Researchers from the National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Marine Engineering (CNR-INM) have been honored with the AVT Panel Excellence Award 2024 for their contributions within the NATO Science and Technology Organization, Applied Vehicle Technology Panel, specifically through their work in the research group AVT-331, titled “Goal-Driven, Multi-Fidelity Approaches for Military Vehicle System-Level Design.”
The AVT-331 group was co-chaired by Dr. Matteo Diez of CNR-INM, alongside Dr. Philip Beran of the US Air Force Research Laboratory. The CNR-INM team, which played a key role throughout the entire project from its preparatory phase to completion (2018–2023), included Drs. Andrea Serani (lead of sea domain benchmark problems), Riccardo Pellegrini, Simone Ficini, Riccardo Broglia, and Antonio Posa. Together, they contributed to the development of innovative design methods based on multi-fidelity approaches, which enable the combination of data from models at different resolutions to accelerate the development process of both military and civilian vehicles while maintaining high standards of accuracy. These methodologies have demonstrated an order-of-magnitude improvement in computational efficiency associated with vehicle design, validating their effectiveness for configurations intended for aerospace, naval, and space applications.
AVT-331 was an international collaborative effort, involving 10 nations and 26 leading experts, who worked together from 2018 to 2023 to advance multi-fidelity approaches in vehicle design. The group produced 11 peer-reviewed journal articles, over 35 conference publications, and contributed to the education of new generations of researchers, with 7 master’s theses and 1 doctoral dissertation. The results were presented in two special sessions at international conferences and in a dedicated NATO workshop (AVT-354), having a significant impact on both the scientific and industrial communities.
The joint effort also resulted in an estimated cost saving of $7 million, thanks to the collaborative assessment of methods and the sharing of benchmark datasets for vehicle design.
The prestigious AVT Panel Excellence Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of AVT-331 in advancing design methodologies for both military and civilian vehicles, emphasizing the leading role of CNR-INM in co-directing this international team.
This important recognition confirms CNR-INM’s commitment to research, innovation, and the development of advanced technologies for the future of mobility, transportation, and defense, with a particular focus on the maritime, surface, and underwater domains.
For more information:
Dr. Matteo Diez
AVT-331 Co-Chair
CNR – Institute of Marine Engineering (CNR-INM)
Email:
Website: https://www.inm.cnr.it/