We're launching ATProto for Science (or ATScience for short) - an initiative to connect and support researchers, developers, and communities exploring how ATProto can serve research, education, and open knowledge work.
Announcing atproto.science! #ATproto has huge potential for supporting new ways of doing research, so we started @atproto.science to help bring together researchers, build community, and explore what's possible when science meets cutting-edge open social network protocols! š§Ŗ >
Why Now?
ATProto has huge potential for supporting new ways of doing research, and this initiative is intended to help catalyze the efforts that will get us there!
Research communities face increasing fragmentation, platform fragility, and funding uncertainty. Science social media has long suffered from commercial platforms that come and go, change their policies, and in some cases actively extract value from the communities that sustain them. Meanwhile, government cuts to science funding make resilient, self-governed infrastructure more critical than ever.
ATProto offers the promise of research networks that communities can meaningfully build, control, adapt, and maintain themselves.
What Is ATScience?
ATScience is currently an exciting nascent space - we're seeing many emerging projects, including:
Researchers using Bluesky for science communication and collaboration
Lively discussions around new visions for science social media
Builders creating research tools tools on Bluesky and ATProto: credentials, feeds, review and curation
These efforts exist, but they are still scattered. ATScience aims to weave them together, creating spaces for connection, collaboration, and shared learning.
Groups like Blacksky and Northsky are exploring community governed social media infrastructure. Could we do the same for science social media?
Who Is This For?
We're thinking broadly about "science": traditional academic research, but also community science, independent research, education, self-teaching, and any form of rigorous knowledge work.
If you're:
Building research tools or infrastructure on ATProto
Conducting research on or using Bluesky and ATProto platforms
Reimagining scholarly publishing and communication in the age of AI and open social protocols
Interested in how decentralized protocols can support new forms of research and knowledge work
Curious about alternatives to extractive academic platforms
...this is for you!
Attend Our First Gathering
Our first major event is a full-day workshop at ATmosphereConf 2026 in Vancouver, BC on March 27, 2026! For event details and registration:
Present at ATScience 2026
Want to present your work, lead a discussion, or demo your project? Weāre looking for contributors across all areas of science on ATProto, from academic research to new knowledge tools or grassroots citizen science. Submit your proposal here:
Get Involved
We're figuring this out together. If you're working on something in this space, thinking about these questions, or just curious:
Join the conversation on theĀ ATProto Science feed
Join our ATProto for Science Discourse forum and introduce yourself
Reach out atĀ hello@atproto.science you want to help shape what ATProto for Science becomes