Frédérique Baron is an astrophysicist specializing in the search for exoplanets. She holds a PhD from Université de Montréal and leads instrumentation projects at the Institute for Research on Exoplanets and the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic. She also serves as coordinator of the Centre for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec, where she contributes to uniting the province’s astrophysics community. With extensive experience in science communication, Frédérique is dedicated to sharing astrophysical knowledge with broad audiences in a clear and engaging manner.

The term 'atmospheric escape' refers to a suite of distinct processes that can remove atmospheric particles from a planet to space. The effectiveness of different processes can vary with planetary and stellar properties and changes with atmospheric species. Atmospheric escape has been observed to occur at a wide range of solar system objects, with a richness of observations that can help inform exoplanet studies. In this presentation we will review the criteria for escape and the different escape processes. We will compare the observed and modeled escape rates at different solar system bodies, and the connections between the escape rates and the stellar and planetary drivers of escape. We will end with implications for exoplanet atmospheric retention.

Dave Brain is a Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is interested in atmospheric escape, evolution, and magnetospheres of solar system objects (especially unmagnetized planets), and applying lessons from the solar system to better understand exoplanets. He leads an interdisciplinary group working to determine which combinations of planetary and stellar properties result in the retention of habitable atmospheres.

Dr Cassandra Bolduc is a mission scientist at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), in the Sun-Earth System Science Directorate. She is managing the Science and Applications Initiative of the High-Altitude Water and Clouds (HAWC) mission, the Canadian contribution to NASA’s Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) mission. She completed her undergraduate studies in physics at Université Laval in Québec city, followed by a Masters and PhD in solar astrophysics at Université de Montréal. Her graduate studies focused on the variability of solar irradiance due to the varying coverage of surface magnetic features, and on the impact of this variability in the ultraviolet on stratospheric ozone chemistry. She then moved to Switzerland for a post-doctorate position at the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center, where she pursed her research on the calculations of a NLTE solar spectrum. After being offered a position at the Government of Canada, she left academia and re-oriented her career. She moved back home and joined Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Meteorological Services in 2016, where she worked on air quality modelling and satellite data assimilation. She transferred to CSA in 2021, and started her dream job as a mission scientist, during which she touched atmospheric, solar-terrestrial and Earth system sciences, as well as astrophysics. Outside of work, she is a mother of two, and loves learning about aviation, running, knitting, exercising and travelling.

Dr. Jeffrey Silverman is a Technical Data Science Lead consultant for Pacific Gas & Electric and has been working with Big Data in the Tech Industry for more than 8 years. Before that he was a National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and earned his PhD in Astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley working on observations of supernovae with Prof. Alex Filippenko. Jeffrey is also involved in various science communication and public outreach programs including volunteering at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, CA and organizing Astronomy on Tap events around the world.

JWST has provided a new wealth of information on exoplanet atmospheres, including one of the most critical components, that being the composition of cloud particles and their 3D global distribution.

In this review talk, I will first outline the basic theories and multiple approaches applied cloud formation in exosolar atmospheres, as well as their general effects on the observed properties of exoplanet atmospheres. Moving through the historical context in brown dwarf atmosphere science to contemporary modelling efforts will serve to provide the audience with a broad literature review and context to the field. A simple interactive python based demonstration will be included to aid understanding of the basic methodology.

Moving into 3D, I will discuss how the field approaches this tricky topic using general circulation models (GCMs) coupled to various flavours of cloud models, from simple diagnostic efforts to complex microphysical models. I will showcase recent progress in the field using these techniques and how they have been used to uncover the complex interactions and feedbacks that clouds can induce in these atmospheres. Another interactive session will elucidate the time-dependent nature of cloud formation in 3D and the modelling of microphysics.

Lastly, I will suggest what types of observational data and programs would best constrain the 3D properties of clouds in exoplanet atmospheres, as well as discuss gaps in theory and data that can be can tackled in future endeavours in the field.

In the below repository, some simple practical examples of cloud models have been prepared for conference attendees by Elspeth Lee. Feel free to try them out at your own interest!

https://github.com/ELeeAstro/exoclimes_7_clouds

Elspeth Lee is currently a postdoctorate Bernoulli Fellow at the Center of Space and Habitability (CSH), University of Bern, Switzerland. Her primary research investigates complex feedback interactions between clouds, chemistry, radiative-transfer and dynamics using 3D atmospheric models. She has developed several 3D capable models such as gCMCRT (Monte Carlo radiative-transfer), mini-chem (kinetic chemistry) and mini-cloud (cloud formation microphysics).

The great distance to exoplanets makes it impossible to resolve their disk with current or near-term technology. It is still possible, however, to deduce spatial inhomogeneities in exoplanets provided that different regions are visible at different times—this can be due to rotation, orbital motion, or occultations by a star, planet, or moon. We can also monitor atmospheric time-variability due to seasons and weather. Finally, winds can be directly probed via Doppler-shifted atmospheric lines. I will review techniques for mapping the atmospheric dynamics of exoplanets at low and high spectral resolution for synchronously rotating planets, eccentric planets, those on long-period orbits, and free-floating planets. I will outline how we constrain the wind direction, wind speed, vertical mixing, atmospheric variability, cloud and chemical inhomogeneities.

Nicolas Cowan is the Canada Research Chair in Planetary Climate and an Associate Professor in the departments of Physics and of Earth & Planetary Sciences at McGill University. He is a member of the Trottier Space Institute and l’Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes. Cowan uses telescopes and maths to study the climates of exoplanets. He has pioneered remote sensing techniques to map the atmospheres and surfaces of these distant planets, bringing them into view as multi-dimensional worlds unto themselves.

The discovery of more than 6,000 exoplanets imposes outstanding questions related to our origins: How do planets evolve? Is our Solar System common? How and where can life emerge? To answer these fundamental questions, we need to understand the physical processes underlying the formation and evolution of planets, principal among them atmospheric escape. Since 2003, we have used space- and ground-based observatories to detect evaporating exoplanets in transit spectroscopy, as well as the end-products of photoevaporation (i.e., bare-rock planets orbiting M dwarfs), but it seems that the more we observe, the more mysteries emerge. Great sophistication is now required of physical models to help us understand some of these mysteries, and we cannot ignore anymore complications such as three-dimensionality, stellar activity, magnetic field interactions, and the impact of metallicity. In this talk, I will discuss some of the major discoveries in this research area, as well as avenues for further advancing our understanding of atmospheric evolution beyond the Solar System.

Leonardo dos Santos is an Assistant Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, having previously obtained his PhD from the University of Geneva and Master's from the University of São Paulo. Leonardo is one of the leads of the Transiting Exoplanets research group at STScI and specializes in observational and theoretical studies of atmospheric escape in planetary systems. He is also an instrument scientist for the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, the most sensitive UV instrument currently in operation.

The atmospheric chemistry of gas giants - both within our Solar System and beyond - offers critical insights into their formation and evolution, as well as their atmospheric dynamics. In this talk, I will review recent advances in our understanding of the chemical processes that shape the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and those of extrasolar hot Jupiters. I will explore progress made on major outstanding questions, such as the unexpected depletion of ammonia in Jupiter's troposphere. In parallel, I will examine the current state of chemical kinetics networks used to model these atmospheres and highlight gaps in available kinetics data. I will conclude by discussing the connections between gas giants in our Solar System and their extrasolar counterparts.

Maria Zamyatina is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter. Trained as an Earth scientist, she transitioned to astronomy in 2020 after obtaining her PhD. She studies climates of planetary atmospheres using a 3D chemistry-climate model, and focuses on the interactions between the gas-phase chemistry and atmospheric dynamics.

In the past three years, JWST has brought the atmospheres of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes into view, raising new questions about their interior compositions and origins. However, the atmospheric compositions we measure are not necessarily representative of the bulk planet. Interpreting JWST measurements in the context of planetary interiors and formation therefore requires consideration of the atmosphere-interior connection. Different temperature regimes can provide complementary information, from the evaporating surfaces of lava worlds to the larger atmospheric scale heights of mini-Neptunes. In this talk, I will discuss recent JWST observations, and some of the key atmosphere-interior interactions needed to connect them to the planetary interior.

Anjali Piette is an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham, where her work focusses on characterising the diversity of exoplanetary environments through their atmospheres. Originally from the UK, Anjali completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge. She then took up a Carnegie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory in Washington, DC, before moving to Birmingham.

The atmospheric dynamics of the Solar System's gas giants-Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune-serve as a natural laboratory for understanding rapidly rotating giant atmospheres. Despite their diverse characteristics, they exhibit intriguing similarities such as large-scale alternating zonal jet streams, prominent vortices, and wave activity, suggesting potential common dynamical mechanisms driven by rotation, convection, and differential heating. Leveraging advanced observational data and state-of-the-art numerical modeling, we are increasingly able to disentangle these processes. One of the most interesting puzzles is the contrasting behavior of equatorial jets- prograde on gas giants versus retrograde on ice giants-which often leads to differentiated treatment between these planetary types. We will examine this and offer an alternative perspective. Understanding the atmospheric dynamics of these solar system giants provides an important context for interpreting the growing wealth of data from exoplanets with similar bulk properties, anticipated to expand with missions like PLATO and Ariel. This review synthesizes the principles governing these atmospheres, highlights open questions, and discusses their broader relevance for planetary science.

Keren is a postdoctoral fellow at Leiden Observatory and SRON, where she focuses on the deep dynamics of gas giants, including zonal jets, circulation, gravity, and stable layers, in collaboration with Dr. Yamila Miguel. Her research involves studying (exo)planetary atmospheres through theoretical models, GCMs, and observational data. She earned her Ph.D. and MSc under Prof. Yohai Kaspi at the Weizmann Institute of Science and holds a Bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In recent years, high resolution spectroscopy (HRS; R ⪆ 20,000) from ground-based telescopes in the optical and near-infrared has proven to be a powerful probe of exoplanet atmospheres. Through transmission spectroscopic observations during transits, and phase-curve observations of both transiting and non-transiting exoplanets throughout their orbits, we have been able to investigate the chemical compositions, atmospheric dynamics, and temperature structures of a diverse range of exoplanetary systems. In this review talk, I will first introduce the methods used to study exoplanet atmospheres via HRS, and provide an overview of the current suite of spectrographs and telescopes being employed for this work. I will demonstrate how HRS allows us to disentangle exoplanet signals from both stellar and telluric contamination, and show how these methods can be used to probe atmospheric chemistry through single-line detections as well as cross-correlation techniques that leverage hundreds to thousands of spectral lines simultaneously. Following this, I will provide a broad overview of atmospheric species detected to date, and outline how these detections can be used to gain insights into exoplanet formation and evolution. I will then discuss recent advances in the field, such as synergies with lower-resolution, space-based observations, as well as work making use of time-resolved detections to shed light on the inherently 3D nature of exoplanet atmospheres. Finally, I will look ahead to open questions that may be answered by the next generation of high-resolution spectrographs, including those on extremely large telescopes. I will conclude by highlighting current work and ongoing surveys harnessing HRS to expand our understanding of atmospheric chemistry across a diverse range of exoplanets.

Emily Deibert (she/her) is a Gemini Science Fellow at the Gemini South Observatory in La Serena, Chile, where her research focuses on characterizing the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters with the new Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST). Prior to beginning at Gemini, Emily completed a PhD in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, where she worked on high-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanet atmospheres in the optical and near-infrared. In early 2026, she will begin a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Waterloo.

Photochemical hazes have been found to be almost ubiquitous in planetary atmospheres in the Solar System and in exoplanet atmospheres. Typically, the haze formation process is initiated by energetic processes acting on carbon-carrying gases such as methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO), producing simple organic precursors that can then further polymerize and coagulate into complex macromolecular organic particles. One of the most thoroughly studied hazy atmospheres beyond Earth is Saturn's moon Titan, thanks to the Cassini-Huygens mission, which provided detailed constraints on atmospheric composition, vertical haze structure, and surface deposition over 13 years of observations.

Laboratory simulation experiments over the past four decades have sought to replicate the rich organic chemistry and haze formation observed on Titan, which has been challenging to replicate through theoretical models. While photochemical models can reproduce the formation of simple molecules up to C6 species (molecular weight < 100 amu), they are unable to simulate photochemical hazes, which are made of a complex mixture of organic molecules with molecular weights of several hundred to thousands of amu.

These laboratory simulation experiments typically involve simulating Titan's atmospheric composition, primarily nitrogen (N2) and CH4, and using various energy sources such as UV irradiation or electrical discharge to trigger chemical reactions. The resulting solid products, commonly referred to as “tholins”, serve as analogs for Titan's aerosols. Numerous laboratories have independently produced tholins under varying experimental conditions, including different gas mixtures, pressures, temperatures, and energy sources, since the 1970s. However, the lack of standardized protocols has made it difficult to intercompare their physical and chemical properties or to incorporate them systematically into atmospheric models.

To address this gap, we initiated a cross-laboratory comparative study of Titan haze analogs in 2020, and now the effort has produced over 50 haze analog samples using 6 active haze production laboratories. Our effort focuses on characterizing key physical properties that are relevant for Titan exploration, including production rates, particle size distribution, surface energy, mechanical properties, dielectric constants, and optical constants from the UV to the mid-IR (0.19-30 µm) for all haze samples produced from various laboratories. We develop a standardized protocol for sample collection, transport, and storage to ensure the sample remains pristine during characterization. We found that the variation in methane concentration (1-10% CH4 in N2) does not significantly change these properties of Titan tholins. The choice of energy source, however, strongly influences the aerosol properties. While laboratory-to-laboratory differences exist, encouragingly, some shared properties emerge that may enable us to define common aerosol behavior for modeling purposes.

In this talk, I will review recent laboratory advances in aerosol characterization with a focus on Solar System hazes, particularly Titan. I will highlight how these results inform modeling efforts in radiative transfer, microphysics, and aerosol-surface interactions, and outline pathways for integrating laboratory constraints into exoplanet atmospheric models. I will also present ongoing efforts to expand our experimental framework to exoplanet-relevant gas mixtures, enabling a more robust interpretation of hazy atmospheres across a wide range of planetary environments.

Xinting earned her bachelor's degree with honors in Space Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China in 2014. Xinting received her Ph.D. in Planetary Science from Johns Hopkins University. She was a 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Santa Cruz. She just joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UTSA in January 2023. Xinting is a planetary material scientist who focuses on characterizing and understanding planetary materials using experimental material science techniques. Her experimental works also interface theoretical modeling to gain a comprehensive understanding of various atmosphere and surface processes in and outside the solar system.

The search for life beyond the solar system primarily takes place as an investigation of planetary atmospheres. The composition, chemistry and climates of planetary atmospheres are affected by myriad processes. However, in all cases the interaction of the atmosphere with the deeper portions of the planet, whether its rocky surface, water ocean, or deep thermalised envelope, is fundamental in setting its observable properties. Life then exists as a perturbation on this background of abiotic processes that set atmospheric composition. In this talk we will explore the physical-chemical processes that set atmospheric composition, and how understanding these processes is central in our search for biological processes operating on exoplanets.

Oliver Shorttle is the Professor of Natural Philosophy working jointly between the Institute of Astronomy and Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge. His focus is on understanding how habitable planets form and evolve, and how we might discover such planets outside the solar system. His Planetary Chemistry group employ fieldwork and micro-analysis of terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials to investigate Earth and solar system history, and employ theory to extend these insights to exoplanets.

Marie-Eve Naud is an astrophysicist with a passion for exoplanets and astrobiology. Her doctoral research focused on the detection and characterization of gas giant planets through direct imaging techniques. Now serving as the Scientific Coordinator for Education and Outreach at the Université de Montréal's Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx), she designs and supports a wide range of initiatives that enable the entire IREx team to connect with the public, sharing the wonders of the Universe with audiences of all ages.

Marie-Eve is particularly proud of the projects she has developed for children and teenagers, including La petite école de l'espace, an astronomy program for families with young children (ages 3 to 8), and Exoplanets in the classroom, which brings forefront exoplanet research to primary and secondary schools. She also enjoys working with university students, most recently as the lead of the Eclipse Ambassadors program, which trained over 100 students to engage the public in the lead-up to the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse.