Scientific Rationale 

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has ushered in a transformative era for gravitational lensing studies of galaxy clusters. Deep imaging and spectroscopy of strongly lensed fields are revealing galaxies across cosmic time with unprecedented sensitivity, enabling major advances in early galaxy formation, dark matter mapping, lensed transients, and precision mass modeling. As multiple large JWST cluster programs are now delivering results, this moment provides a timely opportunity to bring the community together to assess the current landscape and shape the next phase of cluster lensing science.

This conference will focus on gravitational lensing in galaxy clusters in the JWST era, highlighting the latest results from the latest major JWST lensing programs including VENUS, SLICE, GLIMPSE. The first half of the week will feature open science talks. The latter half will include open discussion sessions as well as parallel and internal team meetings. On Wednesday afternoon, participants will enjoy the Solar Eclipse, providing a unique opportunity for community interaction.

Dedicated open discussion sessions will address broader community efforts, including, future lensing surveys, tools for lens modeling and data products, as well as synergies between JWST lensing surveys and complementary facilities such as ALMA, VLT, ELT, Rubin, and Euclid. We warmly invite contributions presenting the latest JWST lensing science, updates on survey programs, and work that advances cross-survey coordination or multi-wavelength synergy. We particularly encourage participation from researchers interested in building collaborative frameworks for the next generation of cluster lensing studiest. 

Registration fee is 425 EUR (early before May 30th) or 500 EUR (late, after June 5). This fee includes coffee breaks and lunch during the conference

Confirmed invited Speakers include :

Hakim Atek - High-z Universe

Jen Lotz - Lensing Surveys (Discussion lead)

Justin Pierel - Lensed SNe

Jane Rigby - Cosmic Noon

Important dates

• February 5 2026: Early registration opens.

• April 17 2026: Abstract submission deadline.

• May 8 2026: Notification of accepted talks and posters.

• June 5 2026: Deadline for early registration fee payment.

• August 1 2026: Late registration fee payment deadline.

• August 10 2026: Meeting starts in the morning.

• August 12. Eclipse day!

• 14 August 14 2026: Meeting ends at noon.