History

Roots at CORIA, Starting in 2015

Starting in 2015, Julien Réveillon, François-Xavier Demoulin, and Marie-Sophie Cabot founded the association officially with the registration of its bylaws.

In 2016, the group organized the first gathering bringing together the French community in Rouen. The event drew around a hundred participants and welcomed renowned guests, including Hrvoje Jasak.

Expansion of the Association

In March 2017, new bylaws were officially signed and filed. The association in its current form (with a twelve-member board) was thus established, with Julien Réveillon as its first president.

Throughout his term, Julien Réveillon worked to build a sustainable structure capable of organizing an annual conference bringing together between 60 and 80 participants. This period was also marked by numerous experiments aimed at exploring different ways to foster connections and keep the OpenFOAM community thriving.

A First Transition in 2021

In 2021, Cyprien Soulaine took over the presidency of the association and helped consolidate its operations. Building on the experiences of the early years, he refocused activities around the expectations expressed by the community: an open and welcoming annual conference, accessible to all users regardless of their experience level or application fields.

Since 2024

In 2024, Cyprien Soulaine passed the torch to Victor Pozzobon, who has built on these solid foundations to continue developing the association.

With the support of a dynamic team, the annual days have progressively expanded with new initiatives: a poster session accompanied by an award, the publication of a Book of Abstracts, and a half-day dedicated to mutual support and technical exchanges, held as an extension of the conference.