Welcome to ASIC 2026

The 26th Annual Summer Interdisciplinary Conference, held at the Executive Suites Hotel & Resort, 40900 Tantalus Road, Squamish BC V8B 0R3, Canada.

The conference will have talks every afternoon and evening across six consecutive days, Sunday June 21 to Friday June 26, 2026. The last talks are held on the evening of June 26, so plan to depart no earlier than Saturday, June 27.

About the conference

ASIC is interdisciplinary, with a primary emphasis on the broad frame of cognitive science. It follows the successful format of previous years: days are free for leisure and discussion among participants, talks run in the late afternoon and early evening, and dinner follows. The dates are chosen to make it easy for attendees to bring family and friends.

The talks

Talks run 30 minutes, limiting the total to 48 over the six days. If more attendees wish to speak than time allows, the organizer will select speakers. A single speaking session each day (no posters) is intentionally organized to maximize the dissimilarity of each day’s presentations.

Experience shows the most appreciated talks are on subjects unfamiliar to most participants. Topics have ranged across modeling of cognition, neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience, psychology (perception, attention, memory and cognition), computer science and AI, machine learning, methodology and statistics, linguistics and psycholinguistics, and philosophy of mind — but talks on any subject are welcome, provided they are comprehensible and interesting to a wide scientific audience.

Daily format

Each day opens with a reception of drinks and light snacks from about 15:30–16:00, followed by spoken presentations that typically end at 20:00, then group dinner. The opening reception is Sunday, June 21. The schedule frees most of the day for activities or discussion; day trips are possible as long as you return in time for the 16:00 session.

Invitation

The conference is open to all interested parties and their family and friends — no invitation is needed to attend. Please feel free to forward the conference information to colleagues.

For a listing of all past ASIC sites, see the previous ASIC sites document.

Forms & Talks

Two quick forms — one for everyone, one for prospective speakers.

1. Attendee & guest information

The first form to fill out provides information about you and your guests, and tells the organizers your plans for joining either of the two climbing days.

Open the attendee form

2. Proposing a talk

There is a separate form for those hoping to give a talk at ASIC 2026.

Open the talk-proposal form

Registration

Register once you are reasonably sure of attending. The fee covers conference and dining-room rental, equipment, and catering for breaks and receptions.

When you are ready, complete registration and pay through the Indiana University Conference Bureau:

Register & pay

Fee schedule (US dollars, per attendee)

Payments from or after January 1, 2026:

If a registration payment is made but the attendee cancels, the registration fee is refunded.

Lodging

A block of rooms is held at the Executive Suites Hotel & Resort, Squamish. The number held shrinks as the date approaches, so book early.

The hotel has 111 rooms, mostly suites of various sizes. For ASIC we have reserved 10 studios and 40 one-bedroom suites. ASIC attendees get free wifi and parking; the hotel has AC, a gym, a pool, and a bar/lounge. Talks take place in the hotel’s Garibaldi Room; receptions and dinners are in the Clubhouse. Hotel website: executivesuitessquamish.com.

Rates

Rates below are in Canadian dollars and are the total for that number of people in that room type, half board — inclusive of lodging, breakfast and dinner, with all fees and taxes included.

Two-bedroom suites have two separate bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen; each bedroom has a queen bed, with a queen sofa bed in the living room.

A note on cost

Good hotels at attractive outdoor sites in the US and Canada tend to be fully booked a year in advance, charge high prices, and rarely discount for conferences. The 2026 charges seem high but are roughly half what they would be at other possible North American ASIC sites — and not much higher than ASIC 2025 in France. Converting Canadian dollars to euros (as of July 11):

Booking & cancellation

Bookings and reservations require no deposit. Cancellation is free until 14 days prior to arrival; after that, full payment is required. Because no deposit is needed, anyone who might attend should book a room to keep our held rooms from being released. If demand exceeds our block, the hotel will try to accommodate extra requests.

Around June 1, the organizer will email the attendee list to remind everyone of the upcoming free-cancellation date, so no one who books and later decides not to come is charged by mistake.

Dining & Receptions

Breakfast and dinner are included in the daily lodging price.

A buffet breakfast is available 7:00–11:00 in the Freebird Restaurant. Buffet dinners are served in the Clubhouse attached to the hotel, reserved for ASIC attendees and guests, starting when the talks end at 20:00.

There are many options, including vegetarian choices, and — because Squamish sits on Howe Sound — seafood and shellfish. Vegans should let the restaurant know in advance when reserving. Attendees pay the hotel directly for any alcoholic drinks.

Daily receptions

Each day, before the speaking session, there is a catered reception with drinks and finger food — near the Garibaldi Room or in the Clubhouse — beginning about 15:30. The registration fee covers these receptions. Guests and family members not attending the sessions but planning to attend receptions have a reduced registration fee.

Travel

Squamish is about 65 km north of Vancouver. The closest international airport is Vancouver (YVR); next is SeaTac near Seattle. A small local airport (YSE) sits just north of Squamish.

Most attendees will want a car for local travel. Driving from Vancouver to Squamish is as little as 1.5 hours, depending on Vancouver traffic (the airport is south of the city). Driving from SeaTac is nearly 4 hours given distance and expected traffic.

Without a car

There is bus service from Vancouver airport to Squamish, with various route options taking at least 2 hours:

• SkyTrain plus the Squamish Connector — step-by-step instructions
• Skylynx (YVR to Squamish)

Neither option stops at the hotel, so you would need a taxi for the last leg:

• Ecofriendly Taxi — 778-956-1996
• Squamish Taxi — 604-567-1111
• Howe Sound Taxi — 604-898-8888

Getting back & around town

To return to Vancouver you can use the Squamish Connector. Local Squamish bus schedules are at BC Transit Squamish. There is a town bus stop just outside the hotel, usable during ASIC, though as a small town the service does not run often. The hotel can provide information.

Activities

Squamish offers nearly every outdoor and adventure activity ASIC attendees have come to expect — at sea level, surrounded by mountains, on the edge of Howe Sound, about an hour south of Whistler.

For a general introduction to the area, see exploresquamish.com. Guidebooks for climbing, hiking, bouldering and mountain biking are available (print and electronic) from Quickdraw Publications.

Rock climbing

Squamish is justifiably renowned for climbing. Most famous is the Stawamus Chief, a 2,000 ft granite monolith with many routes (climbing and hiking), some bottom to top. There are numerous other areas too — single- and multi-pitch, bolted sport and traditional. The recommended current guidebook is Squamish Select (2020). For multi-pitch routes such as Angel’s Crest (13 pitches, YDS 5.10b), most attendees would hire a local guide; a guide or experienced partner is needed wherever a rope must be placed, especially on unbolted routes requiring protection.

Group climbing day — Monday, June 22

As usual we offer a group climbing day at reduced pricing for those needing instruction, gear, or help placing ropes — for first-timers, beginners, anyone wanting ropes placed or instruction on typical Squamish slab and crack climbing, and experienced climbers bringing their own gear who simply want to join the camaraderie. This day is at the Smoke Bluffs. Novices are given shoes, harness and helmet and taught on easy routes; more experienced climbers have ropes placed on harder routes in the same area.

Special climbing opportunity — Wednesday, June 24

A second group day is for experienced climbers (able to belay) with some or all of their own gear and able to climb YDS 5.8 or higher — a chance to enjoy a 10-pitch climb at Cheakamus Canyon, a more vertical area with a different style than the Smoke Bluffs. Two adjacent 10-pitch routes at YDS 5.8 offer easy access and an easy walk-off. Guides charge CN$350 (about US$250); each guide takes two climbers. To take part, email the organizer directly at shiffrin@iu.edu.

Via ferrata

A family-friendly favorite: you move along, up and down cliffs and canyons attached to iron cables and staples affixed to the rock — mountain exposure and scenery without technical climbing skill, and with considerable safety. The Squamish via ferrata is at the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola and requires a reservation and payment.

Hiking

There are far too many hikes to list, of widely varying length and difficulty — including several to the top of the Stawamus Chief and one to the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola (with the gondola available for the return). The book Squamish Hiking covers many options with maps and rates them Easy, Moderate, Difficult, and Very Difficult.

“Very Difficult” hikes would be impossible to complete during an ASIC day and still return for talks — e.g. Panorama Ridge (28 km, 9–12 hrs, 1,540 m gain) or Black Tusk to the viewpoint (25 km, 8–11 hrs, 1,400 m gain; the actual summit adds 300 m and a fifth-class chimney scramble). Save the long, hard hikes for days before or after ASIC.

Mountain biking

Squamish has excellent mountain biking; a dedicated guidebook is available from Quickdraw Publications.

Scrambling & peak bagging

Many peaks are reachable by experienced mountaineers and scramblers, such as Mt. Garibaldi (2,600 m) near Squamish. Taller peaks are snow- and ice-covered and need technical gear; most require more than a day, so they’re best reserved for before or after ASIC. The approaches themselves make excellent scenic hikes (e.g. Panorama Ridge, Garibaldi Lake). The Black Tusk is a 16-mile loop with ~5,000 ft of gain to the usual stopping point, plus a short chimney to the very top for which a helmet — and ideally a guide — is advisable.

Water & air

• Canyoning — wetsuits and guides to descend and rappel a mountain stream in a narrow canyon; no experience needed, suitable for families. Local spots: Britannia Creek and Shannon Falls.
• White-water rafting — popular and beginner-friendly depending on the rapids.
• Parasailing / paragliding — tandem flights with an expert; Sea to Sky Paragliding (well north of Whistler) or, closer, Grouse Mountain in Vancouver.
• Kiteboarding — Howe Sound near Squamish is an excellent site for experienced riders.
• Kayaking, paddle boarding, canoeing — many options on the area lakes and on Howe Sound.

Other options include horseback riding, sailing, fly fishing, zip lines and an aerial park, plus tours: scenic flights, ATV and off-road tours, eagle viewing, a heli ice-cave tour, and a local mine museum.

Wildlife

Brackendale Eagles Park protects critical habitat for wintering bald eagles, which gather along the Squamish and Cheakamus Rivers to feed on salmon. Other wildlife includes black bear, cougar, gray wolf, Roosevelt elk and Columbian black-tailed deer, plus smaller mammals such as the northern flying squirrel, snowshoe hare and yellow-pine chipmunk. The area hosts garter snakes, around eleven amphibian species (including the tailed frog and northwestern salamander), and roughly 148 bird species through the year.

Contact

Email is preferred for all correspondence.

Conference organizer

Rich Shiffrin
Indiana University – Bloomington
shiffrin@indiana.edu
Tel: 812-855-4972 · Cell: 812-219-5892

Associate organizers

• Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol — Stephan.Lewandowsky@bristol.ac.uk
• Fritz Breithaupt, Indiana University — fbreitha@indiana.edu
• Jennifer Trueblood, Indiana University — jstruebl@iu.edu
• Colin Allen, University of California Santa Barbara — prof.colin.allen@gmail.com
• Franco Pestilli, University of Texas — pestilli@utexas.edu

Postal address

Annual Summer Interdisciplinary Conference (ASIC 2026)
c/o Prof. Richard Shiffrin, Psychological and Brain Sciences Department
Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405