Celebrating 70 years of Fortran

To mark the 70th anniversary since the release of the first manual of Fortran, the Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS) is hosting a Fortran birthday party workshop, “Celebrating 70 years of Fortran”, at the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester, UK on 1 December 2026. 

Originally developed by IBM in the 1950s, Fortran (short for Formula Translation) is widely recognised as the world's first high-level programming language. It is the oldest programming language still in use today.

Designed specifically for numerical and scientific applications, Fortran has supported groundbreaking work across a wide range of disciplines. Over the past seven decades, it has been used in projects ranging from bridge and aircraft design to factory automation, weather and climate forecasting, and nuclear engineering.

A key factor in Fortran's longevity has been its continued evolution. Regular updates to the language have introduced new capabilities while maintaining the performance, reliability, and scalability. These factors have ensured that today Fortran remains a highly relevant language and is supported by a strong global community of researchers, developers, and engineers.

The workshop will feature:

• A keynote address by Damian Rouson (Senior Scientist and Lead of the Computer Languages and Systems Software Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
• Short presentations from members of the Fortran community
• Interactive break out discussion session exploring the language's achievements, current challenges, and emerging developments
• Opportunities to connect with researchers, developers, and practitioners working with Fortran.

Joe Wallwork, Senior Research Engineer at ICCS and lead organiser of the workshop, said: “The workshop is a fantastic opportunity for the Fortran community to get together to reflect on how far we’ve come, learn about exciting new developments and community initiatives, and contribute towards the vision of the next 70 years for the language.” 

How to register

If you would like to register for this free event please fill out the registration form by Monday 9 November 2026. For further information, visit the workshop webpage or email iccs@maths.cam.ac.uk

Sponsors

This event has been made possible by the generous support of our sponsors: 

Platinum sponsors: AMD and Dell Technologies

Bronze sponsors: CAKE, OpenMP and ICCS