Chairperson's Address, December 2023

Dear Colleagues and Members,

With the re-election at the Autumn Festival in Liège, the last two years of my tenure at the helm of ERCOFTAC started. Looking back, we had some unforeseen challenges, but we took them as opportunities to grow. In this spirit, I’m glad to say that we have left the restrictions of the Covid pandemic behind us. Moreover, we have used this time to build some digital muscles, to rejuvenate and to bring more diversity into our organization. To strike a balance, we have also been building on the strengths of ERCOFTAC and have been drawing from the vast experience of our members and those serving our community year after year. While we keep on improving together, I’m very proud of our wider leadership team and what our community has achieved so far!

Some examples that illustrate our development well are that now two well-respected female professors are leading the Scientific Programme Committee: Professors Salvetti and Cinnella. On the other hand, we have with Dr. Standingford a chairman-elect who drove the KNC to operational excellence, was key in expanding our digital offerings and who has built a strong team that will continue to develop the KNC further. The ERCOFTAC community established many new and diverse SIGs, e.g. on machine learning in fluid mechanics, that spark great interest, while some, like SIG1 LES, are still going strong with DLES14 having been announced (see below). Finally, we have a new PC Ukraine, that I would ask you to support to find its role in our community.

At the Autumn Festival in Liège, we had anonymously voted to change our by-laws in order to be compliant with a change in the Belgian law, but also to reflect and preserve how we operate now. While we had a strong attendance, it fell short of the required quorum. We, therefore, will have a special online-only General Assembly for a final vote on January 23rd, 10:00am-11:00am, where a majority present will suffice. More information to follow in January. I hope you can make it!

I also want to bring your attention to the ECCOMAS Awards announced in the newsletter. As a member, ERCOFTAC is eligible to propose candidates. We are looking forward to your nominations.

Finally, our Spring Festival will be in Madrid, Spain on May 16-17, 2024. I hope to meet you there! In the meantime, I wish you a relaxing holiday season and a great start in the new year!

Prof. Dominic von Terzi,
Chairperson of ERCOFTAC