Redefining the Limits of Detection

Tracing Life from the Deep Past to Planetary Frontiers

January 6-8, 2027

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Registration started. Deadline is 30 November 2026.

Scope

How faint can a trace of life become before we can no longer recognize it as life? From subtle remnants preserved in ancient rocks, to microorganisms quietly persisting deep beneath Earth’s surface and in extreme environments, to possible signs of life on Mars and icy moons, and the faint atmospheric signals reaching us from exoplanets light-years away, the search for life is pushing ever closer to the limits of detection. As the frontiers of exploration expand, we are confronted with fundamental questions: What truly constitutes evidence for life? And how far can our methods take us in finding it? The 15th ELSI International Symposium will bring together researchers across geoscience, biology, chemistry, planetary science, and astronomy to challenge the boundaries between life and non-life, and between signal and noise. From Earth’s deep past to the forefront of planetary exploration, we will explore new ways to reveal life where it is hardest to see.

Overview

Dates: Wednesday-Friday, 6-8 January 2027 (See below for detailed schedule)

Location: Digital Hall, Institute of Science Tokyo, Ookayama Campus, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan (See below for detailed map)

Scientific Organizing Committee: Hidenori Genda & Javier Martin-Torres (Chairs), Kosuke Fujishima, Harrison Smith, Mohit Melwani Daswani, Takanori Kodama

Local Organizing Committee: Hidenori Genda (Chair), Shintaro Kadoya, Etsuko Ito, Akiko Tanaka

Contact Information: sympo15_soc@elsi.jp (SOC), sympo15_loc@elsi.jp (LOC)

Schedule

Wednesday 6 January (Day 1)

09:00-10:00 Registration and Coffee (Location: Digital Hall)
10:00- Session Starts
12:00-13:30 Lunch (See Lunch Map Provided by ELSI Staff)
13:30- Session Starts
17:00 Closing of Day 1

Thursday 7 January (Day 2)

09:00- Session Starts
18:00-21:00 Symposium Banquet (Location: ELSI-1 2nd Floor Agora)

Friday 8 January (Day 3)

09:00- Session Starts
17:00 Closing of the Symposium

Location/Access/Wi-Fi

Please refer to the Google Map below for detailed locations.

Oral sessions, Poster session, discussions will be held at Digital Hall, near the entrance of the campus close to Ookayama Station.
Banquet will be held at the ELSI Agora in the ELSI-1 building (2nd floor).
Hotels that ELSI will recommend to host visitors are also indicated on the map below.
Wi-Fi access is available at the symposium venue via eduroam. Participants are kindly asked to configure and test eduroam through their home institution before coming to the symposium, so that they can connect smoothly upon arrival.

Registration

All attendees are requested to fill out the following registration form, and this will (1) tell us how to list your name and affiliation for your badge, (2) inform us whether you will attend the banquet so that we know how much food and drink to order, (3) allow you to submit a title and abstract for the poster session, and (4) allow you to inform us about any special needs or assistance you may require. This conference has no registration fee (although there will be a separate charge to attend the optional banquet).

Please register if you plan to attend. The registration deadline is 30 November, 2026.

If you submit the registration form more than once, we will use your most recent submission as your final registration.

If your browser is having difficulty rendering this embedded registration form below, please click here to go directly to the registration form.

Poster Information

Our poster sessions are lively and active events, and an integral part of the symposium. Poster display boards and necessary attachment hardware will be provided. Our poster boards are optimized for A0 size in portrait orientation (841mm wide × 1189mm tall).

Symposium Banquet

We will hold our symposium banquet from 18:00-21:00 on Thirsday 7 January in the ELSI Agora. A variety of food and drinks will be provided. Note that we cannot use institutional funds for this kind of event, and we kindly request a banquet fee from attendees in order to cover costs.

Banquet fee (please pay at the registration, but ELSI members should pay in advance)

ELSI PI: 7,000 JPY

ELSI A-PI, Researcher, Postdoc: 5,000 JPY

Students: 2,000 JPY

Code of Conduct

Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. All event attendees and staff have the right to a space that is free of all forms of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and/or retaliation. Participants who are requested to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. If you wish to report harassment, suspect that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the organizing committee as soon as possible.