IFAR Summit 2022 – A meeting of aeronautics researchers from around the world
The International Forum for Aviation Research (IFAR) is the foremost global aviation research network. It brings together 27 member organisations active in aviation research. Founded in 2010, IFAR today links approximately 40,000 researchers worldwide. In autumn 2022, the member organisations convened at the 13th IFAR Summit in Prague. The four-day summit focussed on the theme of 'Artificial intelligence for aviation' and was hosted by the Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLU). IFAR is committed to connecting national aviation research organisations in order to foster information sharing, technical discussions, talent development and external partnerships with international organisations such as ICAS and ICAO. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is a founding member of IFAR.
Artificial intelligence under the spotlight
To kick off the summit, Jan Kleindienst, co-founder and co-CEO; Strategy, Visions & Dreaming at The MAMA AI, gave a keynote address on artificial intelligence in aviation. IFAR then welcomed Jana Havlikova, Czech Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, who spoke about the future vision of aviation from the perspective of the Czech Republic. Guest speakers from industry emphasised the importance of increasing digitalisation and the introduction of new urban concepts in response to the potential of urban air mobility in creating the smart cities of the future. VZLU and its industrial partners, AERO Vodochody Aerospace and GE Aviation, presented elements of the Czech Republic's aerospace industry. Czech companies use the latest technologies to tackle new challenges such as additive manufacturing and design with the help of virtual reality.
New IFAR member and IFAR networking
At the summit, IFAR also welcomed a new member into the organisation. A*STAR, the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research, officially became the 27th member of the IFAR community on 17 October 2022 with the signing of the IFAR Charter by A*STAR's new director, Reginald Tan. Reginald Tan is currently Executive Director of A*STAR's Science and Engineering Research Council.
The IFAR members in attendance gave a series of lectures on the current activities of their organisations. Projects from around the world were presented, including electric flight demonstrators, urban air mobility prototypes and hydrogen concepts. Twelve IFAR working groups presented their reports, and the working group leaders expressed their satisfaction with the ongoing activities. French aviation research organisation ONERA presented the results of an internal survey that identified the barriers and challenges that IFAR researchers face in working together, with the aim of fostering networking even more effectively in future.
IFAR–ICAO collaboration
Collaboration between IFAR and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was also a matter of particular interest at the Prague summit. IFAR intends to present the scientific assessment of urban air mobility at an informal meeting of the ICAO Council in March 2023. In addition to the scientific assessment, the IFAR-ICAO expert group presented a roadmap for the future and delivered a report on the progress of this collaboration.
The members of the IFAR–ICAO Expert Group, consisting of Christian Eschmann (DLR), Davis Hackenberg (NASA) and Charles Vidal (NRC), received the IFAR Distinguished Service Award in recognition of their exceptional contribution to IFAR-ICAO collaboration. The IFAR ECN Award was presented to Taylor Robertson (NRC) in recognition of his extraordinary work in supporting young researchers at IFAR.
The 14th IFAR Summit will be held in Naples, Italy on 16-19 October 2023 and hosted by the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA).