POSYDON SCHOOL 
2025

23-26 September, 

NSF-Simons SkAI Institute
John Hancock Center, Chicago, IL

The first POSYDON school

Learn how to use POSYDON, a state-of-the-art binary population synthesis code now in its second version, and discover its unique capabilities. This four day workshop aims to familiarize participants with the code so they can effectively incorporate it into their own research.


Through a series of hands-on labs, we will explore exciting astrophysical scenarios such as mass-transfer stability, supernovae, binary black-hole populations, and more, showcasing how POSYDON can advance your research goals. By the end of the school, you will be ready to apply your newfound expertise, share your knowledge with colleagues, and push single and binary stellar population research to new frontiers.

Where

NSF-Simons SkAI Institute,
John Hancock Center,
172 E. Chestnut St., Suite 3500,
Chicago, IL, 60611

When

Tuesday to Friday

23-26 September

School Program

Registration & Breakfast

Arrive at the NSF-Simons SkAI Institute (John Hancock Center, Fl. 35) to get building access and register. A light breakfast will be provided.

Vicky Kalogera

Lecture Vicky Kalogera

Introduction to POSYDON and binary black hole populations

Morning Lab 1 Basic Binary Populations

The basics of popsynth with POSYDON

Break

Coffee and snacks

Morning Lab 2 Basic Population Analysis

Manipulating & analyzing POSYDON popsynth data

Lunch

Food and beverages provided

Jeff Andrews

Lecture Jeff Andrews

Common Envelope Evolution in POSYDON

Afternoon Lab 1 Controlling CE Evolution in POSYDON

Learn what controls exist in POSYDON's CE evolution

Break

Coffee and snacks

Afternoon Lab 2 Customizing CE Evolution

Learn how to implement a custom step in POSYDON

End of Day

Breakfast

A light breakfast will be provided

Manos Zapartas

Lecture Manos Zapartas

Supernova populations and extracting progenitor properties

Morning Lab 1 Profiles and surface properties

Understanding physical variations, kicks, and collapsing profiles

Break

Coffee and snacks

Morning Lab 2 SNe kicks and types

Learn how POSYDON models different SNe types and their kicks in stellar populations

Lunch

Food and beverages provided

Mike Zevin

Lecture Mike Zevin

Star Formation History, Cosmology, Transient Rates

Afternoon Lab 1 Calculating Rates

Multi-metallicity & transient populations, initial conditions reweighting

Break

Coffee and snacks

Afternoon Lab 2 Selection Effects

Cosmological rates, star formation histories, and detectability

End of Day

Breakfast

A light breakfast will be provided

Tassos Fragos

Lecture Tassos Fragos

X-ray Binaries & Super-Eddington Accretion

Morning Lab 1 Non-instantaneous Populations

Formation of wind-fed BH-HMXBs

Break

Coffee and snacks

Morning Lab 2 Star Formation History

Simulating the X-ray luminosity function

Lunch

Food and beverages provided

Max Briel

Lecture Max Briel

Stability of Mass Transfer

Afternoon Lab 1 Grid Visualization

Visualizing POSYDON's underlying MESA model grids

Break

Coffee and snacks

Afternoon Lab 2 Running a Grid

The basics of running your own MESA model grids for POSYDON

End of Day

Breakfast

A light breakfast will be provided

Seth Gossage

Lecture Seth Gossage

Tides & Magnetic Braking

Morning Lab 1 Detached Binary Evolution

Learn how POSYDON handles the evolution of detached binary systems

Break

Coffee and snacks

Morning Lab 2 Custom Physics Prescriptions

Learn how to modify POSYDON's default prescriptions during detached evolution

Lunch

Food and beverages provided

Aggelos Katsaggelos

Lecture Aggelos Katsaggelos

Initial-Final Interpolation

Afternoon Lab 1 Interpolation in POSYDON

Understand the different interpolation strategies available in POSYDON

Break

Coffee and snacks

Recap & Farewell

Closing remarks on the week

End of Day

Registration Closed

There is no registration fee, everyone interested should apply and we will do our best to accomodate as many as possible, although space is limited. Registration will close on May 16th, please apply before then using the form below. We will send acceptance letters at the end of May to let you know if we can accomodate you (please email posydon.school@gmail.com with questions or concerns). Before applying, please have in mind:

  • Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily.
  • We request that all participants plan to attend the entire week of the school (Sept. 23 - 26th).
  • Participants are not expected to know how to use POSYDON but will need to bring a personal laptop. Pre-installed versions of POSYDON will be provided for participants on Northwestern University's Quest high performance computing facilities.
  • We recommend that participants read the instrument papers for POSYDON v1 and POSYDON v2 to familiarize yourself with the code infrastructure.
  • Familiarity with Python and command line usage is expected.
  • Undergraduate, master's, and PhD students, please obtain the permission of your advisor before applying. We will contact your advisor to confirm that you have finanicial support for accomodation and travel, and that you meet the availability and preparedness requirements. A small number of scholarships may be available to support students lacking financial support, but we can not guarantee this.

Thank you for applying! Registration is now closed. We will respond to let you know who we can accomodate by the end of May 2025.

School Venue

The school is hosted jointly by the NSF-Simons SkAI institute and Northwestern University. Computational facilities required by the classes will be provided for.

John Hancock Center, Chicago, IL

Our first POSYDON school will be held at the John Hancock Center (172 E. Chestnut St.), an iconic member of the city's skyline in the Magnificent Mile district of Chicago, Illinois.

Where to Stay

Participants are asked to secure their own accomodation during their stay. There are a number of hotels surrounding the John Hancock Center in downtown Chicago, but AirBnB may provide some affordable options as well. We will be providing further recommendations regarding AirBnB soon. Below are a few recommendations for hotels in the area with rates typically lower than $220/night.

DoubleTree Hilton Mag Mile

0.6 Miles from the Venue

Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile

0.1 Miles from the Venue

The Whitehall Hotel

0.2 Miles from the Venue

The Drake Hotel

0.2 Miles from the Venue

The Sonesta ES Suites

0.2 Miles from the Venue

The Millenium Hotel

0.2 Miles from the Venue

Instructors

Jeffrey Andrews

University of Florida

Tassos Fragos

Université de Genevè

Seth Gossage

Northwestern University

Vicky Kalogera

Northwestern University/
NSF-Simons SkAI Institute

Aggelos Katsaggelos

Northwestern University/
NSF-Simons SkAI Institute

Manos Zapartas

FORTH Institute of Astrophysics

Max Briel

Université de Genevè

Teaching Assistants

Ilia Kiato

Northwestern University

Kyle Rocha

UC San Diego

Eirini Kasdagli

University of Florida

Dimitris Souropanis

IA FORTH

Monica Gellegos-Garcia

Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

Zepei Xing

Northwestern University

Debatri Chattopadhyay

Northwestern University

Abhishek Chattaraj

University of Florida

Philipp Moura Srivatava

Northwestern University

Meng Sun

NAOC

Science Organizing Committee

Jeffrey Andrews

University of Florida

Tassos Fragos

Université de Genève

Seth Gossage

Northwestern University

Vicky Kalogera

Northwestern University/
SkAI Institute

Local Organizing Committee

Elise Ahn

NSF-Simons SkAI Institute

Debatri Chattopadhyay

Northwestern University

Erin Cox

NSF-Simons SkAI Institute

Seth Gossage

Northwestern University

Gema Tinoco

NSF-Simons SkAI Institute

School Funding

Contact

Address

NSF-Simons SkAI Institute,
172 E. Chestnut St., Suite 3500, 

Chicago, IL 60611

Email Us

posydon.school@gmail.com