The American Association for the Advancement of Science welcomes the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) community to the 2026 EPSCoR Annual Summit in New Orleans, Louisiana. We look forward to sharing research and leading practices from project researchers, students, and staff from 28 EPSCoR jurisdictions — plus regional leaders to share stories from their work.
The Annual Summit will begin for PIs on May 19, 2026, and for all other participants on May 20, 2026. The event will conclude for everyone on May 22, 2026.
Below you will find details regarding PI and Co-PI summit registration, a call for concurrent and poster sessions, and how to nominate project personnel for travel awards.
Agenda
View the full agenda here.
EPSCoR Principal Investigators (PIs)
PIs and Co-PIs, as well as PAs, should use their designated grant funds to attend the Annual Summit. The EPSCoR PI Meeting portion of the Summit will begin on May 19 at 5:00pm CT.
Registration Costs: The general registration fee is $150. Registration closed on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Hotel Information
The Annual Summit hotel block at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside has a nightly rate of $255. The AAAS room block is available on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage PIs to reserve their room as soon as possible! Instructions for booking your hotel stay on the AAAS room block will be available in your registration confirmation email.
Travel Awardees
The Annual Summit will take place at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside in New Orleans, LA, starting on May 20 through May 22, 2026 (May 19 is for PIs only).
Registration: All travel awardees receive a link to register via email. If you have not received your registration email, please contact: epscor@aaas.org
Travel awards will cover the cost of flights/train, registration fees, and lodging. AAAS will make your hotel reservation and provide travel instructions upon registration. You will coordinate your own travel via our travel agent, but AAAS will cover the costs.
All travel awardees will receive a travel stipend at registration in New Orleans. Travel stipends will be in the form of a gift card with a preloaded amount determined by GSA per diem rates. Travel stipends are meant to cover any meals not included in the meeting, ground transportation, baggage fees, and miscellaneous expenses. If you are local or pre-approved to drive a personal vehicle you will receive instructions for reimbursement of expenses instead of the travel stipend. Additional information regarding travel stipends will be provided after you have registered.
FAQs
EPSCoR 2026 Annual Summit Frequently Asked Questions.
Sessions & Poster Submissions
The Annual Summit will feature the following session types:
- 90-minute interactive workshops: These sessions are intended to provide an extended journey into a project’s research and should offer significant engagement through structured activities, practice opportunities or group work that builds participant skills or deepens knowledge. The goal is for participants to learn by doing through hands on engagement.
- 60-minute expert workshops: These PI-led sessions showcase EPSCoR projects by sharing insights and experiences. We encourage PIs to include information about the genesis of the project, lessons learned, challenges faced, and ideas for sharing the research with the broader community. The goal is to provide an inside look at the project’s development through expert insight and project storytelling.
- Flash Talks: These 8-minute talks are designed to give participants a concise overview of a success or challenge that the project faced. AAAS will organize flash talks into sessions of 4-5 presenters. Each session will include the set of flash talks followed by Q&A.
- Poster Presentations: PIs, students, and postdoctoral researchers are invited to submit posters highlighting their EPSCoR-funded research. As a valuable professional development opportunity, students and postdoctoral researchers are strongly encouraged to participate.
For further information about the summit, please contact us at EPSCoR@aaas.org.