Rubin Community Workshop 2025 group photo. Credit: R. Proctor
The energy was unmistakable at this year’s Rubin Community Workshop, held 28 July - 1 August in Tucson, Arizona. More than 280 members of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory community — including staff, science collaboration members, LSST Discovery Alliance-funded students, and other affiliated participants — gathered for a week of collaborative discussions and breakout sessions on the heels of Rubin's First Look image reveal event and the release of data taken by Rubin's Commissioning Camera. This year’s meeting was fully hybrid, and almost 500 additional people participated virtually.
The week kicked off Monday morning with a welcome from Rubin Operations Director Bob Blum, followed by a plenary address from Rubin Construction Director Željko Ivezić. Željko highlighted major milestones achieved over the past year, including the installation of the LSST Camera, the collection of the first photon with LSST Camera on the summit, the highly anticipated First Look image release, and the successful delivery of commissioning data via Data Preview 1.
Breakout sessions began immediately after the plenary, offering attendees a range of focused discussions throughout the week. Also at this year's workshop, science posters filled a dedicated room just off the main foyer, with presenters standing by during afternoon coffee breaks to share their work and answer questions.
Tuesday’s plenary began with a longstanding workshop tradition: Lightning Stories. In these rapid-fire personal talks, Elana Urbach, Sarah Greenstreet, Alejandra Muñoz Arancibia, and Sasha Persaud shared glimpses of their Rubin-related work along with a few personal anecdotes and fun facts. Beth Willman, Director of the LSST Discovery Alliance (LSST-DA), followed with an overview of LSST-DA’s programs designed to support and amplify Rubin science. Then, the students invited to attend the RCW with LSST-DA funding support gave short presentations on their research and invited attendees to learn more during poster sessions later in the day.
Wednesday morning’s plenary turned the spotlight on Rubin’s Science Collaborations. Interim Science Collaborations Chair Gautham Narayan opened with an acknowledgment of Rubin's broad and diverse collaboration network, including members who could not attend in person but remain a valued part of the Rubin science community. Representatives from each collaboration then shared highlights from the last year.
Following more breakout sessions, the day closed with the Unconference, informal discussions about topics that were proposed and voted on by workshop attendees.
Thursday’s plenary session, Rubin Research Bytes, featured research talks by Yao-Yuan Mao, Igor Andreoni, Anja von der Linden, and Mario Jurić — each showcasing timely and compelling work using early Rubin data.
Friday, the final day, started with the project keynote session, A Celebration of Rubin Commissioning. Speakers Brian Stalder, Tiago Ribeiro, and Yusra AlSayyad presented different aspects of the Commissioning team's accomplishments, including the Commissioning Camera campaign, the LSST Camera installation, and the transition from Construction to nightly Operations on the summit.
After one last breakout session, the meeting wrapped up. It was a full and rewarding week — equal parts work and inspiration. With the first public data release achieved and full survey operations on the horizon, the Rubin community left the workshop energized and looking ahead to the formal start of the LSST survey in late 2025.
Recordings of most sessions can be found on Rubin's YouTube channel.
Financial support for Rubin Observatory comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Cooperative Support Agreement No. 1202910, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515, and private funding raised by the LSST Corporation. The NSF-funded Rubin Observatory Project Office for construction was established as an operating center under management of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). The DOE-funded effort to build the the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera (LSSTCam) is managed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an
independent federal agency created by Congress
in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.
NSF and DOE will continue to support Rubin Observatory in its Operations phase. They will also provide support for scientific research with LSST data.
Contact | Employment | LSST Corporation