IUTAM Symposium on Vortex Dynamics: Formation, Structure and Function, 10–14 March 2013, Fukuoka, Japan

This special issue of Fluid Dynamics Research contains the first of a two-part publication of the papers presented at the IUTAM Symposium on Vortex Dynamics: Formation, Structure and Function, held at the Centennial Hall, Kyushu University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan, during the week of 10–14 March 2013. Vortices are ubiquitous structures in fluid mechanics spanning the range of scales from nanofluidics and microfluidics to geophysical and astrophysical flows. Vortices are the key to understanding many different phenomena. As a result, the subject of vortex dynamics continues to evolve and to constantly find new applications in biology, biotechnology, industrial and environmental problems. Vortices can be created by the separation of a flow from the surface of a body or at a density interface, and evolve into coherent structures. Once formed, a vortex acquires a function, depending on its individual structure. In this way, for example, insects gain lift and fish gain thrust. Surprisingly, despite the long history of vortex dynamics, only recently has knowledge about formation, structure and function of vortices been combined to yield new perspectives in the subject, thereby helping to solve outstanding problems brought about by modern advances in computer technology and improved experimental techniques. This symposium is a continuation, five years on, of the IUTAM Symposium '50 Years of Vortex Dynamics', Lyngby, Denmark that took place between 12–16 October 2008, organized by the late Professor Hassan Aref. Originally, Professor Aref was a member of the International Scientific Committee of this symposium and offered his enthusiasm and great expertise, to support its organization. To our shock, he suddenly passed away on 9 September 2011. Furthermore, Professor Slava Meleshko, a leading scientist of fluid and solid mechanics and an intimate friend of Professor Aref, was expected to make an eminent contribution to the symposium. Soon after this sad loss, Professor Meleshko unexpectedly passed away in a tragic traffic accident on 14 November 2011. This symposium was dedicated to the memory of Professors Aref and Meleshko, and started with a session commemorating the legacy of their work, organized by Professors P K Newton and G J F van Heijst. Professors Aref (1950–2011) and Meleshko (1951–2011) made fundamental contributions to fluid mechanics and vortex dynamics throughout their respective distinguished careers. Although mathematical in their fundamental approaches, both sought the connections between theory and experiment and searched for physical explanations in their work. With strong, warm, and embracing personalities, they each played key roles in developing and enriching international collaborations in the field of vortex dynamics through their considerable organizational and cooperative skills, and both made enormous contribution to the development of the IUTAM. Their scientific interests and personal lives overlapped considerably, and their impact in the field of vortex dynamics was honoured in the memorial session. The following sessions presented the development of new mathematical methods and theoretical concepts, bringing in novel techniques in vortex dynamics, stimulated by the continuous development of numerical method and new experimental results, in such aspects as vortex equilibria, spectra, instability and nonlinear dynamics of vortices in barotropic and baroclinic fluids, chaos, classical and quantum turbulence, and wall turbulence, flow separation and vortex-body interactions. Topical applications include biological locomotion, environmental problems, and Bose–Einstein condensates in condensed matter theory. Central fundamental issues in theoretical, numerical and experimental aspects of vortex dynamics were also covered during the symposium such as (1) The dynamics of point vortices in domains of non-trivial topology, its Hamiltonian formulation and new statistical approaches, (2) 3D instability of vortices, with effects of compressibility and stratification, (3) Stratified vortices in the atmosphere and oceans and MHD vortices in astrophysics, (4) Numerical methods for calculating vortex equilibria, (5) Numerical methods for calculating separation of vortices and vortex–vortex interactions with their application to fish and insect locomotion and wind turbines. The symposium was attended by 128 registered participants. The official scientific participants came from 16 nations: Algeria (1), Brazil (1), Canada (3), China (3), France (12), Germany (1), India (1), Italy (2), Japan (63), The Netherlands (1), Poland (3), Russia (7), Spain (2), UK (10), Ukraine (2), and USA (16). Just a hundred papers were presented. The technical program consisted of eight invited lectures, 48 contributed papers and 44 poster presentations. The International Scientific Committee (ISC) of the symposium consisted of Professors D G Crowdy, S Le Dizes, S G Llewellyn Smith, P K Newton, R L Ricca, G J F van Heijst and YF as the chair. The members of the ISC are gratefully acknowledged. Sincere thanks are extended to the Advisory Board and also to all the members of the Domestic Organizing Committee and Local Organizing Committee for their effort in making the symposium very successful. Financial support for the symposium was provided by the IUTAM, the Commemorative Organization for the Japan World Exposition '70, the CREST offered by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Global COE Program of the Graduate School of Mathematics, Kyushu University offered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan, and the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics and Institute of Mathematics for Industry, Kyushu University. All lecture presenters were strongly encouraged to submit papers for this IUTAM Symposium special issue of Fluid Dynamics Research. Poster presenters were also invited to do so. All the submitted papers were refereed, each by two reviewers, to the same standards applied for papers or review articles in regular issues of FDR. Some of the submitted papers do not appear in the special issue. The submitted papers were handled, for the reviewing procedure, by the three guest editors, Professors D G Crowdy, Y Hattori and S Le Dizes and YF, the associate editor of FDR. About 50 papers were accepted for publication in this special issue, which is published in two parts. This issue (vol 46, issue 3, June 2014) is part 1. Part 2 will be published as volume 46, issue 6, in December 2014. I hope that the special issue provides a sketch of the state of the art in the field of vortex dynamics and holds a key to open up future directions of study.

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