One month from today, on 15th October, Fortran marks seventy years since its first manual was published, cementing its place as a well-established programming language for scientific computing. Over the past seven decades, Fortran has supported critical infrastructure and technological advances in fields including nuclear engineering, weather and climate forecasting, and materials science. It remains the go-to language in these domains and others.
To celebrate Fortran's contributions to science and engineering, the Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS) will host a "Celebrating 70 years of Fortran" event at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, United Kingdom, on 1st December 2026. The main workshop runs from 14:30 to 18:15 in the museum conference suite and will be followed by an evening drinks reception in the exhibition hall, including a demonstration of the 1940s experimental computer, 'Baby'.
The workshop takes the form of a retrospective. Damian Rouson of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will deliver a keynote looking back on how far Fortran has come, followed by lightning talks on current developments and community initiatives, and an open breakout discussion looking toward the next 70 years. Opportunities are available to submit lightning talks and posters, and to propose breakout discussion topics.
Attendance is free, thanks to the support of funders and sponsors. Registration closes on 9th November 2026. The event is primarily in person, but remote attendance via Zoom is also available. Full details, the programme, and submission instructions are on the event webpage.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing