August 17-21, 2026
at the University of Cologne

We are excited to announce a conference that will bring together the world’s top researchers in the field of massive star formation and evolution, with a focus on the latest advances in simulations and observations. This meeting will provide a unique opportunity to explore the latest discoveries and advancements in our understanding of the habitats of massive stars across cosmic time.

Massive stars shape the evolution of galaxies through their intense radiation, feedback and ultimate deaths, yet their habitats and impact vary widely across cosmic time. Understanding the life cycle of baryonic matter, the chemical enrichment of the Universe and the regulation of star formation requires two major steps: first, bridging the large dynamic range in scale from sub-parsec dense clumps where stars are born up to hundreds of kiloparsecs in the circumgalactic medium that is affected by their feedback, and second, comparing environments that range from quiescent, nearby spiral galaxies to turbulent, high-redshift starbusts. This symposium aims to unite experts in observations, theory, simulations, laboratory astrophysics and instrumentation to identify the key physical and chemical processes governing the formation and impact of massive stars in their diverse cosmic habitats. The main questions to be addressed will focus on how universal the massive star formation process is across these diverse environments, how efficient stellar feedback is in dispersing different media, and whether the processes and structures observed locally are universal across the Universe. 

A decision on the contributed talks will be announced until July 15

The program will cover the habitats of massive stars in our Galaxy and at high redshift, discussing the physics and chemistry of star formation and stellar feedback.

Preliminary dates:

Beginn of the symposium: Monday, 9am
End of the symposium: Friday 6pm

Welcome Evening (17.8.26)
The conference will start with a welcome event combined with a first poster session. There will be snacks and wine.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion lunch session (18.8.26)
A dedicated lunch session focusing on diversity and inclusion will be held during the symposium. Registration is required (Tab: Events)

Social run (18.8.26)

Early career researchers lunch session (19.8.26)
A dedicated lunch session for ECRs focusing on career paths in Astronomy will be held during the symposium. Registration is required (Tab: Events)

Public talk (19.8.26)
We welcome you to a public talk during our conference. 3 Scientists from the CRC 1601 will contribute to the conference with an easily understandable and fun lecture about Astronomy.

Social Event (20.8.26)

We have booked English tours of the Old town in Cologne. In small groups you will ! be  taken on a journey through time: from Roman Colonia to medieval Cologne with its churches, guilds and merchants, through the times of war destruction and reconstruction to modern urban development and today’s Cologne.

Conference Dinner (20.8.26)

We are pleased to announce that during the conference dinner taking place at Herbrand’s (Ehrenfeld) on Thursday evening, Jürgen Stutzki will deliver a talk detailing the developments and history of the CCAT project.

Welcome reception: Monday evening
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Lunch: Tuesday lunchtime
Social run: Tuesday evening
Early career researchers Lunch: Wednesday lunchtime
Public talk: Wednesday evening
Social event: Thursday afternoon
Conference dinner: Thursday 7pm

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion lunch event

Tuesday, 18.08.2025
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

What comes to mind when you hear the word “diversity”? It is not an exclusive club but rather the collective story of everyone in the room. After all, diversity is the spice of life, it’s about culture, background, language, gender, disability, identity, beliefs, life experiences: all the things that shape how we see the world and how the world sees us.

We would like to invite all SFB Symposium participants to join us for an informal Diversity and Inclusion Lunch. Taking place around a shared lunch (provided by the organization), this event is designed as a relaxed and interactive space to meet other participants, exchange experiences, and discuss how we can build a more inclusive, accessible, and supportive astrophysics community. 

Participants will join themed discussion tables covering topics such as:

• Inclusion in large collaborations
• Early-career researchers
• Accessibility and neurodiversity in academia
• Mobility, caregiving, and work-life balance
• Respectful and inclusive research cultures

We hope you will join us for an open, thoughtful, and friendly conversation alongside the scientific programme. No preparation or prior expertise is needed, everyone is welcome, from students to senior researchers. You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need to have the “right” opinions. You don’t even need to talk if you don’t feel like it: some people like to share, some prefer to just listen. If it sounds like something you’d like to try, come join us!

To help us plan the room setup and catering, we kindly ask participants to register in advance if they would like to attend the lunch discussion. 

Infos about the run will be announced soon!

Early career researchers lunch event

Wednesday, 19.08.2025
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

We invite all early career researchers to attend our ECR Lunch, which will take place on Wednesday 19th August during the lunch break between 12:30 and 14:00. This will be an informal Q&A panel format event where lunch will be provided by the organizers, and we will have three invited panelists who have followed different career paths in astrophysics. We will have panelists from academia (PostDoc), industry, and the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR).

• Dr Divita Gupta – a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at the University of Cologne (learn more about her current research and academic journey here (link: https://decodingastrochemysteries-divitagupta.com/)!
• Dr Maude Charmetant – a scientific advisor at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) (learn more about her experience on her LinkedIn (link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maude-charmetant-05259010a). 
• A third speaker from industry.  

The students and postdocs will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions about their current positions, their previous experience, the process of job hunting in Germany and the opportunities available to them during and after pursuing academic careers in astrophysics research.

To help us plan the room setup and catering, we kindly ask participants to register in advance if they would like to attend the lunch discussion. 

Tour of the Cologne Old Town and View of the Cathedral

Thursday, 20.08.2025
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Conference Dinner at Herbrand’s Ehrenfeld

Thursday, 20.08.2026
starting 6:30 pm

The Herbrand’s is a restaurant, club & beer garden in the hip area of Ehrenfeld in a former industrial building.
The venue combines the traditional Kölsch beergarden with a modern urban-style atmosphere.

The conference dinner will be a “summer buffet”, music and a surprise. Every participant will get vouchers for 2 drinks, more are available at fair rates.

The conference will take place on the campus of the University of Cologne.

Main building/ Hauptgebäude (Gebäude 100), Aula
Albertus-Magnus-Platz 1
50931 Köln

The venue can best be reached by tram #9 (Stop “Universität”) or by train to station “Köln Süd” (not barrier-free). Parking is difficult and should be arranged at your hotel.

The conference rooms can be reached barrier-free with a Euro-key. Please contact us if you need assistance.

Lunch is not organized by the conference, but there are many options on and around the University campus.

The Kölner Studentenwerk runs a number of canteens at which conference attendees can benefit from the ‘Guest’ rates by showing their conference name tag. Please note that only cards are accepted.

The bistro closest to the conference venue ist the Uni E-Raum which is only one floor below the Aula. A larger variety of warm dishes is served at the Mensa (Zülpicher Straße 70). They also offer vegan and vegetarian options, and the daily menu and food options for each of their locations can be viewed on their website https://www.kstw.de/speiseplan/. Food is served between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm.

The surrounding areas along Zülpicher Straße offer a variety of food options and invite you to spend some time in a typical Cologne bar, enjoying the University nightlife.

See full screen

To plan your visit in Cologne, we recommend this page: https://www.cologne-tourism.com/arts-culture/sights

The maximum space for poster presentations is A0 portrait format (width: 841 mm, height: 1189 mm). Poster spaces will be available for accepted abstracts only.

Please note that registration is mandatory to participate in the conference.
The following link leads you to the registration page of our partner Converia. This link is also valid for uploading your abstract (also named “Paper” in the registration system). Only registered participants may upload an abstract. Details about the conditions can be found further below.

Important dates:

• Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 4, 2026
• Deadline for early bird registration: April 15, 2026
• Deadline for regular registrations is June 30, 2026.

The following services are included in the basic registration fee: 

1. Coffee breaks with snacks throughout the conference
2. Welcome reception with scientific talks and drinks
3. Excursion
4. Science dinner on Thursday (August 20, 2026)

Please indicate your participation for points 2 to 4 and add your food preferences during the registration process.

Conference Fees

	early bird	regular
Regular participants	€ 300	€ 360
online participation	€ 120	€ 120
Invited Speakers, Invited Guests, and Accredited Journalists	free	free

Please note: Only credit card payment is possible.

Cancellation Policy

Your conference fee will be partially refunded (50%) if you cancel your registration until June 30, 2026.
Cancellation with full refund (excl. a handling fee of 10€) will be possible until 1 week after the announcement of the SOC only for registered participants, for whom the SOC selected neither a submitted talk abstract nor a submitted poster abstract.

Hotels close to the venue (shorter distances at the top):
All can be reached by public transport

Apartmenthotel Sleepy Inn
Uni Center, Luxemburger Str. 124-136
50939 Köln

Stayery Köln Sülz
Weißhausstr. 23a
50674 Cologne

Black Sheep Hostel
Barbarossaplatz 1
50674 Cologne

Nuno Hotel
Barbarossapl. 4A
50674 Cologne

Hotel Esplanade
Hohenstaufenring 56
50674 Cologne

IBIS Köln Centrum
Neue Weyerstrasse 4
50676 Cologne

Maison Marsil
Marsilstein 25-27
50676 Cologne

Motel 1 Neumarkt
Cäcilienstraße 32
50667 Cologne

Youth Hostels in Cologne:

Youth hostel DJH Cologne Deutz
Siegesstr. 5
50679 Cologne
https://www.jugendherberge.de/jugendherbergen/koeln-deutz/

Youth hostel DJH Cologne Riehl
An der Schanz 14
50735 Cologne
https://www.jugendherberge.de/jugendherbergen/koeln-riehl/

Abstract submission is only possible after registration to the conference (deadline for abstract submission: May 4, 2026). After logging in to your registration profile (available here https://uni-koeln.converia.de/frontend/index.php?folder_id=616&page_id= ), click on “Submit new paper” and follow the instructions.

A decision on the contributed talks will be announced until July 15

Please use the template provided further down on this page or download it during the submission process. Please strictly stick to the page limit of one page and upload a zip file including your LaTeX file (.tx) and the figure.

During abstract submission, you will be able to select a poster presentation or a contributed talk (15 min). Decisions on the acceptance of contributed talks will be made by the scientific organizing committee. If not accepted as a contributed talk, contributions will be converted into a poster presentation. Early career researchers are particularly encouraged to submit contributions as talks.

Abstract template: 

Cancellation with full refund (excl. a handling fee of 10€) will be possible until 1 week after the announcement of the SOC only for registered participants, for whom the SOC selected neither a submitted talk abstract nor a submitted poster abstract.

The CRC 1601 as the organizer of this Symposium is committed to conduct the meeting to be productive and enjoyable for everyone. The organizers will not tolerate harassment of participants in any way. By attending this Symposium you agree to:

• Behave professionally. Exclusionary or offensive comments or jokes related to personal attributes are not appropriate.
• Personal attributes covered by this policy include but are not limited to (alphabetically): age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, lactation, nationality, physical appearance, political affiliation, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and status as a caregiver (including as a parent).
• Unacceptable behavior includes, but is not limited to, sustained disruption of talks or other events, unwelcome physical contact, sexual attention or innuendo, intimidation, stalking and recording of an individual without consent. Consent for photography may be assumed only when the subject is giving a talk during the Symposium or during the official shooting of the conference photo.
• Communicate appropriately. Aim for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery are not acceptable.
• Be kind. Do not insult or put down other meeting participants.

All participants are empowered to request that undesirable behavior be stopped. Participants asked to stop any behavior inconsistent with this Meeting CoC are expected to comply immediately. The Symposium will have two designated Meeting Contact People with the authority to take action up to and including requiring an attendee to leave a meeting. In addition to the Meeting Contact People, any participant who wishes to discuss a violation of the Meeting CoC can speak, in confidence, to the Chair of CRC 1601.

This is a hybrid meeting – Refrain from sharing any pictures or recording from this meeting without explicit written consent.

The Code of Conduct applies in all conference spaces.

Meeting Contact Persons: 

The LOC may be contacted at any time. You will recognise them from their badges during the conference.

loc-msf2026 [at] ph1.uni-koeln.de

Abe	Daisei	Tohoku University / CEA Paris-Saclay
Aberfelds	Artis	Ventspils University of Applied Sciences
Adscheid	Sylvia	Argelander Institut für Astronomie – Universität Bonn
Alt	Henrik Silas	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Anguera Gonzalez	Alexia	European Southern Observatory (ESO) / University of Barcelona
Arai	Reiji	Shizuoka University / NAOJ
Asvany	Oskar	Universität zu Köln
Bazzi	Zein	University of Bonn
Bertoldi	Frank	Argelander Institut für Astronomie – Universität Bonn
Beyer	Aaron	University of Cologne
Bigiel	Frank
Böhm	Lennart	European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Böing	Julian	Universität zu Köln
Bomans	Dominik	Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy
Bonfand	Mélisse	University of Virginia
Bordier	Emma	I. Physikalisches Institut Universität zu Köln
Borg	Francesca	University of Cologne
Bosmann	Jonas	Universität Kassel
Breloy	Isabelle	University of Cologne
Bryant	Aaron	Universität Stuttgart
Canal i Saguer	Mar	Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg (FAU)
Chayeb	Wajdee	University at Cologne
Cheema	Anahat	Max Planck Institut fuer Radioastronomie
Chen	C.-H. Rosie	MPIfR
Chen	Wei-An	Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics
Cheriyan	Amal George	Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
Chiti Tegli	Francesco	Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie
Clark	Paul	Cardiff University
Clarke	Jonathan	Univerisity of Cologne
Coors	Alice	University of Cologne PH1
Cosentino	Giuliana	Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique
Dannhauer	Simon	University of Cologne
den Brok	Jakob	MPIA
Dincer	Furkan	FZ Jülich
Egorov	Oleg	Heidelberg University
Ejlali	Golshan	IRAM Institut fuer Radioastronomie im Millimeterbereich Grenoble
Elbakyan	Vardan	University of Duisburg-Essen
Fackendahl	Petra	University of Cologne
Figueira	Miguel	National Centre for Nuclear Research
Fotopoulou	Constantina	University of Cologne
Fuchs	Guido W.	University of Kassel
Fukui	Yasuo	Nagoya University
Gabrielli	Francesco	Uppsala University
Gaches	Brandt	University of Duisburg-Essen
García	Pablo	NATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORIES OF CHINA
Garrod	Robin	University of Virginia
Gautam	Aayush	University of Virginia
Gebauer Werner	Lucia	Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn
Gerasimov	Ivan
Gerlach	Lina Marie	Keele University
Ghosh	Esan Mouli	Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen
Gieser	Caroline	Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Gol Bashmani Moghadam	Mahdieh	Brock University
Grebel	Eva	Heidelberg University
Großekathöfer	Lena	Universität  zu Köln, I. Physikalisches Institut
Grutzeck	Gerrit	Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn
Guerrero	Andrea	Argelander Institute for Astronomy, University of Bonn
Gupta	Akash	I. Physikalisches Institut Universität zu Köln
He	Hao	University of Bonn
Honingh	Netty	Uni zu Köln
Hu	Ying-Chi	Univerisity of Cologne PH1
Irons	Raina	Queen’s University
Jacob	Arshia Maria	I. Institute of Physics University of Cologne,
Kabanovic	Slawa	Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg
Kaiser	Leonard	Universität zu Köln, I. Physikalisches Institut
Kao	Jo-Shui	Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (ASIAA)
Karoly	Janik	University College London
Karoumpis	Christos	University of Bonn
Kast	Helene	Argelander Institute for Astronomy, University of Bonn
Keilmann	Eduard	I. Institute of Physics University of Cologne,
KHAN	SARWAR
Kimura	Kazutaka	Tohoku University
Kobayashi	Masato	National Institute for Fusion Science
Kocjan	Zuzanna	University of Maryland, College Park
Koda	Jin	Stony Brook University – SUNY
Komichi	Yuto	The University of Tokyo
Kong	Shuo	University of Arizona
Kramer	Michael	Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie
Labadie	Lucas	1. Institute of Physics, University of Cologne
Lee	Han-Tsung	I. Physikalisches Institut Universität zu Köln
Lee	Janice
Liang	Xinyue	Heidelberg University
Lieb	Emma	University of Denver
Lin	Shang-Jing	University of Cologne, 1. Physikalisches Institut
Littek	Simon	University of Cologne PH1
Mackey	Jonathan	Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Makarenko	Ekaterina	Max Planck Institute For Extraterrestrial Physics
Mazoochi	Farideh	Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM)
McLeod	Anna	Durham University
Mehta	Parit	Universität zu Köln
Melamed	Maria	University of Cologne, 1. Physikalisches Institut
Mercimek	Şeyma	University of Manchester
Mertens	Marc	PH1, U.Cologne
Miklósi	Rebeka	1. Institute of Physics University of Cologne
Mills	Jessica	Argelander-Institut für Astronomie
Misra	Prachi	Universität zu Köln
Mohammad Bokhari	Nurul Husna	Leiden University
Müller	Holger	Universität  zu Köln
Münning	Felix	University of Cologne
Mutale	Mubela	University of Leeds
Nagar	Chinmaya	University of Cologne, 1. Physikalisches Institut
Nandre	Tanish	Argelander Institute for Astronomy, University of Bonn/ Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Neralwar	Kartik Rajan	MPIfR
Neupane	Sudeep	MPIfR
Oak	Tejas	Argelander Institut für Astronomie – Universität Bonn
Okada	Yoko	Universität zu Köln
Ortaköse	Nuray
Ossenkopf-Okada	Volker	Universität zu Köln
Oudmaijer	René	Royal Observatory of Belgium
Owen	Morgan	Universität zu Köln
Panda	Devismita	Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux
Patra	Sudeshna	Institute of Advanced Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
PAUCHET	Anaïs	Univerisity of Cologne PH1
Peregrina García	Damián	I. Physikalisches Institut Universität zu Köln
Pfalzner	Susanne	Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Piluso	Aurelien	CNRS UMR8262
Plaar	Eline	I. Physikalisches Institut,
Prajapati	Prachi	PH1, U.Cologne
Rathjen	Tim-Eric	Univerisity of Cologne PH1
Rebolledo	David	Joint ALMA observatory
Reyes	Simon	Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Riechers	Dominik	Universität zu Köln
Rodrigues da Costa	Eleonore	Univerisity of Cologne
Rodriguez	Tatiana	I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln
Röllig	Markus	Physikalischer Verein
Roth	Tim Otto	imachination labs
Rybak	Matus
Saha	Himadri	I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln
Saintonge	Amelie	Max Planck Institute  for Radio Astronomy
Salomon	Thomas	Universität zu Köln
Sasaki	Kotora	University of Tsukuba
Schilke	Peter	University of Cologne, Institute for Astrophysics
Schlemmer	Stephan	I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln
Schlöder	Frank	Universität zu Köln
Schneider	Lea	Universität zu Köln
Schneider	Nicola	University of Cologne
Schulz	Bernhard	Uni Stuttgart
Seifried	Daniel	University of Cologne
Sewilo	Marta	University of Maryland / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Silva	Weslley G. D. P.	Universität zu Köln
Simon	Robert	Univeristät zu Köln
Sinha	Aditi	University of Cologne
Stutzki	Jürgen	Universität zu Köln
Syaifoel	Kian
Tanaka	Kei	Institute of Science Tokyo
Tanchon	Ella
Teh	Jia Wei	Heidelberg University, Zentrum für Astronomie
test	test
Thorwirth	Sven	Universität zu Köln
Topkaras	Theodoros	Universität zu Köln, I. Physikalisches Institut
Tsuge	Kisetsu	Gifu University
Ushirogi	Taishi	University of Cologne
Vandersnickt	Jelle	KU Leuven
Verbena	Juan Luis	University of Cologne
Vider	Sebastian
Vrancken	Jasmine	KU Leuven
Walch-Gassner	Stefanie	Univerisity of Cologne
Wang	Chenxu	Universität zu Köln, I. Physikalisches Institut
Wang	Youxin	MPIfR
Weng	Jixiang	Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Woolvett O’Ryan	Vicente José
Wyrowski	Friedrich	Max Planck Institut fuer Radioastronomie
Yamada	Rin	National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Yap	Mervin Zhi Rong	University of Cologne
Zhang	Huixin	University College London
Zhao	Yanhanle Lauryn	Argelander Institute for Astronomy, University of Bonn/ Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Zimmermann	Birka	University of Cologne
Zinchenko	Igor	Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences
Zinnecker	Hans	Universidad Autonoma de Chile