Scientific Programme Committee (SPC)

• Chairman: Prof. Maria Vittoria Salvetti​
• Deputy Chairman: Prof Paola Cinnella

Role of the SPC

The Scientific Programme Committee has existed since the foundation of ERCOFTAC in 1988, and was established to define the scientific direction of ERCOFTAC and select scientific problems to be tackled and the approaches to be followed. Under the chairmanship of Professors D.B. Spalding, J.C.R. Hunt, and numerous other eminent professors the committee has developed over the years into the body that initiates, promotes and also monitors the main scientific activities of ERCOFTAC. These scientific activities include:

• establishment and monitoring of Special Interest Groups (SIG's) in which ERCOFTAC members cooperate on a well defined area of research (e.g. large-eddy simulation) or on area of research application (e.g. turbomachinery);
• ERCOFTAC Pilot Centre (PC's) activities: evaluation of these;
• data base activities: collection and validation of experimental and computational data, generation of data banks, setting up of test cases for calculation procedures;
• collaborative research projects; especially promotion of EC projects under the ERCOFTAC label with provision of information on the EC programmes and coordination and help in the proposal state;
• ERCOFTAC Workshops and Summer Schools providing exchange of information, advanced training and dissemination of the results of the research activities;
• publication projects such as the ERCOFTAC Bulletin, ERCOFTAC book series and the Journal of Flow, Turbulence and Combustion;
• scientific cooperation with Associate Members and other organisations. e.g. COST.

The Knowledge Network Committee (KNC) supports the SPC in clarifying the industrial needs in research. The IPC poses the research questions in industry which are then transmitted to the SPC to stimulate appropriate research activities.

The SPC members are research and industry representatives of the Pilot Centres and of the Special Interest Groups. They meet twice a year to: discuss research priorities, proposals for Workshops and Summer Schools and to make recommendations on these to the Managing Board; review the activities of the Special Interest Groups, making recommendations for the formation of new SIG's and the closing down of inactive ones; discuss publication policies, research activities of Pilot Centres and CEC programmes; and to promote joint CEC sponsored research projects.

SPC Charter

The role of the SPC is to:

1. Define the scientific needs of ERCOFTACand advise the Managing Board on this.

Based on the scientific needs of ERCOFTAC members (the needs of industrial members play an important role), the Committee proposes scientific problems for ERCOFTAC to solve and selects priority areas of research. The Committee also defines new research directions which hold particular promise for the more distant future.

2. Suggest scientific activities mainly in the priority areas chosen:

• Formation of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in which ERCOFTAC members cooperate on a well defined area of research or area of application of research (e.g. turbomachinery)
• Data base activities: collection and validation of data, generation of data banks, setting up of test cases for calculation procedures
• Collaborative research projects (mainly to be associated with SIGs and funded by the EC)
• Workshops promoting the exchange of information
• Summer schools providing advanced training and dissemination of results of the research activities

3. Manage and review the above activities thereby ensuring that they are of high standard and achieve results that are significant to ERCOFTAC members, in particular also to industry.

4. Promote EC projects under the ERCOFTAC label: provide information on CEC programmes, bring together interested researchers, arrange coordination and help in the proposal stage.

5. Promote scientific cooperation with associated members, advise on scientific cooperation with other organisations and schemes, e.g. COST.

6. Ensure that the results of the activities are widely disseminated through the ERCOFTAC Bulletin and an ERCOFTAC publication series on workshops and summer schools.

Members of the SPC

Each Pilot Centre can have two representatives on the Committee, one from research and one from industry. Special Interest Groups have one representative on the SPC who can, however, be one of the representatives of a Pilot Center. The members of the SPC are expected to participate in the SPC meetings. One of the members is appointed as Chairman by the Managing Board.