President's Corner

Although I/ITSEC 2011 is fast approaching, a number of other events have recently taken place which demonstrate that the pace of developments in the world of modeling and simulation is ever faster and more exciting. Not surprisingly, many of these deal with new applications for M&S--evidence of how rapidly the technology is morphing into regions that only a few years ago were not imagined.

I recently visited the Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement at Florida Hospital, where the daVinci surgical robot is transforming the way several critical procedures are performed. This remarkable device makes microscopically precise laproscopic surgery possible through a machine that faithfully traces the movements of a surgeon’s hands. The implications for accuracy in the procedure itself, and for post-operative recovery, are dramatic. It is not an exaggeration to say that these devices are revolutionizing how several life-saving cancer interventions are conducted. But the Nicholson center is more than merely a stand-alone facility, no matter how advanced. It is, rather, a center for dissemination to the global surgical community of minimally-invasive surgical techniques through advanced teleconferencing. Each of a number of learning stations mirrors a typical surgical suite and is equipped with teleconferencing technology, enabling procedures to be monitored anywhere in the world. While the Nicholson Center is not unique in its use of robotic technology nor in its global learning program, it is a perfect example of how learning technologies are being revolutionized.

MODSIM World 2011, held in Virginia Beach in mid-October, provided another example of the pervasiveness of the technology today. The theme for 2011, “Overcoming Critical Global Challenges with Modeling and Simulation” testifies to the centrality of M&S to everything we imagine, produce or manipulate in any way. I was honored to be asked to offer a few remarks during MODSIM, and to attend a number of the remarkably diverse sessions held during the three-day event. Topics addressed at MODSIM ranged from distance training to human behavior to just in time delivery for manufacturing. Signifying the importance the Commonwealth of Virginia ascribes to M&S as it looks to its economic future, Governor Bob McDonnell delivered the keynote address at MODSIM.

As a consequence of the obvious advancement of modeling and simulation into every corner of our daily lives, we at NTSA have decided that now is the time to bring together all the diverse elements of the technology into an inter-disciplinary, inter-agency, inter-organizational framework to advance the interests, goals and objectives of the technology and community of practice in a more unified, orderly manner. We are therefore in the process of establishing the National Modeling and Simulation Coalition (NMSC). An interim board has been named, and the mission and objectives of the new organization have been set out in preparation for an inaugural event to be held in Washington, DC on 6 February 2012. This event will be open to all who are involved in modeling and simulation in any way. Further details will be forthcoming: please check the web site and plan to attend the inauguration of what we intend will be the creation of a unified national community dedicated to the advancement of the technology and the fulfillment of its remarkable promise.

Finally, it is always a pleasant duty to announce that I/ITSEC is almost upon us once more. This year, we have further enlarged the Healthcare Pavilion to accommodate the ever-increasing number of exhibitors in that field. The “America’s Teachers” program has likewise been expanded to include administrators along with teachers from three schools representing different regions of the country. By inviting teams with decision-making capability from each school, we hope that the information they obtain at I/ITSEC can be more directly translated into productive action once they return to their individual school districts.

Remarkably, I/ITSEC 2011 will again break all records for amount of exhibition hall space occupied by corporations, government organizations, and academic and research institutions from around the world. I say “remarkably” because this growth is being achieved in the face of what may well become reductions in defense and basic research of Draconian proportions. I can only conclude that there exists a general belief that modeling and simulation is so fundamental to our existence as an advanced society, and has such inherent advantages as to overcome any misgivings about its continued viability and dynamic growth. This is being manifested, I believe, by the large number of first-time exhibitors at I/ITSEC 2011. By making the decision to spend human and capital resources to be represented at I/ITSEC, these corporations are giving the technology a strong vote of confidence. I welcome all exhibitors, new and those returning, to what will clearly be another signal event for our community and industry.

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