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Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Founder and Co-Chairman
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August 2009
Fourth Annual Congressional Modeling and Simulation Expo a Success
New Raytheon Program Analyzes 'STEM' Candidates
Today, the defense industry faces growing shortages of skilled engineers and scientists as older workers prepare to retire and are not adequately replaced. The program, which Raytheon engineers started developing in 2006, looks at roughly 200 variables to judge the likelihood a student will graduate with a degree in one of the "STEM" subjects - science, technology, engineering or math - and enter industry or become a teacher in one of those fields.
The model itself looks like a group of spiders, mapping a person's education and career from birth to retirement. It looks at the short- and long-term impacts of changing certain variables and produces a graph showing changes in the number of college graduates in STEM subjects as a result. The model analyzes other variables such as teacher pay, class size, student interest in science and math, teacher attrition rates and gender differences over the course of a person's education from kindergarten to college.
Raytheon created the program, called the U.S. STEM Educational Model for BHEF. BHEF then launched the program into open-source use, allowing users suggest changes and research to improve the model. The model is based on research including test scores and localized studies, yet more research is needed, panelists at the unveiling said.
The program will be overseen by the STEM Research and Modeling Network, a partnership between Raytheon, BHEF and The Ohio State University.
Navy Gets Simulation Assistance
The contractor will also provide modeling and simulation software development, support, logistics and training, according to a Defense Department announcement. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C., and is initially expected to be completed by July 2010 with a possible continuation to 2014.
The contract was competitively procured with an unlimited number of proposals solicited and one offer received via the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command’s E-Commerce site. For more information on the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, click here.
Army Logistics University Opens at Fort Lee
The new Army Logistics University (ALU) at Fort Lee, Virginia opened on July 2nd
and includes a 100,000 square foot building specifically intended
for modeling and simulation. The
Simulation Training Center (STC) is
designed for exercises and training for units all over the world, said
Col. Shelley Richardson, ALU President.
The university is one of the largest BRAC projects on post and truly represents the merger of the transportation, quartermaster and ordnance branches into the Army Logistics Branch.
Soldiers from the transportation, quartermaster and ordnance branches of the Army will be training together at the university. The university is responsible for training military students from 63 foreign countries and will house approximately 2,300 students daily when it is fully operational.
Modeling and Simulation as Tools to Improve Drug Development Dr. Diane Mould, Dr. Steve Molnar and Tracey Thomas
Healthcare remains a national crisis. Among the associated issues are the high cost of medications and the expenses of those patients whose disease can not be managed effectively with the currently available drugs. There is a strong focus on reducing the costs of medication and reducing the time required to develop and test medications for unmet medical needs. Computer based modeling and simulation can be used to reduce drug development costs and help evaluate new therapies. Population modeling techniques are used to evaluate the time course of disease in untreated and treated conditions and to provide additional insights into the therapeutic benefit a new drug may provide.
These models are then used to simulate alternative dose and treatment strategies to reduce the number of regimens tested in clinical trials. This approach provides more rapid drug development at reduced cost. Some pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies are strong proponents of population modeling and simulation. There are many cases where such models have been used to improve the safety and efficacy of new drugs, and to reduce development times. However the application of modeling and simulation to drug development is still a relatively new approach and its implementation is not consistently applied across all drug development programs. To continue reading, click here.
M&S Caucus Member Spotlight
Congressman Doug Lamborn
Congressional District: 5th District of Colorado
Years in Congress: 2
Committee Assignments: Armed Services, Natural Resources, Veterans Affairs
Government M&S in his district: U.S. Northern Command, Fort Carson, the United States Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Rep. Lamborn on M&S: “Modeling and simulation is one of the most important tools our military has for saving lives and winning wars. It is essential that Congress support funding for the continued use of models and simulations to investigate both future and current weapons systems. Often we can only detect weaknesses in our defense systems when we run them through a simulation. I think we can all agree that this is better than waiting to test them on the battlefield when the lives of our servicemen and women are at stake.”
To visit Rep. Lamborn’s website, go to: http://lamborn.house.gov/Biography/
Upcoming Events
Twelfth Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition This Week: August 17-20, 2009 Von Braun Center Huntsville, Alabama
The theme for this year’s event is Space and Missile Defense... the Path Forward. The Conference will have a greater international emphasis than in previous years, including information on ballistic missile defense in Europe and China. The conference will also emphasize a Joint nature, with each service well-represented and their contributions spotlighted. Because of current world situations and national occurrences, the conference will emphasize the importance of understanding how missile defense and space technologies are contributing to the success of war fighters around the globe. For more information, click here.
17th Annual Expeditionary Warfare Wargame August 25-26, 2009
Ellis Hall -
Marine Corps Base
Expeditionary Warfare Wargame offers a preeminent training and simulation opportunity to hear the latest requirements and learn about procurement opportunities from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Presentations will identify near term and mid-term requirements and acquisition strategies. For more information on the annual event, including a full agenda, click here.
2009 Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop September 21-25, 2009
Florida Mall
Conference Center
Join peers and mentors from around the world to help advance the state of M&S practices by contributing your expertise to the development of Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) products. This years SIW will include SISO Standards development, Professional Paper Presentations, Study Groups, Plenary Speakers and more. For more information, click here.
M&S Must Reads
Navy tests online simulation environment for sub design August 3, 2009 Government Computer News A Navy branch that develops new submarines and other seafaring vessels is testing a new technique to vet designs online, rather than through full-sized physical mock-ups. "The potential for cost-savings is enormous," said Douglas Maxwell, the technical lead for the project. The job is part of a larger NUWC program called the Metaverse Exploration Project, which looks at ways to build out and use simulation technology for training, rapid prototyping and other duties. To continue reading, click here.
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man July 26, 2009 New York Times A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously. Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone. Their concern is that further advances could create profound social disruptions and even have dangerous consequences. To continue reading click here.
Bioterrorism and Disaster Preparedness July 27, 2009 ScienceDaily According to a study in a special issue of Medical Decision Making, a large-scale, covert anthrax attack on a large city would overwhelm hospital resources even with an extremely effective public health response, primarily because of expected delays in detecting the attack and initiating a response to it. The article "Predicting Hospital Surge after a Large-Scale Anthrax Attack: A Model-Based Analysis of CDC's Cities Readiness Initiative Prophylaxis Recommendations," examines one of the CDC's principal bioterrorism-response programs, the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI), a program that recommends the medical countermeasures necessary to minimize the hospital surge resulting from anthrax-related illness and response in the first two days after a major bioterrorism attack. To continue reading click here.
Teaming Up On Design and Test August 1, 2009 Test & Measurement World Powerful high-level software tools give domain experts in such diverse fields as aerospace engineering and medical electronics increasing control over the design and verification of embedded systems. What’s more, the tools themselves are adapting, with graphical design environments intended for test now aiding the design process, and design, modeling, and simulation tools enabling such techniques as HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) testing. During a panel discussion at the Embedded Systems Conference 2008, the idea of domain experts supplanting electrical engineers gained some currency To continue reading, click here.
Can Wind Power Get Up to Speed? June 23, 2009 TIME Pop quiz: what source of power doesn't come out of the ground, doesn't burn and isn't radioactive? Hint: it contributed the most new electricity generation to the U.S. grid in 2008. The answer is wind power, the technology that has become synonymous with going green. Companies that started out small, like Denmark's Vestas and India's Suzlon Energy, have become multinational giants selling steel and fiberglass wind turbines; even blue chippers like General Electric have identified wind power as a major revenue source for the future, while the construction and installation of wind turbines will employ workers here in the U.S. Investing in wind power, said President Barack Obama at a turbine factory in Iowa on Earth Day, "is a win-win. It's good for the environment; it's great for the economy." To continue reading click here.
In Simulation Work, the Demand Is Real June 13, 2009 New York Times As employment headlines go from grim to grimmer, it’s appropriate that one job category with expanding demand involves helping people avoid reality. Designers of computer simulations are sought in many fields to help understand complex, multifaceted phenomena that are too expensive or perilous to study in real life. Simulations are used to gauge the impact that new rivals in the market may have on a company’s sales — or to help a manufacturer devise the cheapest, fastest means of delivering products. To reduce costs measured in lives, not dollars, simulations examine responses in security threat situations, for instance, or how various factors affect aircraft or rocket-engine performance. To continue reading click here.
Disaster simulation can help big cities, hospitals plan June 4, 2009 ModernHealthcare.com Computer simulations can be used to improve U.S. hospital disaster preparations, according to a study in the American Medical Association’s Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal which modeled a release of poisonous sarin vapor in Manhattan public transportation centers that had the potential to expose some 22,000 people to its harmful effects leading to 178 intensive-care unit admissions. Researchers used population statistics, and plugged in data on the New York City borough's healthcare resources such as available hospital beds, emergency department services, hospital surge capacity, variable exposure effects, and behavioral and psycho-social characteristics to mimic response to an attack. To continue reading click here.
If you have news articles on M&S that you would like to have featured in a future issue of the Modeling and Simulation Newsletter, please email them to the M&S Newsletter.
Modeling & Simulation e-newsletter
Join the Modeling and Simulation Caucus email newsletter list by signing up online at http://randyforbes.house.gov/mscaucus. In addition, you can stay informed by reading past issues online.
If your organization would like to be featured in a future issue of the Modeling and Simulation Government Highlight section, please email background information and photos to the M&S Newsletter.
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| Founded by Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia, the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus serves to showcase M&S contributions, to promote the M&S industry, and to be a forum for Members of Congress to understand the importance of M&S in a variety of fields. For more information on the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus, please visit http://randyforbes.house.gov/mscaucus. Please do not reply to this email. It has been sent from an unattended mailbox. | |
On
July 15, Modeling & Simulation companies from around the country
came to Capitol Hill to demonstrate just how
important Modeling and Simulation is to a breadth of industries. Over 200
staffers and 12 members of Congress attended the Fourth Annual Expo to
explore the 17 different M&S companies who showcased important simulation
technologies. These staffers and Members learned how simulation helps to
train surgeons, manage mass destruction after a hurricane hits, and
control body
movement while swinging a golf club. Opening remarks were made
by Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Chairman of the Congressional M&S Caucus,
followed by ten Members of the
Congressional M&S Caucus.
