Eligibility Policy v1.0

SPHERE is open to all researchers, teachers, students and entrepreneurs, except those residing in the US-embargoed countries. The list of countries that are under US embargo may be found at this link.

Current Applicants

SPHERE is an NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure construction project. During this project (2023 - 2027) operations and use will be through a beta user program. Infrastructure stability is not guaranteed and will continuously increase in capabilities. Initial beta users will be from the US research, development, and education communities and will receive priority approval. Other potential users may apply, but may be asked to postpone their application until we reach operation status. If in doubt, please apply and we will let you know promptly if we can approve your application.

Researchers

Any researcher is welcome to apply for a SPHERE account.

Graduate Students

If you are a graduate student, you are welcome to apply for trial membership, but your use of resources may be restricted. We will request that you ask your academic advisor to apply for an account and create a project, which you can then join, to get access to a wider set of resources.

Teachers

Teachers are welcome to apply to use SPHERE in their classes. Please indicate on your application that this is your intended use.

Industry

Businesses are welcome to use SPHERE to test their technology. If you plan to use SPHERE to offer services to customers, we ask that you discuss this use with us. That kind of use may require a fee.