ERCOFTAC 'da Vinci Competition' 

The annual da Vinci Competition is one of the most important events in ERCOFTAC’s calendar. Its importance arises from the fact that it is the principal ERCOFTAC forum for the youngest, most gifted researchers in our field in Europe to present the products of their endeavours. The hope, indeed expectation, is that these young researchers will progress to become Europe’s leaders in Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, and will act as ERCOFTAC’s most eminent ambassadors.

The 2010 da Vinci Competition was held at ERCOFTAC's Autumn Festival in Lisbon. The six finalists gave presentations of a very high standard, the winner being Oliver Buxton, from Imperial College London, for his paper on:

       'The fine scale features of turbulent shear flows'.

"To be amongst the final six young researchers asked to present my work to a distinguished audience of European researchers was a real honour. All of the presentations in Lisbon were of the highest standard; it was genuinely a privilege to be part of such a varied and high quality programme. Winning the competition itself is undoubtedly one of the highlights of my academic career to date."

Every year, an invitation goes out to all Pilot Centres with the request to each nominate three outstanding research studies of PhD students or recent PhD graduates. Extended summaries submitted by the nominees to the Scientific Programme Committee are then reviewed by a panel of distinguished judges, leading to the selection of the top candidates for the da Vinci Prize. These candidates are then invited to present their research at the da Vinci Day .

The da Vinci Prize - 1000 Euros, a Certificate and a medal - is awarded to the competitor judged by the jury to have demonstrated the best combination of scientific merit and presentational quality.