The ERCOFTAC da Vinci Prize for young researchers is awarded annually in recognition of an excellent PhD thesis in theoretical and applied fluid dynamics and outstanding scientific contributions with engineering relevance.

Many things worked out differently than planned this year. We had to cancel the ERCOFTAC Autumn Festival in Rome, which would have provided the festive framework for the finals of the 15^th da Vinci Competition. Instead, we will hold the finals at the Spring Festival 2021.

The five finalists that will compete for the 15th ERCOFTAC Da Vinci Prize are (in alphabetical order):

1. P.M. de Oliveira: Ignition and propagation mechanisms of spray flames
2. G. Gomez-de-Segura: Turbulent drag reduction by anisotropic permeable substrates
3. G. Iacobello: Spatio-temporal analysis of wall-bounded turbulence: A multidisciplinary perspective via complex networks
4. B. Torner: Investigation of the flow physics in a ventricular assist device under consideration of the influence of turbulence on the computation of blood damage
5. M. Zauner: Direct numerical simulation and stability analysis of transonic flow around airfoils at moderate Reynolds numbers

Congratulations! We are looking forward to seeing their presentations at the Spring Festival 2021, which is planned to take place in Cambridge (UK), 22-23 April 2021. Given the current circumstances, this will be a hybrid or fully online event.