The DisCoVor colloquium series owes its existence to the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in May of 2020 during the height of this pandemic, a few of us got together and initiated an online seminar series focused on vortex dominated flows called ReCoVor (Remote Colloquium on Vortex Dominated Flow). This online series was a direct response to the limitations on scientific discourse imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This online series thrives to this day, and the bi-weekly ReCoVor talks by students and postdocs continue to be attended by researchers from all over the world.

As the pandemic began to subside in 2021, the organizers started considering the possibility of an in-person version of ReCoVor and this led to the first DisCoVor (Direct In-person Colloquium on Vortex Dominated Flows) meeting, which was held in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, in May 2022. The name of this meeting was a celebration of the fact that this was one of the first in-person meetings that many of us were going to attend after an extended pandemic-induced hiatus. The inaugural DisCoVor was met with such great enthusiasm that it was decided to make DisCoVor into an annual event.  

As with ReCoVor, DisCoVor is dedicated to showcasing research in unsteady, vortex dominated flows, which refers to flows where important features of the configuration under consideration are significantly influenced by multiple, distinct, interacting vortices. The colloquium welcomes contributions from all areas of research, be it experimental, computational, or analytical. Application areas included aero/hydrodynamics, propulsion, bio-locomotion, fluid-structure interaction, energy harvesting & physiological flows. 

From its inception, DisCoVor was envisioned as a platform for showcasing the latest and most innovative research in vortex dominated flows. Equally importantly, it is designed to be a socially enjoyable event, and one that provides ample space and time to foster informal interactions and discussions among the participants. To facilitate this, the colloquium is capped to 100 attendees. Furthermore, the colloquium has a singleoral presentation session in each of the four mornings of the meeting, and two poster sessions in the afternoons. Prospective presenters submit a detailed two-page abstract which undergoes a rigorous evaluation by the steering committee.

Below is information on DisCoVor meetings that have been held so far: