow, or piece of research software.
Who takes part
The Residency brings together adults at every stage of life: undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students; recent graduates; working professionals; independent researchers; people returning to science; and retirees. What connects them is an interest in doing science and expertise they can contribute to a shared investigation.
Residents must currently live or study in North America, South America, or Europe, including the UK.
You bring demonstrated strength in at least one area the team can use. That might be a natural science, mathematics, statistics, AI or machine learning, software, data, hardware, design, or project coordination. A prior research role is not required; the ability to contribute is what matters.
What participation involves
Residents commit to six months of collaboration, alongside their studies, work, and other commitments. In a typical week, participation includes:
- One live online meeting with the team and Research Guide, lasting roughly 1 to 1.5 hours.
- About 8 hours of independent work.
Residents bring complementary expertise, curiosity, and reliability. They come to meetings prepared, share findings and methods, complete the work they take on, and communicate early when plans change.
Who guides the teams
Dr. Sergey Samsonau leads the Residency and supervises every team. As Research Guide, he helps Residents turn an open problem into a feasible investigation, organize work across specialties, and maintain scientific rigor as the investigation develops. The research decisions remain with the team.
Sergey is a physicist and co-founder of Authentic Research Partners. At NYU, he founded and led AI for Scientific Research, where multidisciplinary student teams developed AI solutions for natural-science researchers. That experience inspired the Research Residency. Read more about Sergey.
Want scientific work to be part of your life?Participation is by invitation only, based on each project's needs and the team's mix of expertise.
The interest form lets us keep your details for possible future contact. It is not an application or a waiting list, and we do not promise review, a reply, or an invitation.
Information for research partners
A research partner brings a question or area of need from their own scientific work. ARP forms and guides a team that works on it independently for six months and returns a result the partner can use. The Residency remains responsible for managing the team.
A project fits when it advances research, such as improving a workflow, making an analysis reproducible, developing a model, or investigating where modern technology could help. It does not fit when the goal is a commercial product or something built for sale. Intellectual property and use of results are established in a short written agreement.
Partners may be universities, individual researchers, government laboratories, science agencies, research-driven organizations, or independent scientists. No technical background is required. Partner time is typically no more than one hour every two weeks.
Partners make room for adults with relevant expertise to participate in science. Teams contribute to the partner's research through a shared investigation and a useful result.
Information for donors
The Residency is free for every Resident. It is offered through the Authentic Research Access Program, a nonprofit initiative fiscally sponsored by NOPI, a registered 501(c)(3).
Donations support adult participation in scientific research and the research partners whose questions the teams investigate. Companies and foundations may support the Residency as donors, but funding does not provide access to individual Residents or influence invitations or team formation.
Authentic Research Partners is fiscally sponsored by the Nonprofit Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives, a program of NOPI INC, a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation and 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 81-5089505. Learn more at https://thenopi.org.