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.

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

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 

Registration for this workshop is free of charge. Please note that space is limited due to the workshop format. Priority will be given to oral and poster presenters whose abstract is accepted, with remaining spots opened to the broader community on a first-come, first-served basis in early-to-mid April. Due to the free registration model, our ability to provide travel support for early career scientists will be limited.

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: 

We are pleased to announce the following tutorial sessions:

• Peter Ferguson (University of Washington) — Rubin/LSST
• Eduardo Balbinot (Leiden Observatory) — Euclid
• Sergey Koposov (University of Edinburgh) — DESI
• Ilija Medan (Vanderbilt University) — SDSS
• Robyn Sanderson (University of Pennsylvania) — FIRE
• Alex Riley (Lund University) — Auriga

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