FISCI (Find Scientists and Science Communicators Interface) is a professional web application for exploring and discovering the scientific community on Bluesky. It helps researchers, academics, institutions, and organizations find scientists, science communicators, and research communities based on expertise, interests, and network connections.

1. Search: Enter keywords related to research areas, disciplines, or topics. FISCI searches through profile descriptions, names, and self-identified expertise.
2. Sort: Sort results by followers, network centrality, posts, or alphabetically to find the most relevant profiles.
3. View networks: Click “View network” on any profile to visualize their connections and discover related scientists.
4. Visit profiles: Open anyone's Bluesky account directly from their result or from the network view.

• Discover experts: Find researchers and science communicators in your field or related disciplines
• Build networks: Identify well-connected scientists who can amplify your work or research
• Explore communities: Visualize how different research communities connect on Bluesky
• Stay connected: Keep up with the growing scientific presence on Bluesky
• Career development: Find potential collaborators, mentors, or colleagues in your research area
• Institutional research: Map scientific communities and identify key opinion leaders for organizational purposes

FISCI uses a network-based discovery approach:

1. Seed selection: Starts with a key scientist account (currently lassehjorthmadsen.bsky.social)
2. Network expansion: Analyzes follow relationships to discover connected scientist accounts
3. Profile classification: Identifies scientific profiles based on keywords, descriptions, and network patterns
4. Centrality analysis: Calculates each profile's importance in the network
5. Community detection: Groups scientists into research communities based on connection patterns

For detailed technical information about the algorithm and methodology, visit the project documentation.

No. FISCI contains a sample of scientists on Bluesky, not a complete database:

• Coverage: Currently includes profiles discovered through network expansion from seed accounts
• Platform-specific: Only includes scientists with public Bluesky accounts
• Discovery-based: New profiles are continuously added as the network expands
• Growing dataset: As more scientists join Bluesky, FISCI's coverage improves automatically

Note: The database represents Bluesky's scientific community structure, not the complete global scientific community.

All data comes from publicly available Bluesky profiles and follow relationships:

• Source: Bluesky's public API
• Update frequency: Weekly automated updates
• Data age: Profiles collected September 25, 2026; network collected September 25, 2026
• Privacy: Only public profile information is used; no private data is collected

FISCI offers multiple subscription tiers to meet different needs:

• Trial: Free for 14 days with full functionality
• Individual: $299/year for individual researchers
• Non-profit: $499/year for up to 10 users (includes newsletter from Mike Young Academy)
• Commercial: $699/year for up to 20 users (includes priority bandwidth and beta access)

All paid subscriptions include a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the Pricing page for complete details.

FISCI automatically discovers profiles through network connections:

1. Be on Bluesky: Have an active public Bluesky account
2. Use keywords: Include research-related terms in your profile description (e.g., “researcher”, “PhD”, “professor”, “scientist”)
3. Connect: Follow and interact with other scientists on Bluesky
4. Wait: New profiles are discovered during weekly network updates

No manual submission is required — FISCI's algorithm will find you as the network expands!

Centrality is a measure of how important or influential a person is within a network. FISCI uses betweenness centrality, which measures how often someone sits on the shortest communication path between other people in the network.

Think of it like this:

• High betweenness: You act as a bridge between different groups, controlling information flow through the network
• Strategic position: You may not have the most connections, but you connect groups that wouldn't otherwise communicate
• Information broker: Messages between many scientists pass through you, giving you influence over what information spreads

Unlike simply counting followers, betweenness centrality identifies people who serve as crucial bridges between different research communities. For a detailed explanation with examples, see the centrality explainer.

The centrality score measures your relative importance within the Bluesky scientific network, not scientific impact:

• Network-based: Reflects connection patterns, not publication metrics
• Dynamic: Changes as the network evolves and new connections form
• Relative: Compares your position to other scientists in the database
• Not citations: This is NOT an h-index, citation count, or traditional impact measure

Minimal collection. FISCI collects only what's necessary to provide the service and process payments. We collect your name, email, and billing information (for paid plans), plus basic usage analytics to improve the service. We do not store your search queries long-term or track detailed browsing behavior. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

Yes! We welcome feedback from our users:

• Support: Email us at [email protected]
• Contact the creator: Reach out via Bluesky

FISCI was created by Lasse Hjorth Madsen, a Data Scientist, to help scientists discover and connect with each other on Bluesky.