During October 16-17, 2023, Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Aerospace Technology (APISAT2023) was grandly held in Lingshui, Hainan. The symposium was co-organized by the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA), Royal Aeronautical Society Australia Division (RAeS AD), Korea Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (KSAS), and Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (JSASS). It’s co-hosted by CSAA, Tsinghua University, Beihang University(BUAA) and Civil Aviation University of China (CAU), and AVIC Aerodynamics Research Institute，and co-Sponsored by AVIC Research Institute for Special Structures of Aeronautical Composites.

Junchen Yao, Vice President and Secretary General of CSAA chaired the opening ceremony. Academician Jinsong Leng, Chairman of APISAT 2023 made an opening speech. He expressed his warm welcome to the delegates from all over the world and said that the scale of this conference has reached nearly 600 participants and 130 international delegates, which is a record high. It is an event in China that witnesses a very high percentage of international delegates ever since the outbreak of COVID-19. He wished all delegates both academic gains and friendships during the two-day program. Prof. Leng, Prof. Cees Bil, Chairman of RAeS AD LOC, Prof. Sangchul Lee, President of KSAS, and Prof. Seiya Ueno, former President of JSASS chaired the plenary and invited lectures.

Prof. Shuiting Ding, President of Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC), made a lecture on "Challenges and Strategies for the Deployment of the Sustainable Aviation Fuels"

Dr. Nicholas Bardell of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia, gave a lecture on "Developing Exceptional Engineers".

Dr. Chang Jeon Hwang, Director of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) gave a lecture on "Overview of Electric Aircraft Technology Development in KARI”

Prof. Kenichi Rinoie of the University of Tokyo gave a lecture entitled "Studey of Hydrogen Aircraft from Engineering and Operational perspectives"

Dr. Zhansen Qian, Vice President of AVIC Aerodynamic Research Institute made an invited lecture on "Progress and Applications of ARI_Boom Software for Sonice Boom Prediction".

Subsequently, 315 papers were presented and exchanged by topics in 10 parallel track. Around 140 papers were exchanged as posters, covering aerodynamics and design, structures and materials, dynamics/controls/avionics, and combustion and propulsion. The conference also featured several organized sessions, including Control, Aero Engines, Air Mobility, Aerodynamics and Optimization, Wind Tunnel Testing, Emerging Aerospace Technologies, and Air Traffic Management.

In the afternoon of October 17, a meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of the four national societies was held. Thirteen people attended, including the Chairs of the EC, members of IPC, chairs and vice chairs of the LOC. The meeting was presided over by APISAT 2023 chair Prof. Leng. Prof. Fu Song, co-chair of the conference, firstly gave an interview of APISAT 2023. Nearly 700 abstracts were solicited and 620 were accepted after preliminary review. 431 papers were submitted for publication and 320 were accepted after peer review by 171 experts. More than 300 papers were arranged for oral presentation in 72 sessions of 10 parallel tracks. More than 140 were exchanged in the form of posters. There were 584 registered delegates, including 445 from China, 89 from Korea, 40 from Japan, 4 from Australia and 6 from other countries.

Group photo of EC Meeting Members

Mrs. Xue Zhang, member of the International Program Committee of APISAT 2023, introduced the construction and launching of the permanent website of APISAT(apisat.org). In order to archive APISATs, facilitate delegates to keep tracking the symposium and provide a guarantee for the continuity of the work of APISAT committee members, CSAA has proposed the idea of constructing a permanent website. Consensus has been reached after a lot of discussions among the four co-organizers. Prof. Cees Bil, Committee Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society Australia Division introduced the location and dates for the next APISAT.   

Subsequently, members from the four countries made extensive discussions on how to further improve the standardization of the conference, operate and maintain the permanent official website, and continue to do a good job in organizing the participation of delegates from countries in the Asia-Pacific Conference.

Banquet and closing ceremony was held in the evening of October 17, chaired by Prof. Song Fu, Co-Chair of the conference.

Speaking on behalf of the host, Mr. Ce Yu, Secretary General of CSAA expressed his gratitude to the partners, committees members as well as the working team and volunteers for their engagement. He hoped that the APISAT can become a platform for scholars to make friends, establish international cooperation, and develop their academic careers.

The representative of Australia, Cees Bil, said that after the pandemics, APISAT comes out stronger. In a rapidly-changing world, we remained together.

Prof. Sangchul Lee, President of KSAS, congratulated CSAA for the successful convention of APISAT 2023. He said he has been to APISAT held in Xi'an in 2010, Shanghai in 2014, Chengdu in 2018, Lingshui in 2023, and he predicates he will come again for APISAT2027.

Prof. Seiya Ueno, former President of JSASS said that the APISAT was initiated with JSASS. It is an international platform. Many aerospace research institutes in Japan have actively participated in it. He wished that the conference can last forever.

At the banquet the five winners from Tsinghua University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Kyushu University (Japan), University of Tokyo (Japan), and Seoul National University (Korea) were presented with the certificate of  "Best Student Papers”. The were selected out of nearly 160 papers according to peer-review and oral presentation evaluation results.

Certificates were also presented to the 13 volunteers from Tsinghua University, Beihang University, Northwestern Polytechnical University and University of Science and Technology Beijing who played roles as coordinators and academic secretaries.

Finally, the Australian representative made a promotion for APISAT2024, which will be held on October 28-30, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. Stay tuned to Apisat.org!

Group photo of Plenary Speakers and the Committee Members