ICAS 2010 - 27th Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences ICAS 2010

The challenges facing aeronautics have changed and are continuing to change. Today, a difficult
global economic situation combined with growing concerns over climate change is increasing
political awareness of aviation and is setting the research agenda for the next decade. It has never
been more important for the benefits of aviation to be communicated to politicians, decision
makers, leaders of industry and the general public.
The international aviation system is a primary enabler for global wealth creation with some of the
worldâ?™s poorest counties being amongst the greatest beneficiaries. Aviation creates new markets
and broadens access to existing markets. In addition, air travel promotes international awareness,
understanding and tolerance and it improves the quality of life for millions of people. However,
aviation is currently one of the sources of the pollution that is producing climate change. Therefore,
in order to guarantee that the benefits of air travel can be fully exploited by society and that
aviation can grow, without limitation, to deliver increased global wealth creation, practical solutions
to a number of central problems are needed. Amongst these are improvements in aviation safety
and security, reductions in noise and emissions and increases in airspace and airport capacity.
The design, development and manufacture of an aircraft and its systems requires complex,
multidisciplinary process optimization, involving a worldwide supply chain. These problems are
arguably the greatest yet faced by the aeronautics and aviation communities and the solutions will
require the generation of radical ideas.
To be able to respond to these challenges, the aerospace and aviation industries must attract the
most able engineers and scientists in the face of increasingly strong competition from other
industries. These people must be motivated, trained and educated. However, to be most effective,
they must be exposed to the international issues and to the views and ideas of the international
aeronautics community.
In an intensely competitive world facing differential resource scarcities, international collaboration
becomes increasingly important. The ICAS Congress provides a unique forum for scientists and
engineers, researchers and designers, manufacturers and managers and university faculty and
students from all over the world to meet, to learn, to debate, to share ideas and technical
information and to build those relationships that are critically important to the advancement of our
profession and our industry.
In light of their increasing importance, in addition to our regular