Twelve renowned scientists have been signed up to create the new Scientific Committee of the SESAR Joint Undertaking. The Committee will deal with all scientific aspects of the work programme and will focus on:
• the scientific analysis of SESAR from different angles: economics, human factors, statistics, mathematics, computer science, physics, technology;
• the liaison between SESAR and the academic and scientific communities across Europe including education of the future “SESAR interested engineers & scientists”; and
• the scientific value of the SESAR results.
The list of personalities is impressive and covers institutions situated all over Europe.
- Prof. Philippe Baptiste, Director of the Computer Science Lab LIX of Ecole Polytechnique – France
- Prof. Ricky Curran – Chair of Aerospace Management and Operations – Delft University of Technology
- Mr. Frank De Winne – Astronaut & Chairman of the Forum Space and Education – European Space Agency
- Prof. Dr. Peter Hecker – Professor and Managing Director of the “Institute of Flight Guidance” – Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig
- Prof. Erik Hollnagel – Professor & Industrial Safety Chair – MINES Paris Tech – CRC
- Prof. Alain Jeunemaitre – Director of Research – Ecole Polytechnique France & University of Oxford
- Prof. Christopher Johnson – Professor of Computing Science – University of Glasgow
- Prof. Georges Kallos – Head of the Division of Environmental Physics – Meteorology – University of Athens
- Prof. Pierfrancesco Lombardo – Professor Dept. INFOCOM – University of Rome “La Sapienza”
- Prof. Francisco Javier Mancebo Cortès – Professor & Subdirector of Economic Matters / Industrial Engineering-Aeronautics – Polytechnic University of Madrid
- Prof. Lena Martensson – Professor in work science (human factors) – Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
- Prof. Vojin Tosic – Professor & Head of Transport Department – University of Belgrade
According to Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking “Having these personalities on-board will enable SESAR to build on sound scientific foundations. Thanks to the contribution of the Scientific Committee, SESAR JU will establish strong links with academic institutions conducting applied research of relevance to us. We strive for an innovative approach at SESAR and the input of the Scientific Committee will stimulate the technologists and engineers to think out of the box and deliver breakthroughs in ATM research.”
You will be forgiven if you thought, like I did when first reading the news, that air traffic management in Europe was in dire straights not exactly because of a lack of scientific brainpower behind it. The reasons were to be sought much more in parochial and often even backwards thinking and political meddling… But then, we have SESAR to eliminate all that and set European ATM on the fast track to the future.
Put in that context, the scientific committee is not such a bad idea after all. In spite of efforts to the contrary, ATM research in Europe has not been the schoolbook example of the co-ordinated and focused activity it should have been. If SESAR succeeds in getting the good professors and their institutions play their individual instruments as part of the European SESAR ATM Symphony, the situation can only get better.
With a good conductor, developments in the coming years CAN be music to our ears.