Professor Kenneth (Ken) Kuan-Yun Kuo was the chairman of the first symposium, on the subject of Base Bleed propulsion. Thanks to his vision, this meeting has evolved into a series of symposia on special topics in Chemical Propulsion & Energetic Materials that he chaired for 26 years. Professor Kuo sadly passed away in 2016.

1-ISICP Athens, Greece, 23-25 November 1988

The first symposium was organized to review the state-of-the-art in the development of base bleed projectiles and its related research. In total 85 engineers and scientists representing 20 different countries participated in the conference. A total of 22 papers were presented. The meeting closed with a round-table discussion. Following the symposium, each paper presented at the meeting, together with questions raised by the audience and replies prepared by authors were sent out to three reviewers. Altogether 20 papers, along with comments and replies, were accepted for final publication. The symposium proceedings volume entitled Base Bleed: First International Symposium on Special Topics in Chemical Propulsion and edited by Kenneth K. Kuo of The Pennsylvania State University, USA, and James N. Fleming of Royal Ordnance, UK was published by Hemisphere Publishing Corporation in 1991.

2-ISICP Lampoldshausen, Germany, 4-6 March 1991

The second symposium reviewed the state-of-the-art of combustion of boron-based solid propellant and solid fuels by gathering many experts from various countries. The symposium provided an active forum for communication between researchers, propulsion system developers/designers, and manufacturers of boron and its compounds. The symposium was composed of five sessions covering: (1) processing technology and chemical kinetics of boron particles and boron-based solid fuels, (2) ignition and combustion of a single boron particle, (3) combustion of boron-based solid fuels and slurries, (4) combustion of boron-based solid fuels and propellants in propulsion systems, and (5) combustion of boron particle clouds. Five invited talks were presented. After a rigorous review process, twenty-eight papers were arranged and printed in the scope of the five sessions mentioned above. The papers were published in the book entitled Combustion of Boron-Based Solid Propellants and Solid Fuels edited by Kenneth K. Kuo and Roland Pein. The volume was published by Begell House Inc. in 1993.

3-ISICP Scheveningen, The Netherlands, 10-14 May 1993

Based on strong interest and the need for greater communication of Non-Intrusive Combustion Diagnostics, 3-ISICP was held with the objectives (1) to promote communication between researchers, instrument users, and manufacturers regarding the merits and limitations of advanced diagnostic non-intrusive diagnostic instruments, (2) to compare different types of combustion diagnostic techniques in terms of their capability for specific property measurements in combustion environments associated with burning various types of propellants and fuels in either liquid, gas, or solid phases, (3) to promote the exchange of information, and (4) to encourage the development of new combustion diagnostic methods for chemical propulsion systems.

One hundred and twenty-five researchers from 17 countries participated in the symposium. Eighty-one presentations were given, including eight invited talks, 49 oral papers, and 24 poster presentations. After a comprehensive review, 63 of the 81 papers presented at the symposium were accepted for publication in a volume entitled Non-Intrusive Combustion Diagnostics that was edited by Kenneth K. Kuo of the Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Timothy P. Parr of the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, USA. The book was published by Begell House Inc. in 1994.

4-ISICP Stockholm, Sweden, 27-31 May 1996

To commemorate Alfred B. Nobel’s pioneering and innovative contributions to the development of explosives, pyrotechnics, and propellants, 4-ISICP was held in Stockholm, Sweden during May 1996. The symposium highlighted the substantial advancements made in propellant and combustion science during the last several decades and allowed for the exchange of information about current and future developments and research topics.

The Symposium was attended by 167 participants from 21 countries. In total, there were 127 technical papers, including 83 oral presentations and 44 poster papers. Of these, 100 (including a historical lecture on Nobel) were selected for publication in the edited book. All papers were reviewed using the same comprehensive procedures employed by respected journals in the field. The book arranged papers into eight areas: (1) chemical kinetics of propellant combustion, (2) environmental considerations in combustion of solid and liquid propellants, (3) recycling of energetic materials, (4) new techniques and improved safety in combustion of energetic materials, (5) commercial applications of energetic materials, (6) ignition and combustion performance of propellants for rocket propulsion, (7) combustion diagnostics, and (8) theoretical modeling and numerical simulation of combustion processes of energetic materials. The editor of the book was Kenneth K. Kuo and the associate editors were Thomas B. Brill, Rose A. Pesce-Rodriguez, Alexander R. Mitchell, Jossephine Covino, S.K. Chan, Arie Peretz, Nils-Erik Gunners, Stefan T. Thynell, and S.H. Chan. The book was entitled Challenges in Propellants and Combustion 100 Years after Nobel and published by Begell House Inc.

5-ISICP Stresa, Italy, 18-22 June 2000

The symposium was attended by 130 participants from 19 countries. In total 156 technical papers were offered, including 86 oral presentations and 67 poster papers. Of these, 90 were selected for publication after review using the same comprehensive procedures employed by respected journals in the field. Accepted papers were grouped into 12 areas: (1) reaction kinetics of energetic materials (solid, liquid, and gel propellants), (2) recycling of energetic materials, (3) combustion performance of hybrid and solid rocket motors, (4) ignition and combustion of energetic materials, (5) energetic material defects and rocket engine flowfields, (6) metal combustion, (7) pyrolysis and combustion of new ingredients and applications, (8) theoretical modeling and numerical simulation of combustion processes of energetic materials, (9) combustion diagnostic techniques, (10) propellant and rocket motor stability, (11) commerical applications of energetic materials (airbags, gas generators, etc.), and (12) thermal insulation and ablation processes. The book entitled Combustion of Energetic Materials edited by Kenneth K. Kuo of the Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Luigi T. DeLuca of Politecnico di Milano, Italy, was published by Begell House, Inc. in 2002.

6-ISICP Santiago, Chile, 8-11 March 2005

The sixth symposium was attended by 88 participants, from 13 countries. In total, 75 technical papers were offered, including 9 invited lectures, 54 oral presentations, and 12 poster presentations. Of these, 47 were selected for publication in the book Advancements in Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion, edited by Kenneth K. Kuo of the Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Juan de Dios Rivera of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile, and published by Begell House, Inc. The focus of the volume had seven technical areas: (1) nano-technology synthesis and characterization, (2) new propellant formulations and environmental considerations, (3) insensitive munitions, (4) performance of micro and conventional propulsion systems, (5) liquid propellants explosives and safety enhancement, (6) theoretical modeling, numerical techniques, and performance evaluation, and (7) diagnostic techniques for chemical reaction systems.

7-ISICP Kyoto, Japan, September 2007

The seventh symposium was held in Kyoto Japan. The attendance was 140 people. A journal volume was published consisting of 73 papers after comprehensive review of 84 submitted papers. The volume entitled Advancements in Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion was edited by Kenneth K. Kuo of the Pennsylvania State University and Keiichi Hori of the Institute of Space & Astronautical Science (ISAS) and published by Begell House in 2008.

8-ISICP Cape Town, South Africa, November 2009

Beginning with 8-ISICP, symposium volumes ended, although full conferences papers were still required, reviewed, and distributed. After the symposium, and independent of the conference, the papers were considered for submission to the newly formed International Journal of Energetic Materials and Chemical Propulsion for additional review and publication.

9-ISICP Québec, Canada, July 2012

9-ISICP held in Québec, Canada had an attendance of 140 people.

10-ISICP Poitiers, France, June 2014

10-ISICP which was held in France had 135 participants plus 16 ENSMA students.

11-ISICP Stuttgart, Germany, 9-13 September 2018

The 11-ISICP was held in Germany in 2018 and had 120 participants.

 

12-ISICP Virtual, 23-25 March 2021

The 12th ISICP meeting was planned for Santander, Spain, in September 2020 then postponed, due to Covid, until March 2021 before it was realized that a physical meeting in 2021 was likely to be impractical. While being virtual, approximately 175 people participated in 12-ISICP. This number exceeded the attendance at the previous ISICP meetings. The Steering Committee for 12th meeting was Chaired by Richard Yetter (Penn State University, USA), with Keiichi Hori (ISAS/JAXA, Japan) & John Zevenbergen (TNO, The Netherlands) as vice Chairmen plus Jim Fleming (FCIT2, registered in the UK but resident in Santander) as vice Chairman/Organizer.

Six invited lectures and three panel discussions were given. The first panel technical area was “3D printing of energetics and RAM: what new applications are expected by 2025?” The second panel technical area was “High throughput experimentation and research with energetic materials, artificial neural networks (ANN) for combustion, etc.”  and the third panel topic was “What can be done to sustain energetic materials and/or increase the uptake of greener materials.”  In addition to the invited seminars and panel discussions, sixty-two technical presentations were given covering 18 technical areas.