The next wave of astronomical surveys -- including the Rubin Observatory, Euclid, DESI, 4MOST, Gaia DR4, and more -- will transform near-field cosmology into a precision laboratory. Billions of stars and hundreds of faint galaxies will soon be available with full six-dimensional phase-space information and detailed chemical “fingerprints,” while new simulations make it possible to follow galaxy assembly down to galactic and sub-galactic scales.

At the same time, long-standing tensions in the ΛCDM paradigm on small scales (including the missing-satellites, cusp–core, and too-big-to-fail problems), together with discoveries of rich dwarf galaxy populations, dynamically cold stellar streams, and extremely metal-poor relics in the Milky Way, M31, and beyond, demand new data-driven approaches to understand the structure and evolution of galaxies and the nature of dark matter.

This workshop will focus on near-field cosmology in the Local Group and beyond, with particular emphasis on:

• dwarf galaxies with resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and M31 systems
• stellar streams as probes of galaxy assembly, the Galactic potential, and dark matter substructure;
• constraints on dark matter physics from nearby galaxies and their satellites;
• “first-star archaeology” using metal-poor stars in the halo, dwarf galaxies, and streams;
• extending near-field techniques to galaxies beyond the Local Group.

We aim to bring together three overlapping communities:

• observers exploiting current and upcoming surveys;
• theorists and numerical astrophysicists developing galaxy and dark-matter simulations;
• data-science specialists creating machine-learning and statistical tools capable of handling petabyte-scale data.

Program Structure

The meeting will take place at the Fields Institute on July 20–24, 2026. Mornings and early afternoons will feature a blend of invited review talks and shorter contributed presentations, with ample time for open discussion. Each afternoon will include 1-2 hour hands-on tutorials designed to teach participants -- especially early-career researchers -- how to work directly with the newest observational (e.g., Rubin, Euclid, DESI, SDSS) or simulation data sets.

All presentations are expected to be delivered in person.

The workshop will include ~20 posters and 1-2 flash-talk sessions.

Coffee breaks and lunch will be provided.

Key Dates:

• Dec 1, 2025: First announcement; abstract submission opens (including travel support requests)
• March 1, 2026: Abstract submission deadline
• April 1, 2026: Abstract and travel support decisions announced
• April 15, 2026: Speaker acceptance deadline; registration opens
• May 15, 2026: Registration closes (or earlier if capacity is reached)
• July 20, 2026: Workshop begins

Registration Fee 

(through Eventbrite at a later date)

• $250 CAD
• $150 CAD for students (undergraduate and graduate)

Invited Speakers (Review Talks)

Michelle Collins (U. Surrey) -- Dwarf Galaxy

Kathryn Johnston (Columbia) -- Stellar Stream

Ethan Nadler (UC San Diego) -- Dark Matter

Kim Venn (U. Victoria) -- First Star Archaeology

Annette Ferguson (U. Edinburgh) -- Beyond the Local Group

Tutorial Instructors and Topics 

TBD. Please come back in mid-Jan for the updates on the tutorial sessions.

SOC:

Jo Bovy  -- University of Toronto 

Denis Erkal -- University of Surrey

Azadeh Fattahi -- Stockholm University

Alex Ji -- University of Chicago 

Ting Li  -- University of Toronto (Chair)

Alan McConnachie -- NRC Herzberg / University of Victoria 

Sarah Pearson -- University of Copenhagen 

Nora Shipp -- University of Washington

LOC:

Ting Li  -- University of Toronto

Shane Liu  -- University of Toronto, Fields Institute 

Gustavo Medina -- University of Toronto 

Nasser Mohammed -- University of Toronto 

Gabriel Pfaffman -- University of Toronto 

Nathan Sandford -- University of Toronto 

Akshara Viswanathan -- University of Victoria / CITA

Submit your abstract at this link by March 1st, 2026.