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Cosmic Origins Second Early Career Workshop

NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program is excited to invite you to the second Early Career Workshop, designed to support and empower the next generation of astrophysics leaders and PIs. The workshop aims to provide insights to early career scientists about the wide range of work done in the Cosmic Origins Program, to explain and demonstrate the tools and opportunities available to them, and to answer any questions they may have.

Cosmic Origins about Cosmic Origins Second Early Career Workshop

Location

Virtual

Dates

20-22 October 2026
1:00pm - 4:30pm ET

Community

Cosmic Origins

Type

Workshop

Cosmic Origins Community

To Support and Empower the Next Generation of Astrophysicists

This workshop will take place virtually on October 20 – 22, 2026, from 1:00pm – 4:30 pm Eastern.

The deadline for abstract submission is October 10.

Register for the Workshop about To Support and Empower the Next Generation of Astrophysicists
The Pillars of Creation. Wispy silhouettes of three columns against a dark, star-filled background.
A Near-Infrared View of the Pillars of Creation. This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, taken in near-infrared light, transforms the pillars into eerie, wispy silhouettes, which are seen against a background of myriad stars. The near-infrared light can penetrate much of the gas and dust, revealing stars behind the nebula as well as hidden away inside the pillars. Some of the gas and dust clouds are so dense that even the near-infrared light cannot penetrate them. New stars embedded in the tops of the pillars, however, are apparent as bright sources that are unseen in the visible image. The ghostly bluish haze around the dense edges of the pillars is material getting heated up by the intense ultraviolet radiation from a cluster of young, massive stars and evaporating away into space. The stellar grouping is above the pillars and cannot be seen in the image.
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Plenary Speakers

Day 1

Dr. John C. Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center specializing in infrared astronomy and cosmology. He won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which proved the cosmic microwave background radiation has a nearly perfect blackbody spectrum. Since 1995, he has served as Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope. Throughout his career, he has also served on advisory boards for the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, and the NSF. 

Dr. John Mather

Day 2

Shawn Domagal-Goldman is the Astrophysics Division Director at NASA HQ and former Deputy Director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. An astrobiologist by training, his research applies an interdisciplinary approach to assess exoplanet habitability and define standards of evidence for biosignatures. He plays a key role in the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), a flagship space telescope concept designed to search for life beyond our solar system. Previously, he helped lay the groundwork for HWO by serving on the science leadership teams for both the HabEx and LUVOIR mission concepts.

Shawn Domagal-Goldman

Day 3

Dr. Jane Rigby is the Senior Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, providing the leadership necessary to ensure the mission meets its scientific goals. With a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Arizona, her research focuses on galaxy evolution, star-forming galaxies, and active galactic nuclei. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers utilizing premier observatories like Hubble, Keck, and Magellan. Also an American Astronomical Society (AAS) trustee, Rigby is highly recognized for her research, mentorship, and advocacy, with honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, and the Explorers Club Citation of Merit.

Dr. Jane Rigby

Workshop Schedule

Day 1: Science

TBA

Day 2: Missions & Technology 

TBA

Day 3: Careers

TBA

Workshop Connection

Join the Workshop

Workshop Science Organizing Committee

Sabrina Stierwalt
Peter Kurczynski
Swara Ravindranath
Ronald Gamble
Avrajit Bandyopadhyay

Downloads

Cosmic Origins Second Early Career Workshop Poster

Sep 21, 2026

PNG (12.87 MB)

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Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.