Engineers, scientists, and researchers from across North America joined us at the COMSOL Conference 2025 Boston to exchange ideas and gain inspiration from the many ways modeling and simulation is being used to drive innovation. Throughout the three-day event, attendees were able to hear keynote talks and invited talks from leaders in industry and academia, learn modeling techniques and best practices, and see real-world examples of simulation through more than 30 posters on display in the exhibition hall. Check out the highlights from the COMSOL Conference 2025 Boston, including a photo gallery at the end of the blog post!
New Additions Expanded Communication
This year’s conference introduced industry hubs and the business lounge for the first time — two resources that further facilitated communication between attendees and COMSOL. The industry hubs consisted of designated tables for anyone in the aerospace & defense, healthcare, automotive, energy, and academic industries, offering attendees a direct way to discuss the most relevant modeling and simulation ideas with fellow simulation users in their area of interest. At the business lounge, attendees were able to easily connect with COMSOL staff about licenses, renewals, and pricing.
Attendees and COMSOL staff having conversations at the new industry hubs.
Keynote Talks Covering Innovative Uses of Modeling and Simulation
The COMSOL Conference 2025 Boston featured several keynote talks by leaders in a range of industries, including electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, and food & beverage. The speakers shared unique ways in which modeling and simulation is used in their respective fields and how simulation can help their teams and clients make better-informed business decisions.
To kick off the keynote talks, Matt Hancock of Veryst Engineering discussed how Veryst uses multiphysics simulation to capture the real-world interplay of thermal, structural, fluid, electromagnetic, and other phenomena to codevelop cutting-edge products and help its clients innovate faster. In another talk, Kyle C. Koppenhoefer of AltaSim Technologies shared his expertise on how a combination of technical expertise and interdisciplinary collaboration makes simulation-driven projects successful.
Matt Hancock of Veryst Engineering (left) and Kyle C. Koppenhoefer of AltaSim Technologies (right).
On day two, Zhen (Jim) Sun of Amazon Lab126 provided an in-depth look at how acoustics simulations guide the design and optimization of Amazon Echo™ products. Sun shared cutting-edge techniques his team implements in the COMSOL Multiphysics® software to enhance the auditory capabilities of Alexa®.
Zhen (Jim) Sun of Amazon Lab126.
The third day of the conference featured a keynote talk by Soon Kiat Lau of Conagra Brands, who discussed how the company has successfully used simulation to tackle engineering challenges in the food processing industry.
Soon Kiat Lau of Conagra Brands.
Opportunities for Learning and Connection Throughout the Conference
Conference attendees also got a first look at the new functionality in COMSOL Multiphysics® version 6.4 in a talk by Andrew Strikwerda of COMSOL. The upcoming version of the software will feature updates aimed at boosting productivity and providing new, powerful capabilities for multiphysics modeling and simulation. The new version will introduce explicit dynamics and improved contact, the new Granular Flow Module, direct solvers on GPU, and improved usability and solver performance. This talk inspired a buzz throughout the conference, with attendees discussing how they plan to implement the new features and how their work could benefit from the updates.
Andrew Strikwerda of COMSOL presenting the keynote on version 6.4.
Each day of the conference also included invited talks, which provided attendees with another opportunity to learn about various applications of COMSOL Multiphysics® in different areas. In these sessions, four speakers delivered 10-minute slideshow presentations on how they use modeling and simulation. They showcased the use of COMSOL® in room acoustics, biomechanics, and thermoelectric device design, to give a few examples.
Invited talks given by Joseph Barakat from Veryst Engineering (left) and Aravindakshan TA from AML (right).
Another learning opportunity came from the 30+ minicourses offered throughout the event. These instructor-led, one-hour sessions included a slideshow presentation, a live demo in the software, and a Q&A and were valuable for both new and experienced software users. There was a wide variety of minicourse topics, including optimization, battery design, surrogate models and digital twins, and structural mechanics, which enabled attendees to choose the sessions of greatest interest to them.
The COMSOL Conference 2025 Boston also offered attendees the opportunity to receive one-on-one modeling support. The demo stations were staffed with COMSOL applications engineers ready to answer questions about the software and offer guidance on how to improve models and address difficult simulation problems.
A model being discussed at the demo station.
Best Poster Awards
There were 32 posters on display throughout the conference. It was a lively environment during the poster session as attendees shared their work. Three papers and four posters were recognized at the awards ceremony on the final day of the event, one of which was awarded by popular vote.
The first Best Poster award went to Susan Han of Exponent for her poster on quantifying the voltages induced on de-energized transmission lines under a public safety power shutoff situation. The study looked at the probability of ignition with two parallel transmission lines at varying lengths and distances from each other.
Susan Han of Exponent’s award-winning poster (left) and Han receiving her award from Svante Littmarck, CEO of the COMSOL Group (right).
Next, Ahmad Gad and Mikhail Ovchinnikov of Alcon Vision won with their poster on the interaction between laser-induced cavitation bubbles and rigid and elastoplastic membranes. The team examined the dynamics between the effects of the resulting thermodynamic excursion and their impact on nearby structures.
The award-winning poster by Ahmad Gad and Mikhail Ovchinnikov of Alcon Vision.
The third Best Poster award went to Sahar Saadatvarnousefaderani and Jiajia Chen of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who developed a way to model the design of a novel thermoelectric-based heat exchanger for liquid foods pasteurization. This method can be used to optimize energy efficiency as an alternative to the conventional liquid foods pasteurization system.
The winning poster by Sahar Saadatvarnousefaderani and Jiajia Chen (left) and Saadatvarnousefaderani presenting an invited talk (right).
Along with the three winners chosen by the program committee, conference attendees voted for their favorite poster. The Best Poster by Popular Vote award went to Gavin Daigle and Steven Conrad of Louisiana State University for their poster on heparin dispersion and retention following injection of locking fluid in a hemodialysis catheter.
Gavin Daigle and Steven Conrad of Louisiana State University’s poster, which won the popular vote.
Best Paper Awards
Olivia Montana Canavan and Ken Dong of Sonos were the first winners of the Best Paper award for their paper “Simulation Based Analysis of MEMS Microphones to Predict Wind Noise Spectra”. The paper looked at quantifying the spectra of wind noise in microphone ports of varying geometries in order to study the effectiveness of hardware mitigation techniques.
Olivia Montana Canavan and Ken Dong of Sonos accepting the Best Paper award.
The next award went to Victoria McGuire, Mauricio Rivas, Douglas Simpkins, and Lev Ring of Sage Geosystems for their paper titled “Multiscale Modeling of Pressure Driven Processes in Large Fracture-Based Energy Storage System”. The team simulated a subsurface pumped-hydro energy storage system, providing a framework for evaluating the performance of subsurface systems where pressure-driven energy storage mechanisms are dominant.
Victoria McGuire presenting an invited talk.
The third paper recognized was titled “Impact of Pressure and Fat Thickness on Tissue Biomechanics During Large Suction Deformation”, by Edidiong Etim, Brian Martinez, Juan E. Álvarez Cagua, Erick Pinto-Rodriguez, Joel Jimenez Lozano, George Frangineas, and Walfre Franco of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. This study looked at methods for producing accurate displacement predictions due to anatomical differences when modeling biomechanics.
Edidiong Etim receiving a Best Paper award (left) and Etim presenting her award-winning paper as an invited talk (right).
Photo Slideshow from the COMSOL Conference 2025 Boston
Nirmal Paudel of Veryst Engineering giving an invited talk.
A conference attendee discussing their work with a COMSOL engineer.
The audience during the keynote talks.
A conference attendee discusses their work during the poster session.
The Learning Center station.
Yousef Benali of McGill University gives an invited talk.
Keynote talks eliciting questions from the audience.
The audience during the news in version 6.4 session.
Explore the Paper and Poster Gallery
Thank you to all who attended and presented at the COMSOL Conference 2025 Boston! This blog post only highlighted a few of the many use cases of modeling and simulation that were shared at the conference. The conference proceedings will soon be uploaded to the Technical Papers and Presentations Gallery, where you can browse all of the work shared this year and in past years!
The next stop on the conference tour is Amsterdam. Hope to see you there or next year at the COMSOL Conference Boston.
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