International Research Team in Aerospace Mobility Wins CAS2026 Best Paper Award

An international research team led by the Aerospace Mobility Laboratory at The University of Tokyo received the Best Paper Award at the Complex Adaptive Systems Conference 2026 (CAS2026), held at the University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus, on June 19–20, 2026. This research was conducted as part of the Transportation Technology Development Promotion Program funded by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Grant No. JPJ002223). The study was conducted as an international collaborative research project led by Professor Eri Itoh, with Assistant Professor Katsuhiro Sekine serving as the lead researcher.

【Award-Winning Paper】
Katsuhiro Sekine, Tomoki Mori, Ren Sato, Mustafa Özdemir, Kiyoto Oshio, Philippe Bouchaudon, and Eri Itoh. “Modeling Propagation of Tactical Altitude Interventions for Contrail Avoidance in a Socio-Technical Air Traffic System”. Proceedings of the Complex Adaptive Systems 2026 (CAS2026), June 2026.

【Research Overview】
　This study examines air traffic management as a complex adaptive socio-technical system in which human operators, technologies, and institutional procedures continuously interact. The research investigates how localized operational interventions for contrail avoidance propagate throughout the broader air traffic system. Contrails produced by aircraft have attracted increasing attention as an important target for climate change mitigation in aviation. To evaluate the operational implications of contrail avoidance, the research team conducted Human-in-the-Loop simulation experiments involving active air traffic controllers responsible for the target airspace. The results indicate that tactical contrail avoidance through in-flight altitude changes can increase controller communications and require additional adjustments for surrounding aircraft. At the same time, the study demonstrates that when contrail avoidance measures are incorporated into flight plans prior to departure, environmental benefits may be achieved with controller workload levels comparable to those of normal operations. The findings provide new insights into operational strategies for achieving environmentally sustainable aviation while maintaining the safety and efficiency of air traffic management.

【Comment】
　"It is a great honor to receive the CAS2026 Best Paper Award. This recognition would not have been possible without the invaluable guidance and support of Professor Eri Itoh, members of the Itoh Laboratory, our research collaborators, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), the en-route air traffic controllers of the Fukuoka Area Control Center who participated in the experiments, and the many organizations that supported this research. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of them. Furthermore, the reanalysis data used for analyzing the contrail formation areas was provided by the ClimCORE project, a strategic social co-creation hub utilizing regional meteorological data and cutting-edge academic research. The field of air traffic management embodies a wealth of expertise and practical ingenuity dedicated to maintaining safe and efficient operations. Building upon the findings of this study, we hope to further advance research that balances environmental sustainability with the safety and efficiency of air traffic management. Through continued collaboration between operational stakeholders and the academic community, we aim to contribute to the realization of a safer and more sustainable air transportation system." — Katsuhiro Sekine

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