Observation of the hot universe, from 105 K upward, has a vital impact on some of the most fundamental questions in astrophysics today. Hot plasmas, from the sun and stellar coronae, to the cores of gamma ray bursts, expose the underpinning physics of observable phenomena: the evolution of largescale structure and nucleosynthesis; the interaction between galaxies and super-massive black holes; the behavior of matter under extreme conditions; the fate of the “missing” baryons; and the life cycle of stars. 

Previous and currently operating space telescopes, such as Chandra, XMM-Newton, FUSE, INTEGRAL, GALEX, RXTE, Hinode, SDO, Swift, Suzaku, FERMI and NuSTAR have revolutionized our view of the hot universe; future missions, e.g., ASTROSAT, SRG, ASTRO-H, SVOM, HXMT and NICER promise new discovery space. It is expected that early results and instrument performance of some of these missions can be presented at the meeting. After this “golden age” the ESA large scale mission Athena will be the observatory for the next decade (scheduled launch date 2028). However, focused, small and mid-sized missions should complement Athena and full coverage of the UV to gamma-ray wavelength is equally important to advance science. In addition it is crucial to explore and develop technology beyond the Athena mission. Technology which will need to be advanced includes large format cryogenic imaging spectrometers, CMOS image arrays, pore optics, adjustable and active optics, multi-layers, x-ray polarimetry, x-ray interferometry, hard x-ray and gamma ray imaging systems.

This conference invites the community to contribute to the discussion of new observatories in the UV to gamma-ray band. The conference will cover, among others, the following issues: major questions in astrophysics that will drive the design of new observatories; lessons learned from existing observatories, both technical and astrophysical; approved and proposed new observatories; technologies in optics and focal planes; and novel concepts.