All times listed below are in Toronto’s local time (Eastern Standard Time, EDT).
Sunday, August 23, 2026
Time | Event |
6:00 p.m. | Meet in main lobby of Chelsea hotel. |
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | Drinks and Dinner at Snakes and Lattes on College St (Optional) Please note: Attendees will be responsible for their own food and drink at this optional social gathering. |
Monday, August 24, 2026 | Catalyst
All events on Monday August 24 are scheduled to be held at the Chestnut Conference Centre in Toronto.
2026 LSST–DA Catalyst Symposium
Time (Eastern Standard) | Event |
8:15 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Breakfast – Terrace Room, Registration – Terrace Room |
9:00 a.m. | Welcome (Jeno Sokoloski) – Terrace Room (Zoom) Welcome slides |
9:15 a.m.– 10:30 a.m | Plenary 1 (Paula Sanchez Saez and Renee Hlozek) – Terrace Room (Zoom) |
10:30 a.m.– 10:45 a.m | Morning Break (Coffee Available)– Terrace Room |
11:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m | Postdoc lightning talks– Terrace Room |
12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Introduction to Hack Session (Viraj Karambelkar and Huei Sears)– Terrace Room |
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Lunch – Terrace Room |
2:00 p.m.– 3:15 p.m | Plenary 2 Cross–disciplinary research at the nexus of the social sciences and astronomy/astrophysics (Jana Diesner–zoom, Lois Trautvetter, Jarita Holbrock, Anissa Tanweer)– Terrace Room (Zoom) |
3:15 p.m.– 3:30 p.m | Afternoon Break (Coffee Available)– Terrace Room |
3:45 p.m.– 4:30 p.m | Hack Day Pitches (Viraj Karambelkar and Huei Sears)/Informal Networking– Terrace Room |
5:00 p.m. | 5:30 Symposium Dinner at CN Tower. Meet in the main lobby of the Chelsea Hotel at 5:00pm. |
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 | Catalyst Symposium Hackathon
All events on Tuesday Aug 25 are scheduled to be held at the Chestnut Conference Centre in Toronto.
2026 LSST–DA Catalyst Symposium
Time (Eastern Standard) | Event |
8:15 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Breakfast – Terrace Room |
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Plenary 3 RSP Data Access (Melissa Graham) – Terrace Room |
10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Hack Day Pitches Re–visit (Viraj Karambelkar and Huei Sears) – Terrace Room |
10:30 a.m.– 10:45 a.m | Morning Break (Coffee Available)– Terrace Room |
10:30 a.m. | Hack Event – Multiple Rooms |
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Lunch Available – Terrace Room |
3:15 p.m.– 3:30 p.m | Afternoon Break (Coffee Available) – Terrace Room |
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Hackathon Report/Wrap Up (Viraj Karambelkar and Huei Sears)– Terrace Room |
6:00 p.m. | Dinner on your own: Suggestions Below: The Chinatown, Kensington Market, and Baldwin Village Neighbourhood all have plenty of amazing food options. Favorites include: -Koh Lipe Thai Kitchen -Cottage Cheese Urban Indian -Mexhico Foods -Mother’s Dumplings |
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 | Catalyst Symposium – Postdoc Summer Camp Day
All events on Wednesday Aug 26 are scheduled to be held at the Chestnut Conference Centre in Toronto.
2026 LSST–DA Catalyst Symposium
Time (Eastern Standard) | Event |
8:15 a.m. – 9:00 am | Breakfast – Terrace Room |
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Breakout Session 1 1a. Alert broker hands–on workshop – Alejandra Muñoz Arancibia and Paula Sanchez Saez (Terrace East Room) 1b. Getting a Faculty Job – Renee Hlozek *co–working session bring your materials. (Terrace West Room) 1c. Time Management Alanna Shaikh (Lawrence room, Zoom) |
10:30 a.m.– 10:45 a.m | Morning Break (Coffee Available) – Terrace Room |
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Breakout Session 2 2a. Alert broker hands–on workshop – Alejandra Muñoz Arancibia and Paula Sanchez Saez (Terrace East Room) 2b. AI Show and Tell – Yuanyuan Zhang (Terrace West Room) 2c. Crafting your CV – Ana Gabela *Bring your cv to discuss. (Lawrence room) |
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Lunch – Terrace Room |
2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Breakout Session 3 3a. Writing successful proposals – Jeno Sokoloski (Terrace East Room) 3b. Getting a Faculty Job – Renee Hlozek *co–working session bring your materials. (Terrace West Room) 3c. Crafting your CV – Ana Gabela *Bring your cv to discuss (Lawrence room, Zoom |
3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Afternoon Break (Coffee Available) Terrace Room |
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Breakout Session 4 4a. Time Management – Alanna Shaikh (Terrace East Room) 4b. AI Show and Tell – Yuanyuan Zhang (Terrace West Room) 4c. Values-Based Leadership – Megan Taylor Morrison (St Lawrence room) |
6:00 p.m. | Symposium Picnic at the Islands. Drinks and Snacks provided – Meet in main lobby of Chelsea hotel. |
Thursday, August 27, 2026 | Catalyst Symposium
All events on Wednesday Aug 27 are scheduled to be held at the Chestnut Conference Centre in Toronto.
2026 LSST–DA Catalyst Symposium
Time (Eastern Standard) | Event |
8:15 a.m. – 9:00 am. | Breakfast – Terrace Room |
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Breakout Session 5 5a. Career Panel – Paula Sanchez Saez, Yuanyuan Zhang, Saavik Ford, Tanveer Karim, Jennifer Scora (Terrace East Room) 5b. Writing successful proposals – Jeno Sokoloski (Terrace West Room) 5c. Values-Based Leadership – Megan Taylor Morrison (St Lawrence room) |
10:30 a.m.– 10:45 a.m | Morning Break (Coffee Available)– Terrace Room |
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m | Structured Networking/Closing (Terrace room) |
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Lunch – Terrace Room |
FORMAL END OF CONFERENCE
The conference rooms are available for groups to gather until 5 p.m.. Feel free to continue working/networking until 5 p.m..
Departure
Thanks for coming and we wish you safe travels!
LSST Discovery Alliance gratefully acknowledges the John Templeton Foundation for its support of the Catalyst Fellowship the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics. Thank you!
