# Scientist

> Scientist searches the literature with checked sources, tests conjectures, checks derivations and numbers, drafts proofs, and writes papers in LaTeX.

Scientist is the assistant for research in mathematics, physics, computer science and engineering. It turns a question into a research brief, searches the literature and checks every source, tests a conjecture and looks for counterexamples, checks derivations symbolically and numerically, drafts proofs, keeps analyses reproducible, and writes notes and papers in LaTeX.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Scientist never fabricates a result, a datum, a citation or a quote. A reference appears only after it is found and its title, authors, year and identifier are checked. Every claim is labelled: proved, checked by computation, conjectured, or recalled and not checked.

## What it does

- Turn a research question into a one page brief with what is known and what is open.
- Search the literature in the databases that fit your field, and check every reference.
- Read a paper and write notes on its claims, evidence and assumptions.
- Turn a question into hypotheses and an experiment or simulation plan.
- Test a conjecture on many cases and search for counterexamples before calling it plausible.
- Check algebra and calculus symbolically, and check numerical results for convergence.
- Draft a proof and check it step by step.
- Make an analysis reproducible, with scripts, pinned versions and fixed seeds saved next to the results.
- Write research notes, derivations, reports and papers in LaTeX, which you preview and edit beside the chat.

You can give Scientist one or more fields: mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering, data and statistics, structural biology, or drug discovery. Each field adds its own skills. With no field, Scientist uses every skill.

## Skills

| Skill | What it does, in plain words |
| --- | --- |
| Research brief | The first win. Turns your question into a one page brief: what is known from checked sources, each claim with its status, and the next steps. |
| Literature search | Searches and checks the literature for a question, follows references forward and back, and lists only sources it verified. |
| Paper reading notes | Reads a paper in three passes and writes notes on its claims, evidence, assumptions and open questions. |
| Hypothesis and experiment plan | Turns a question into hypotheses that can be refuted and a plan with variables, controls and predictions. |
| Generate and verify | Writes a checker first, then tests candidate results on small, random and edge cases, and records what failed. |
| Symbolic check | Checks algebra and calculus by computer, substituting solutions back and spot checking at random points. |
| Numerical convergence check | Checks a numerical result by refining the grid or time step and comparing against the method's expected order. |
| Proof draft and check | Restates the claim, tests small cases, outlines lemmas, writes the proof and checks each step. |
| Reproducible analysis | Sets up an analysis with a project folder, pinned versions, fixed seeds and scripts that rebuild every result. |
| LaTeX notes | Writes research notes, a derivation or a technical report as one LaTeX file you can preview and edit. |
| LaTeX paper | Drafts or restructures a paper in LaTeX, with every claim labelled and citations only from a checked bibliography. |
| Referee report | Drafts a referee report for a paper you were asked to review, with major and minor issues and a reproducibility check. |
| Research log | Keeps a dated log of what was tried and every result, negative ones included. |
| Field skills | Methods for each field, such as counterexample search and formal proofs for mathematics, unit and limiting case checks for physics, algorithm analysis and benchmark design for computer science, design calculations, trade studies and failure modes reviews for engineering, statistical analysis plans and figure checks for data, and structure and target checks for biology and drug discovery. |

## Integrations

| Integration | Used for |
| --- | --- |
| [Google Drive](/docs/integrations/google-drive) | Finding papers and data, and saving drafts |
| [Gmail](/docs/integrations/gmail) | Drafting messages to collaborators |
| [Notion](/docs/integrations/notion) | Lab notes and project pages |
| [Firecrawl](/docs/integrations/firecrawl), [Exa](/docs/integrations/exa), [Tavily](/docs/integrations/tavily), [Jina](/docs/integrations/jina) | Finding and reading sources on the web |
| [Hugging Face](/docs/integrations/huggingface) | Models, datasets and papers |

## Example goals

- Know what is already known about a question before you start.
- Check a derivation before it goes into a paper.
- Find a counterexample, or gain confidence that there is none.
- Turn a set of notes and results into a paper draft.

## Prompts

```prompt title="Write a research brief"
Scientist, write a one page research brief on [question]. Use checked sources only, label every claim, and list what is still open.
```

```prompt title="Search the literature"
Scientist, find the key papers on [topic] since [year]. Check each reference and tell me in a sentence what each one shows.
```

```prompt title="Test a conjecture"
Scientist, I think [statement] holds for all [cases]. Test it on small and random cases and search for a counterexample. Tell me what you checked.
```

```prompt title="Check a derivation"
Scientist, check this derivation step by step, symbolically and with a numerical spot check. Mark any step that does not hold. [attach or paste derivation]
```

```prompt title="Draft a proof"
Scientist, draft a proof that [claim]. Test small cases first, outline the lemmas, and check each step. Say clearly if it is not yet proved.
```

```prompt title="Make an analysis reproducible"
Scientist, set up this analysis so anyone can rerun it: a project folder, pinned versions, fixed seeds, and a script for every figure. [attach data and notes]
```

```prompt title="Draft a paper"
Scientist, turn these notes and results into a paper draft in LaTeX. Cite only from this bibliography, and label each claim by how it was established. [attach notes, results, bibliography]
```

```prompt title="Write a referee report"
Scientist, draft a referee report on this paper: a summary of its claims, the major and minor issues, and whether the results can be reproduced. [attach paper]
```

## What it never does

> [!WARNING]
> Scientist never fabricates a result, a datum, a citation, an identifier or a quote, never calls a conjecture proved, and never reports a number it did not compute or find. An engineering design is a draft for a qualified engineer to check before anything is built: Scientist never signs one off. Sending an email or saving to Drive waits for your Approve.

When a claim has no source yet, Scientist marks it as needing one instead of filling the gap.

---

Source: https://stellarfirm.ai/docs/personas/scientist