The 2026 DDA meeting will take place June 22-26 in Chicago, IL at the University of Chicago [1].

Please stay tuned for updates on this page!!!

We plan to have a five-day hybrid format meeting packed with great content that allows for a robust attendance experience for both in-person and remote attendees.  Additionally, we are making substantial efforts this year to prioritize poster presenters, and plan to include brief "lightning talks" at the end of our regular sessions for presenters to advertise their posters.

The oral and poster sessions will be in the first floor of the Eckhardt Research Center, 5640 S Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL 60637, which houses the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics.

A banquet will be held at Quartino [2] at 7PM on Wednesday, June 24. It is downtown at 626 N State St. An option to get there from the conference venue is to join a walking tour organized by LOC Chair Dan Fabrycky: through campus and Hyde Park to a commuter rail line ($3.75) going to Millenium Station, over the Chicago River via the Michigan Ave Bridge, and up the lower part of the Magnificent Mile (1.7 miles total walking).

A public lecture -- Dark Matter - in Real Time -- will be given by Sukanya Chakrabarti, held on Thursday, June 25, at the Eckhardt Research Center. 

Hotels: 

For hotels in the Hyde Park neighborhood (i.e. within easy walking distance):

• The Sophy [3] (1411 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615);
• The Study [4] (1227 E 60th St, Chicago, IL 60637);
• The Hyatt [5] (5225 S Harper Ave, Chicago, IL 60615).

Other hotels are recommended along with transportation options to campus (though cabs/ride share would be quickest):

• Congress Plaza Hotel [6]  [6]- 520 S Michigan Ave. - walk to Roosevelt Rd. for University UGo Daytime Shuttle [7] Route "Downtown Campus Connector (DARK GREEN)" - select dropdown and check box  
• Travelodge By Wyndham Downtown Chicago [8] - 65 E Harrison St. - walk to Roosevelt Rd. for University UGo Daytime Shuttle [7] Route "Downtown Campus Connector (DARK GREEN)" - select dropdown and check box  
• Eurostars Magnificent Mile [9] - 660 N State St. - Red Line CTA [10] connects to University UGo Daytime Shuttle [7] Route "Red Line/Arts Block Route (RED)" - select dropdown and check box 

We have arranged more moderately price UChicago dorms -- single-rooms within 4-person suites at: 

• Campus North Residential Commons, 5500 S University Ave  --> email Daniel Fabrycky <fabrycky@uchicago.edu [11]> until they are all booked.

If you want to organize with your friends and scientific colleagues about where to stay, upon registration, you can access the Slack channel and discuss your plans with the #lodgings tag. 

There are lots of other hotels in the city, and extensive Transportation Options [7] to and from campus (click Daytime Shuttle drop-down and select various routes). For instance, the Downtown Campus Connector and CTA bus 192 connect well to hotels near Roosevelt & Wabash. 

You may want to consult with LOC members (finding our contacts on our university webpages) for local knowledge about specific hotels, bus routes, commuter bike rentals, etc. If you have a car (and a place to park it where you stay), free street parking is typically available about ¼ mile north of the department, on 54th St. or 54th Pl., side-streets Drexel, Ingleside, or Greenwood, or elsewhere around campus.  (Note that spots on S. Ellis between 57th and 59th are metered, and some streets south of the Midway Plaisance have parking restrictions.) Paid parking at a nearby parking structure [12] is also available.

Announcements and updates 

Abstract submission is closed. 

[13]

Registration is open!  Click below to register (see instructions here [14]): 

[15]

 Information on Registration Rates [16]

The meeting agenda is now posted! 

[17]

Special Sessions and Invited Speakers:  

• 2025 Brouwer Award Lecture: Robin Canup
• 2025 Rubin Award Lecture: Samuel Hadden
• 2024 Rubin Award Lecture: Sarah Millholland
• Special Session in honor of the Contributions of Stanley Dermott:
  • Session Lead: Apostolos Christou
  • Memorial Lecture: Renu Malhotra
  • Invited Talks: 
    • Apostolos Christou
    • Carl Murray
    • Ashley Kehoe
    • Mark Wyatt
    • Jer-Chyi Liou
    • Dan Durda
• Special Session in honor of the Contributions of Joseph Burns:
  • Session Lead: Brett Gladman
  • Memorial Lecture: Phil Nicholson
  • Invited Talks: 
    • Dan Tamayo
    • Matt Hedman
    • Matija Cuk
    • Brett Gladman
    • Doug Hamilton
    • Matt Tiscareno
    • Maryame El Moutamid
    • BIll Bottke
    • Jeff Cuzzi
• Special Session: New probes of Dark Matter from innovations in stellar and galactic dynamics
  • Session Lead: Sukanya Chakrabarti
  • ​​​​​​​Invited Talks: 
    • Newlin Weatherford
    • Adrian Price-Whelan
    • Lina Necib
    • Robyn Sanderson

Important Dates:

• Abstract submission deadline: Friday, March 20, 2026
• Supplemental Travel Grant applications (submitted with abstracts): Friday, March 20, 2026
• Late Poster submission: Friday, May 1, 2026
• Regular Registration deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026
• Late Registration deadline: Monday, June 1, 2026
• Opening Reception: Sunday, June 21, 2026

Policies & Conduct

• Anti-Harassment Policy [18]
• Code of Ethics [19]
• Embargo Policy for AAS & Division Meetings [20]
• Guide to AAS Meeting Etiquette  [21]
• Privacy Policy [22]

SOC

Matt Clement (APL, SOC chair, DDA Vice Chair)
Matija Cuk (SETI Institute, DDA Secretary)
Elena D'Onghia (Univerwsity of Wisconsin-Madison)
Mor Rozner (University of Cambridge & IAS)
Apostolos Christou (Armagh Observatory)
Raluca Rufu (SWRI)
Christopher O'Connor (Northwestern University)
Will Oldroyd (Katalyst Space Technologies)
Tiger Lu (Center for Computational Astrophysics)
Brett Gladman (University of British Columbia)

LOC

Daniel Fabrycky (University of Chicago, LOC chair)
Tommy Chi Ho Lau (University of Chicago)
Fernanda Correa Horta (University of Chicago)
Yoram Lithwick (Northwestern University)
David Minton (Purdue University)
Vighnesh Nagpal (University of Chicago)
Christopher O'Connor (Northwestern University)
Caroline Piaulet-Ghorayeb (University of Chicago)

Volunteers to lead local outings welcome - email fabrycky@uchicago.edu [11] for a role.