Charting Cosmic Dawn in Copenhagen

Key information

• Dates: 12–17 April, 2026
• Location: Marienlyst Beach Hotel & Spa, just outside Copenhagen
• Abstract submission closed on 31 October 2025.
• Registration deadline for confirmed participants is 17 December 2025.

Objective

The main goal of the workshop is to gather a broad range of experts in the field, including observers and theorists, working within any of the five main themes: AGN, black hole growth, early SMBH; dust and chemical enrichment; galaxy assembly (massive galaxies, environment, SFH); galaxy formation at cosmic dawn; and reionisation in the era of JWST, ALMA, and Euclid.

The conference is designed to be inclusive of in particular early career researchers (ECRs) and the programme will consist of a diversity of invited and contributed talks, discussion sessions, and data tutorials, with some historical outings planned as well.

Scientific themes

• AGN, black hole growth, early SMBH
• Dust and chemical enrichment
• Galaxy assembly: massive galaxies, environment, SFH
• Galaxy formation at cosmic dawn
• Reionisation

Tutorial topics

• JWST planning of observations, data reduction and analysis
• Theory and simulations

Invited speakers and tutorial leads

• Hakim Atek (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, Sorbonne Université)
• Gabriel Brammer (DAWN/NBI)
• Caitlin Casey (University of California, Santa Barbara/DAWN)
• Emma Curtis-Lake (Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire)
• Jenny Greene (Princeton University)
• Kohei Inayoshi (Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University)
• Peter Jakobsen (DAWN/NBI)
• Laura Keating (University of Edinburgh)
• Rohan Naidu (MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research)
• Desika Narayanan (University of Florida/DAWN)
• Ryan Sanders (University of Kentucky)
• Irene Shivaei (Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC–INTA)
• Charlotte Simmonds (Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile)
• Rachel Somerville (Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute)
• Laura Sommovigo (Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute)
• Daniel Stark (University of California, Berkeley)
• Hannah Übler (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik)
• Francesco Valentino (DAWN/DTU Space)
• Christina Williams (NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory)

Scientific organising committee (SOC)

Kasper Heintz • Joris Witstok • Charlotte Mason • Renske Smit • Pascal Oesch • Masami Ouchi • Jorge Zavala • Sandro Tacchella • Pratika Dayal • Mirko Curti • Anna de Graaff • Jorryt Matthee • Danial Langeroodi

Local organising committee (LOC)

Kasper Heintz • Joris Witstok • Clara Pollock • Chamilla Terp • Koki Kakiichi • Peter Laursen • Rashmi Gottumukkala • Darach Watson • Helena Baungaard