Conference: VORTEX2025: Toward World Consensus on Vortex Definition and Prediction

A vortex is a rotational or swirling motion in fluids. Vortices are ubiquitous in nature, and they are viewed as key components in fluid dynamics, especially turbulent flow. However, there is no precise mathematical definition of a vortex, which complicates research on vortical flows and turbulence.

This award will support a conference to be held December 11 – 13, 2025 at the University of Texas – Arlington. The conference will promote exchanges among international scientists and engineers directed toward reaching a consensus on vortex definition and prediction. Vexing problems in a variety of fields such as oceanography, meteorology, astronomy and physiological fluid dynamics make achieving this goal especially urgent.

New ideas, methods, and applications related to vortex will be presented and discussed at this forum, and the results will be made widely available through publication of the conference proceedings.

The first definition of a vortex was given in 1858 by Helmholtz, who considered a vortex as a vorticity tube. Since then, a variety of vortex identification criteria have been used by fluid dynamics researchers. This conference builds on a series of workshops and short courses aimed at vortex identification in engineering applications.

Topics addressed at the conference will include vortex definition and identification methods as well as applications in aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, biological flows, space science, and other disciplines. The conference will be supplemented with a short course titled, “Liutex and Liutex-based subgrid models,” to be held immediately after the conference.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.