In the course of 1955, Professor Theodore von Kármán proposed with his assistants the establishment of an institution devoted to training and research in aerodynamics which would be open to young engineers and scientists of the NATO nations.

It was strongly felt that this form of international undertaking would fulfil the important objective of fostering fruitful exchanges and understanding between the participating nations in a well-defined technical field.

The von Karman Institute was established in October 1956 in the buildings which formed what then was the aeronautical laboratory of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Belgian Ministry of Communications.

The building was designed to accommodate a large low speed wind tunnel of the Eiffel type with an open return circuit and open-jet test section of 2 m diameter, as well as offices and shops.

The last addition was made after the war, in 1949, with the construction of a large building specially designed to house a supersonic tunnel and a multi-configuration low speed facility.

The department focuses in particular on the modeling, simulation and experimental validation of atmospheric entry flows and thermal protection systems (TPS), including transition to turbulence and stability.

The VKI organises up to twelve different one-week Lecture Series with about 50 to 60 participants on specialized topics every year on various fields: industrial applications, turbomachinery, aerospace, aerodynamics, propulsion, aero engine, aeroacoustics, biological flows, large eddy simulation.