Simulation industry to face real world challenges

A lack of money and a lack of computer-savvy students stand in the way of growth.

BY HUGH LESSIG
February 3, 2009

NORFOLK - The modeling and simulation industry has great growth potential, but it faces political and educational challenges that are all too real, experts said Monday.

If industry executives sit on the sideline while Congress considers multibillion-dollar economic stimulus proposals they risk losing a financial lifeline, said U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, a fierce critic of the various rescue plans.

Meanwhile, colleges and universities must reach out to find the young computer scientists and math wizards who can grow the industry. One educator said the shortage of qualified people is a chronic problem.

The comments came at the 4th annual Modeling and Simulation Leadership Summit in downtown Norfolk. It brought together scores of professionals from the military, NASA Langley Research Center, major universities and companies such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

The event was co-hosted by a congressional caucus devoted to the industry, which Forbes co-chairs. Addressing the conference over lunch, he said the industry must fight for every available dime.

"There is a debate and a dialogue that we must have in this country," he said, "or else everything you do in this room is going to be overshadowed."

The House of Representatives passed an $819 billion economic stimulus plan last week and President Barack Obama is urging the Senate to take up the matter. But Forbes — one of a handful of lawmakers who has rejected every bailout plan from day one — said the cost is so high it would equal the budgets for several major agencies.

"You need to be part of that debate," he said, "because it's going to be a very, very real part of your future, of what we do in modeling and simulation and the defense of this country for years to come."

Judging from the various panel discussions, modeling and simulation has moved well beyond its initial applications for the military, although that relationship helps to support the economy in Hampton Roads. The Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center is located in Suffolk, as is the U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Warfighting Center.

Health care is a growing field, as surgeons use computer modeling to practice new or risky techniques. Steve Dawson, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said simulated training has been linked to fewer errors and lower rates of malpractice insurance.

Transportation is another applicable area. Dana Dickens, CEO and president of the Hampton Roads Partnership, said a computer model allowed policymakers to gauge the effectiveness of six major transportation projects in the region.

But when asked to name the biggest challenge to growing the industry, Dickens had a ready answer.

"Work force," he said.

Old Dominion University, which runs the modeling and simulation center, offers graduate degrees in modeling and simulation, but that is a rarity.

Georgia Tech recently established a division within its College of Computing that seeks to develop modeling and simulation experts. Richard Fujimoto, its founder, said there has been a steady decline of students entering the computer science field since the dot-com bubble burst nearly a decade ago.

"That trend," he said, "is only starting to bottom out."

Reprinted by permission of The Daily Press.