COST NanoSpace – AI in Astrochemistry Training School 2025

Motivation and overview

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have suddenly emerged as game-changing tools across diverse scientific disciplines. This includes astronomy -including observational astronomy, laboratory astrophysics and astrobiology- and chemistry -where machine learning interatomic potentials are already solidly established tools for atomistic modeling of materials and molecules. At the intersection between chemistry and astronomy, astrochemistry is posed to similarly benefit from the opportunities for accelerated scientific discovery enabled by AI. The COST NanoSpace AI in Astrochemistry Training School 2025 aims to furnish our community with the necessary background to get started to utilize these tools, by bringing together world-renowned experts to Aalto University in Southern Finland. The School will provide COST NanoSpace action participants and young researchers with specialized knowledge and address the urgent need for training on AI tools in astrochemistry.

Program

The School will provide a starting point for astrochemistry researchers interested in adopting AI tools for their research. We will cover the basics as well as showcase various examples of how AI has been successfully used to tackle research problems in chemistry and astrochemistry.

Important dates

• 8 April 2025 – First Announcement
• 8 April 2025 – Registration starts
• 30 May 2025 – Registration deadline
• 15 June 2025 – Announcement of the final (and backup) lists of registered participants as well as those eligible for COST financial support
• 5-8 August 2025 – NanoSpace AI in Astrochemistry Training School at Aalto University’s School of Chemical Engineering’s main building

Trainers and Organizing Committee

The School is organized by COST NanoSpace in collaboration with Aalto University:

• D. Aníbal García Hernández, COST NanoSpace Action Chair (IAC, Spain)
• Brett A. McGuire, COST NanoSpace member (MIT, USA)
• Miguel A. Caro, local organizer & COST NanoSpace member (Aalto, Finland)
• Rina Ibragimova, local organizer & COST NanoSpace member (Aalto, Finland)
• Dora Javor, local organizer (Aalto, Finland)

For questions pertaining to the local matters of the School, please get in touch with Miguel Caro (miguel.caro@aalto.fi).

Trainers and topics

The program will include sessions on the following topics as well as series of practical exercises:

• Fundamentals of ML – Miguel Caro, Aalto Univ., Finland
• Basics of Neural Networks – Xabier Pérez Couto, A Coruña Univ., Spain
• Gaussian Processes and Regressors – Mads-Peter V. Christiansen, Aarhus
  Univ., Denmark
• Intelligent Molecular Structure Search Algorithms – Isabelle Braems,
  IMN-CNRS, France
• ML for Chemical Intuition – Brett McGuire, MIT, USA
• ML for Radio Interferometry – Ryan Loomis, NRAO, USA
• ML Binding Energies of Astrochemically Molecules and/or Interpretable ML Techniques for Astrochemistry – Johannes Heyl, UCL, UK
• Neural Networks for Astrochem – Lorenzo Branca, Heidelberg Univ.,
  Germany
• ML for Protoplanetary Disk Chemistry and/or ML for Star Formation
  Chemistry – (to be confirmed)
• ML for Interatomic Potentials – Rina Ibragimova, Aalto Univ., Finland
• ML for Radiation Damage in Space – Andrea Sand, Aalto Univ., Finland

Trainees

This is a list of the participants (in addition to the organizers and trainers) who will take part in the School.

Venue, transportation & accommodation

Venue

The conference will take place in the main campus of Aalto University, in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The venue is the Aalto University’s School of Chemical Engineering’s main building, Kemistintie 1, Espoo, 02150 Finland.

Getting there & around

Aalto University is very well connected within the Helsinki metro area. The Otaniemi campus can be reached via metro (“Aalto University” stop) and the light rail (“Maari”, “Aalto-yliopisto” and “Otaranta” stops, from west to east). Please visit the website of HSL, the company operating the public transport system in the Helsinki metro area. This includes buses, the metro, trains, downtown trams, the light rail, and some municipal ferry services (e.g., to the Suomenlinna fortress island). Public transport in the Helsinki metro area is safe, clean and reliable. The easiest way to use the public transport system is to download the HSL app on your phone.

The Aalto University campus can be reached from Helsinki airport, e.g., by combining the train with the metro (changing at Helsinki’s Central Railway Station). Non-collective public transport options like taxis are also available, including popular apps like Uber; these are significantly pricier than collective transportations but might be more convenient depending on the situation (e.g., if you are in a hurry to reach the airport).

Accommodation

Aalto University is located on the Otaniemi campus. Otaniemi is a district of the city of Espoo, located within the Helsinki metropolitan area. There are various on-campus accommodation options in Otaniemi, for instance the Radisson Blu Espoo hotel. Since the Otanimi campus is connected to Helsinki by metro, and the commuting time is ~15 minutes from Helsinki city center, it is entirely possible to stay in Helsinki and commute every day to the School. This opens the door to a wider variety of accommodation options in terms of quality and price. Two options for on-campus accommodation are:

• Radisson Blu Espoo (from ~100 EUR/night)
• Heymo 1 by Sokos (from ~85 EUR/night)

For accommodation options in Helsinki, popular aggregators like Booking.com offer a “map-view” of the city and their user ratings are usually a good indicator of quality and value. If you opt for booking accommodation in Helsinki city center and commuting every day to the Aalto campus, we recommend that you reserve a hotel within walking distance of a metro station for convenience, e.g., stations “Ruoholahti”, “Kamppi”, “Central Railway Station”, etc.

Registration

The School will be in person with attendance limited to 50-55 trainees and with priority given to PhD students and young researchers, who are strongly encouraged to participate. There is no registration fee and the NanoSpace COST Action will provide financial support (i.e., reimbursement after the event, covering full or partial travel, accomodation, and subsistence costs)* for a significant number of participants (at least ~20-25), with high priority to those with a primary affiliation in an institution located in an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC)/Near Neighbour Country (NNC) participating in the Action**.

The information requested in the registration form below will be used to select the final list of registered participants as well as those eligible for financial support, which will be notified in advance of the Training School (i.e., by mid-June 2025). The attendees are expected to arrange their own travel and accommodation ( see Venue and Accomodation above for more information ).

To apply to take part in the School, please go to the registration website (deadline 30 May 2025): https://link.webropolsurveys.com/EP/88F312F3CB3ED0FF

*The applicants eligible for financial support (i.e., reimbursement after the event) are requested to consult the COST Annotated Rules for information about COST rules and procedures for Training Schools. The financial support does not necessarily cover all expenses related to participating in the Training School and they are contributions to the overall travel, accommodation and meal expenses of the trainee.

**Please consult the specific ITC and NNC countries and any COST special measures taken regarding the participation of researchers/innovators from some countries in the Annex I of Level A Country and Organisations.

About & contact

The AI in Astrochemistry Training School 2025 is part of the official activities of the COST Action NanoSpace, chaired by D. Aníbal García Hernández (IAC, Spain) and supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The main aim and objective of the COST Action NanoSpace (“Carbon molecular nanostructures in space”; CA21126) is to advance the fundamental understanding of the physics and chemistry of cosmic carbon nanomaterials (nanocarbons; nC) and their relevance in non-terrestrial environments by promoting the interdisciplinary combination of state-of-the-art astronomical, laboratory, and theoretical studies, among others. The main Action scientific challenges are attacked via an interdisciplinary approach, combining the expertise from a wide range of disciplines like observational astronomy, laboratory astrophysics, astrobiology, theoretical chemistry, synthetic chemistry, molecular reaction dynamics, material science, spectroscopy, graph theory, and data science (AI, big data). Researchers and innovators from all these fields are thus welcome to participate in the Action as Working Group members, applying here. Read more about NanoSpace.

As part of the core mission of COST NanoSpace, many events and activitites are organized every year in the framework of the Action, including Training Schools that provide high-level education on research topics and methods relevant to the objectives of the project. Events are organized by COST NanoSpace in collaboration with a local organizer. The AI in Astrochemistry Training School 2025 is hosted by the Aalto University Department of Chemistry and Materials Science. For more information about COST NanoSpace and the School, please contact the Action Chair (agarcia@iac.es); for practical matters about the school and Aalto University, please contact Miguel Caro (miguel.caro@aalto.fi).

Sponsors

The AI in Astrochemistry Training School 2025 is made possible thanks to the support by COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology). COST is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. COST Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation.

Local support by the Department of Chemistry and Materials Science of Aalto University is also gratefully acknowledged.