CFD 2030 IC News & Events 2026

Formation of CFD Vision 2045 Working Group

Photographs of CFD Vision 2045 Team Members

The AIAA CFD 2030 Integration Committee is pleased to announce the formation of a new multi‑institution group tasked with defining where computational fluid dynamics and its allied fields should be by the year 2045 to meet the demands of future aerospace systems. These results will be compiled into a CFD 2045 Vision study that documents the capabilities required, the grand challenges that stand in the way, and a roadmap of research and technology milestones needed to reach those goals.

The team members and their affiliations are:

This effort builds on the legacy of the CFD Vision 2030 study, which shaped a decade of progress in CFD research and application. We look forward to sharing more as the CFD 2045 team begins its work and to engaging the community throughout the development of this next long-range vision for CFD.

For more information contact Prashant Khare (Prashant.Khare@uc.edu).

AIAA Aviation, June

Aviation 2026 Save the Date

Technical Sessions

CFD2030-01: Advances in CFD Technologies

CFD2030-02: Validation Dialog Between Turbulence Modelers and Turbulence Measurers

The processes of verification and validation are widely recognized as being fundamental components of engineering practice. However, the meanings attributed to the terms verification and validation can vary between different groups of stakeholders: different terms may be used for the same concept; different concepts may be labelled with the same term; different relationships may exist between the concepts. A recent study - the Rosetta Stone project - recently reviewed this situation in the context of standard publications produced by four technical societies: ASME, AIAA, INCOSE and NAFEMS. To build on this work, the AIAA ICE Focus Group (TAG-1) established a Validation Discussion Group (VDG) to address the implications of this study from the viewpoint of contemporary practice in the technical community. This panel session will review the context to this work and describe the insights arising from the initial interactions within the VDG. Contributors to include Andrew Cary (Boeing), Shyam Neerarambam (Sikorsky), and Collin Strassburger (Bihrle Applied Research).

CFD2030-03: Meet the Turbulence Modelers

According to Feynman, “Turbulence is the most important unsolved problem of classical physics.” How turbulence is modeled is a key aspect of many Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) processes: understanding how turbulence models should be used is central to the task of CFD validation. The language of turbulence modeling can become very mathematical, which can be a barrier toward its effective use. To help address this problem, this session will consist of a series of informal presentations made by Subject Matter Experts (SME) to outline the principles underpinning the use of AI/ML to facilitate the modelling of turbulence. These presentations will be framed in a manner that may be understood by Turbulence Measurers and others in the broader CFD stakeholder community, too. These presentations will be followed by facilitated interactive discussion. This will build on previous specials sessions focusing on RANS turbulence models (Aviation 2025) and the use of LES to resolve turbulent scales (SciTech 2026). Contributors to include Xiang Yang (Penn State), Tobias Knopf (DLR), and Paola Cinnella (Sorbonne).

CFD2030-04: Meet the Turbulence Measurers

This session is a companion to “Meet the Turbulence Modelers” (GT-05/APA-09/AMT-02/FD-11/CFD2030-03). While its companion session addresses the use of AI/ML techniques for turbulence modelling, this session will focus on the human learning aspects of CFD validation. Using the concept of V&V TV (developed in previous special sessions), a series of informal presentations will be made by Subject Matter Experts (SME) to demonstrate how the subjects of Verification and Validation are approached by the turbulence measurement community. The principles of uncertainty quantification will also be outlined and practical methods for quantifying uncertainty illustrated. Facilitator is Nigel Taylor (MBDA). Panelists to include Elizabeth Benitez (AFRL), Pavlos Zachos (Cranfield University), and Blake Lance (SANDIA).

CFD2030-05: CFD 2030 Grand Challenge Workshop Scoping and Development

This panel will discuss a proposed CFD2030 Grand Challenge Workshop, bringing together multiple AIAA workshop communities in support of a CFD 2030 grand challenge. Panelists will be discussing the format and content of the workshop including a dialog with the audience. Panelists: Chad Winkler, The Boeing Company (PAW) Ben Rider, Boeing (DPW) Kevin Jacobson, NASA Langley (AePW) Adam Clark, Boeing (HLPW) Brent Pomeroy (DPW)

CFD2030-06: Turbulence Modelling and Turbulence Measuring: Shared Implication for Numerics and Uncertainty Quantification

A more conventional panel session, to complement the sessions held earlier in the Forum, this will bring together Subject Matter Experts (SME) from the Turbulence Modeling and Turbulence Measuring communities specifically to address the challenges posed by CFD validation. Attention will be drawn to the topics raised by both groups of SMEs in their dedicated special sessions, with a view towards developing balanced perspectives on topics related to human and machine learning. The overarching intent will be to help establish a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities, and in so doing, identify potential ways in which the computational and physical testing communities can work together to advance the state-of-the art of CFD validation. Facilitator is Nigel Taylor (MBDA). Panelists to include Xiang Yang (Penn State), Elizabeth Benitez (AFRL), and Blake Lance (SANDIA).

CFD2030-07: Geometry Modelling for Computational Simulation

Geometry modelling constitutes an essential aspect of many forms of computational modelling. Accordingly, the AIAA has established a Committee of Standards tasked with producing an AIAA Guide on the subject. This document is currently in the final stages of drafting. This panel session will afford interested members of the AIAA technical community with an opportunity to interact with members of the committee who have developed the draft, who will outline its objectives, approach, and content, before the Guide is published later in the year. The panel has been convened by the AIAA ICE Focus Group (TAG-1) since geometry modelling forms an essential part of the way boundary conditions are imposed in CFD. In the context of CFD validation, the associated errors (and uncertainties) fall under the general heading of Model Inputs. Facilitator is Nigel Taylor (MBDA). Panelists to include Henry Bucklow (ITI Transcendata) and Trevor Robinson (Queens University Belfast). Facilitator: Nigel Taylor

CFD2030-08: Why Are We Modeling our Wind Tunnels?

Providers of aerospace ground test services are developing and using digital models of their facilities to both improve understanding of their capabilities and to provide improved services to test customers. This session will introduce this topic from the service provider perspective by presenting why this is happening in terms of both the technical gains and the associated business case. It will also speak to the advantages gained toward advancing availability of an integrated (physical test and CFD) toolkit for researchers and producers.

Call for Papers - Closed

Download and share the CFP in PDF format.

The CFD2030 Vision report laid out a bold vision for future computational capabilities and their potential impact on aerospace engineering and design, and recommended the establishment of Grand Challenges (GCs) in four areas: Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of a powered aircraft configuration across the full flight envelope, off-design turbofan engine transient simulation, Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization (MDAO) of a highly-flexible advanced aircraft configuration, and probabilistic analysis of a powered space access configuration. Since 2021, four GCs have been developed and published in key technical areas: high-lift aerodynamics (AIAA Paper 2021-0955), full engine simulation (2021-0956), CFD-in-the-loop for space vehicle design (2021-0957), and hypersonics (2024-0683). Under the CFD2030 topic, we are soliciting papers that address current efforts to advance CFD technology, to both highlight the current state-of-the-art and to help identify where technology advancements are needed or have been realized to make significant progress towards achieving the GCs, in the following areas:

See the full CFD 2030 Call for Papers, important dates, and submission instructions on AIAA's website at aiaa.org/aviation/call-for-content/call-for-papers/.

AIAA SciTech, January

SciTech 2026 Session List

List of Sessions

Download and share the session list in PDF format.

Panel Sessions

Technical Paper Sessions

Call for Papers - Closed

Download and share the CFP in PDF format.

The CFD2030 Vision report laid out a bold vision for future computational capabilities and their potential impact on aerospace engineering and design and recommended the establishment of Grand Challenges (GCs) to drive CFD technology development. Since 2021, four GCs have been developed and published in key technical areas: high-lift aerodynamics (AIAA Paper 2021-0955), full engine simulation (2021-0956), CFD-in-the-loop for space vehicle design (2021-0957), and hypersonics (2024-0683). Under the CFD2030 topic, we are soliciting papers that address current efforts to advance CFD technology, to both highlight the current state-of-the-art and to help identify where technology advancements are needed to make significant progress towards achieving the GCs.

See the full CFD 2030 Call for Papers, important dates, and submission instructions on AIAA's website at www.aiaa.org/SciTech/call-for-content/call-for-papers/#cfd-vision-2030.