Dr. Kelly Senecal Honored With 2025 Luminary Award for Transforming the Future of Engineering

Dr. Kelly Senecal, Co-Founder and Owner of Convergent Science, has been awarded the 2025 Luminary Award by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, a recognition reserved for graduates whose work exemplifies leadership, progress, and exceptional contribution to society. The announcement has sparked widespread appreciation across the engineering and scientific communities, where Senecal is celebrated as a trailblazer who has reshaped how industries design cleaner and more efficient machines.

The award highlights Senecal’s pivotal role in the creation of CONVERGE, the computational fluid dynamics software that revolutionized engineering simulation. What began as a graduate student’s passion at the University of Wisconsin-Madison later matured into one of the most disruptive technologies in the advanced simulation space. CONVERGE eliminated the tedious manual meshing process through autonomous meshing, dramatically reducing engineering time and opening CFD to a wider spectrum of industries. Propulsion, energy, marine, and mobility sectors today rely on this software to design smarter and more sustainable systems.

Senecal’s relationship with UW-Madison is deeply personal. He completed his master’s degree in 1997 and his PhD in 2000, and it was during this period that he and his classmates co-founded Convergent Science. He often describes the university as the place where it all began – the spark, the friendships, the experiments that eventually shaped a company now known across continents.

“It’s where I discovered my passion for CFD and where we wrote the original code that became CONVERGE,” he said. “Receiving this award from a place that shaped me so profoundly is an honor. I’m grateful to remain part of this community and to give back whenever I can.”

Convergent Science has since grown into a global force, with clients that include leading automotive and commercial vehicle manufacturers, tier-one suppliers, and elite motorsport teams. Yet the headquarters has always remained in Madison, maintaining a strong bridge between innovation and the institution that nurtured it.

Beyond the company, Senecal’s professional life is filled with initiatives aimed at advancing science and sustainability. He serves as a visiting professor at the University of Oxford and as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Computational Chemistry Consortium, better known as C3. He is a Fellow of SAE, ASME, and the Combustion Institute, and has accumulated an impressive list of honors, including the ASME ICE Award, the SAE John Johnson Diesel Engine Research Medal, the ASME Dedicated Service Award, and the ASME Soichiro Honda Medal.

His influence extends far beyond laboratories and software development teams. Senecal is one of the global voices advocating for technology-neutral, science-based approaches to reducing emissions. His award-winning book Racing Toward Zero: The Untold Story of Driving Green has shaped public conversations around the future of mobility. The book argues for a balanced approach that leverages both internal combustion engine innovations and electrification, emphasizing that the fastest path to emissions reduction is a diverse, realistic technology portfolio.

He frequently addresses international conferences, engages with policymakers, and spends time with young engineers and students, encouraging them to adopt a practical, evidence-driven approach to solving environmental challenges. His ability to merge academic rigor with industry innovation has made him a trusted leader at the intersection of sustainability and advanced engineering.

As Convergent Science continues expanding its impact through cutting-edge simulation technologies, the Luminary Award stands as another milestone in Senecal’s ongoing mission to advance a cleaner, smarter world.