AIHTC

ASSEMBLY FOR INTERNATIONAL HEAT TRANSFER CONFERENCES

About Us



History of IHTC and AIHTC

The main objective of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conferences (AIHTC) is to provide means for international cooperation in the planning and coordination of the continuing series of conferences known as International Heat Transfer Conferences (IHTCs).

AIHTC organizes an International Heat Transfer Conference every four years since 1966. The origin of the IHTCs were two International Discussions on Heat Transfer, which were held in London (chaired by O.A. Saunders) and in Atlantic City (chaired by A.P. Colburn) in 1951; these Discussions were regarded as IHTC-1. Ten years later, a succeeding International Heat Transfer Conference was held in Boulder, in 1961, and in London, in 1962, and both were regarded as IHTC-2. After IHTC-3 held in Chicago in 1966, IHTCs have been continuously held every four years. The most recent was IHTC-17, held in Cape Town, in 2023. The next conferences will be held in Rio de Janeiro, IHTC-18 in 2026, and in London, IHTC-19 in 2030. It has been organized in 19 cities of 11 countries. For over 70 years, IHTC has been the largest worldwide forum on heat transfer (HT) and thermal science and engineering (TSE), and devoted to meet the scientific and social challenges as the thermal energy usage, environmental sustainability, material processing, bio-science, etc. The mission of IHTC has become more important with the rapid increase in the activity of human society, being also informally known as Heat Transfer Olympics.


Archives of IHTC

The progress in HT and TSE research made after IHTC-3 is archivally recorded in the IHTC Digital Library, maintained by Begell House Inc. More than ten thousand papers and hundreds of keynote papers are available through the IHTC Digital Library. These archives include some of the prestigious plenary “Fourier lecture”, which is delivered by the president of AIHTC in the inauguration of each IHTC. This lecture is named after Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier (1768-1830), to transmit his legacies and pioneer spirits to the young generations.


Composition and Meetings of AIHTC

AIHTC is composed of officers and delegates. The officers are the President, Vice President, Secretary and past Presidents. In the AIHTC meeting during an IHTC, the Chair of the conference is appointed as the AIHTC President, while the Chair of the coming IHTC is appointed as the AIHTC Vice-President. Each Representative National Organization from the 19 member countries appoints 2 delegates for the AIHTC. Regular AIHTC meetings are held every two years, with one held during an IHTC.


Roles of AIHTC

The main roles of AIHTC are:
- to decide where future IHTCs will be held, in order to maintain the historically successful series of conferences;
- to promote a forum for productive discussions on issues related to HT and TSE, based on personal interactions among scientists and engineers from different world regions;
- to stimulate the HT and TSE international communities towards innovative research works;
- to increase the visibility of international academic activities in HT and TSE.


Planning of Future IHTCs

The city and host country of a future IHTC will be decided eight years before the conference. The venue of IHTC-20 in 2034 will be determined at the AIHTC meeting held during IHTC-18 in Rio de Janeiro, in August 2026. The member countries who wish to organize IHTC-20 shall submit their written proposals to the President of AIHTC by April 2026. After oral presentations of the candidate organizers during the AIHTC meeting, the city and host country will be decided by the AIHTC delegates’ votes.




Contact Address

If you have questions or comments related to AIHTC or to this website, please contact us through the following address:

Email: infoaihtc.org




The IHTC Logo



A special logo for IHTC’s was authorized by the AIHTC on October 16, 2013, and introduced in 2014 for the first time since the first conference was held, in 1951. The logo shown here offers a metaphorical expression of multi-modal and multi-scale heat transfer phenomena. The center sphere with the small sphere on a ring stands for the sun and the earth, or a molecule with an orbiting electron, while the outer arcs represent flame, heat conduction, and radiation. The logo was designed by Kazuya Tatsumi at Kyoto University.

This logo must be used on any material related to IHTCs, including the conference website, program, badge, stationary, etc., as well as by the IHTC Digital Library maintained by Begell House Inc.



Files of IHTC Logo
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  • Light version

    The full IHTC logo includes the text “IHTC/Since 1951”. The following simplified version with the image only can also be used.


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