ICAS2026 to be held in Sydney

The 34^th Congress of the International Council for the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) will be held in Sydney. The announcement came after the ICAS 2022 conference which was held in Stockholm, Sweden from 4 to 9 September. No date for the 2026 event has been set as yet.

The lead organiser for ICAS 2026 will be the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Australian Division, which led the bid supported by Business Events Sydney (BESydney), a not-for-profit company that promotes the city as a business visitor destination. The final presentation on behalf of the Sydney bid team was made by Geoff Wilkinson, President of the RAeS Australian Division, following a virtual presentation to ICAS’s Executive Council in May. The bid chair was Professor Nick Lawson of the University of Sydney and much of the pre-bid legwork was done by David Cox, formerly of Qantas and the University of Sydney Dept of Mechanical Engineering.

ICAS was founded in 1957 by one of the giants of aerodynamic research, Theodore von Karmann, and is the peak international body for aeronautical research and development and its membership. A not-for-profit body headquartered in Germany, it supports aeronautical engineering professional societies and associated organisations from 30 countries. The biennial Congress agenda addresses core aeronautical disciplines such as Aircraft Design, Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Materials and Structures, Systems and Subsystems, and Controls. However, in response to the constraints and changes wrought by the COVID pandemic and the aviation industry’s recovery, this year’s Congress also addressed emerging technologies that lead to improved performance, a cleaner or quieter environment, or more agile development processes.

It also embraced technical topics addressing healthier and safer air circulation conditions inside aircraft, airport procedures and other issues that became relevant throughout the current pandemic.