The International Meshing Roundtable (IMR) is one of the world’s premiere technical events in the field of mesh generation. The 26th annual installment of this event is coming up this autumn on 18-21 September.

You need to be there. Here are 5 reasons why.

1 – Meshing is an Important Topic

No one argues that mesh generation can be improved. For CFD, geometry preparation and mesh generation are said to be “significant bottlenecks” and the “dominant cost” in the overall simulation process. The litany of meshing’s faults include:

• An inability to work seamlessly with geometry models produced by computer aided design software.
• A lack of robustness exemplified by the inability to produce fit-for-purpose meshes on the first attempt.
• A lack of suitability (i.e. performance) for HPC hardware.
• A dearth of adaptive capabilities.

The IMR has been and will continue to be an event at which a spotlight is shown on advances in these and related issues.

2 – Get Visibility: Papers, Notes, and Posters

Even though it’s been written that mesh generation needs to become “invisible,” your work on mesh generation – no matter what aspects you’re contributing to – will get broad, international visibility at this event. The IMR is where ideas are shared and collaborations started that will advance mesh generation.

• The Call for Papers for the 26th IMR is now open. Full manuscripts (note: not abstracts) are due 30 May 2017. IMPORTANT: Papers on applied meshing are welcome.
• Research Notes, short articles describing work in progress, are also due by 08 Aug 2017. [The original due date posted here was incorrect. Updated on 08 May to include the correct one.]
• If you’re not ready to publish a paper or note, consider participating in the poster session. Besides providing a less formal venue for sharing your work, awards are given for best technical poster.

3 – Meet Meshing Experts

Even if you’re not a researcher in the field of mesh generation, as a user of meshes you probably have a great deal of interest in seeing your meshing problems fixed. The IMR is a great forum for you to spend time with leaders in the field of mesh generation.

• Meet the experts and learn what they’re working on so you’ll have a feel for what to expect in future software releases.
• Pull your favorite mesher aside and make certain they understand the meshing problems you face in the real world so they know where to focus their efforts.
• Develop an appreciation why it’s not quite so simple to make meshing invisible.

4 – Tour Barcelona

Although I haven’t yet had the pleasure of visiting, I’m told Barcelona is a beautiful host city with plenty of options for pre- and post-IMR touring.

5 – Enter the Meshing Contest

For the past several years, the IMR has hosted a fun event that we at Pointwise have enjoyed participating in. The meshing contest involves meshing one or both of two geometry models supplied by the IMR, one of which is usually related to the host city. (For example, last year in Washington one of the contest geometry models was the White House.)

Your assignment is to mesh the geometry model according to specifications supplied by the IMR and submit the end result for evaluation.

To double the fun, you can also turn your contest mesh(es) into a poster and compete for the coveted Meshing Maestro award.

Combine contest meshes for a computer exhaust fan and the White House and you get Pointwise’s Meshing Maestro poster from last year’s IMR. Yes, we have way too much fun doing this kind of thing.  Download this image for your computer.

Hope To See You in Barcelona