  We present initial results from a population synthesis model aimed at
determining the star formation rate of the Milky-Way. We find that a total star
formation rate of 0.68 to 1.45 Msun/yr is able to reproduce the observed number
of young stellar objects in the Spitzer/IRAC GLIMPSE survey of the Galactic
plane, assuming simple prescriptions for the 3D Galactic distributions of YSOs
and interstellar dust, and using model SEDs to predict the brightness and color
of the synthetic YSOs at different wavelengths. This is the first Galaxy-wide
measurement derived from pre-main-sequence objects themselves, rather than
global observables such as the total radio continuum, Halpha, or FIR flux. The
value obtained is slightly lower than, but generally consistent with previously
determined values. We will extend this method in the future to fit the
brightness, color, and angular distribution of YSOs, and simultaneously make
use of multiple surveys, to place constraints on the input assumptions, and
reduce uncertainties in the star formation rate estimate. Ultimately, this will
be one of the most accurate methods for determining the Galactic star formation
rate, as it makes use of stars of all masses (limited only by sensitivity)
rather than solely massive stars or indirect tracers of massive stars.
