A joint meeting of the CAEP Modelling and Databases Group (MDG) and Forecasting and Economic Analysis Support Group (FESG) convened this week at Georgia Tech. From 4-7 December, the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) hosted the meeting, which brought together delegates from around the world from organizations such as the Federal Aviation Administration, German Aerospace Center (DLR), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Association, and the International Air Transport Association, and more.

MDG and FESG are working groups within the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), a technical committee of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO is the United Nations agency that helps 193 countries to cooperate together and share their skies to their mutual benefit. CAEP assists ICAO in formulating new policies and adopting new Standards and Recommended Practices related to aircraft noise and emissions, and more generally to aviation environmental impacts.

MDG synthesizes the input provided from the emissions and noise technical working groups and the FESG to provide results suitable for decision making and public information. Typical analyses include the projection of future environmental trends, the evaluation of stringency options for environmental Standards, and environmental benefits associated with proposed measures. The group’s work is carried out through the use of the most sophisticated aviation local air quality, noise, and greenhouse gas emissions models available worldwide and related databases.

Research faculty from ASDL’s Civil Aviation Research Division (CARD) including Dr. Michelle Kirby and Dr. Holger Pfaender and also Dr. Burak Bagdatli from the Advanced Methods Division actively participate in MDG, FESG, and other CAEP groups as part of its mission to mitigate the environmental impact of aviation with innovative solutions of technology, operations, and alternative fuel options. CARD has supported two major international studies conducted under the ICAO CAEP for the setting of long-term noise, emission, and fuel burn goals and the recently completed Long Term Aspirational Goal for CO2 emissions from international aviation. Both activities have received recognition within the global aviation community.

“From its earliest days, ASDL has focused on civil aviation research and has made substantive contributions to environmental research and has helped inform environmental policy,” stated Dr. Dimitri Mavris, Georgia Tech Regents’ Professor and director of ASDL. “We are honored to have the opportunity to host the MDG-FESG meeting and are proud to support the critical work they do for the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection.”