Congressman J. Randy Forbes, Founder and Co-chairman        
Congressman Solomon Ortiz, Co-chairman

December 2007
 

Legislation Introduced to Spur Innovation in Medical Modeling and Simulation

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Chairman of the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus, announced that he has introduced bipartisan legislation with Congressman Patrick Kennedy (RI-01) to enhance and promote innovation in medical modeling and simulation across the nation. H.R. 4321, the Enhancing SIMULATION (Safety in Medicine Utilizing Leading Advanced Simulation Technologies to Improve Outcomes Now) Act of 2007 would help improve the quality of healthcare in the United States by reducing medical error and cutting healthcare costs.

According to a study done by the Institute of Medicine, between 44,000 and 98,000 people are killed every year in the United States due to medical errors. Even using the low estimate of 44,000 fatalities, medical errors would be the 8th leading cause of death in the United States, killing more people that AIDS, breast cancer and motor vehicle accidents. Additionally, medical errors cost the United States up to $79 billion each year.

In addition, H.R. 4321 would:

 * Establish medical modeling and simulation centers of excellence across America;
 * Establish medical M&S grants for academic and professional organizations;
 * Promote innovation in medical M&S with in the Department of Health & Human Services; and,
 * Establish a coordinating council for federal government collaboration on medical M&S efforts.

Collectively, these provisions of the Medical SIMULATION Act will develop the use of simulation technologies and simulation-based skills training that will improve health outcomes, patient safety, and quality; reduce medical errors and deaths; and reduce the cost of healthcare.

To follow the bill's progress through Congress, click here. You may also contact Tom Power at 202-225-6365 for more information.

Rep. Scott Introduces Bill to Enhance the Study of Modeling and Simulation

Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) has introduced H.R. 4165, a bill that would provide grants to encourage and enhance the study of modeling and simulation at institutions of higher education. Currently, a limited number of institutions of higher education have Modeling and Simulation programs, including undergraduate and graduate degree programs. This competitive grant program will provide a critical source of funding for colleges and universities that want to expand and improve their Modeling and Simulation programs. The grant will also provide important seed money for colleges and universities that do not have a program to establish a Modeling and Simulation program.

Further details on this important M&S grant program are to come in the next issue of the M&S Caucus Newsletter.

M&S Caucus Member Spotlight

Congresswoman Heather Wilson

Congressional District: New Mexico 1st - Albuquerque, NM
 

Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
 

Years in Congress: 9
 

Committee Assignments: Energy & Commerce, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
 

Government M&S in her district: Sandia National Laboratory, Department of Energy, and USAF Distributed Mission Operations Center, Kirkland AFB

To visit Rep. Wilson's website, go to http://wilson.house.gov/.
 

I/ITSEC 2007: Maintaining the Edge...Transforming the Force

The annual I/ITSEC conference was held November 26 - 29 this year in Orlando, Florida. The conference promotes cooperation among the Armed Services, Industry, Academia and various Government agencies in pursuit of improved training and education programs, identification of common training issues and development of multiservice programs.

I/ITSEC 2007 included an M&S Caucus panel, including chairman of the M&S Caucus Congressman Randy Forbes (VA-04), and members of the M&S Caucus Congressmen Tom Feeney (FL-24), Ric Keller (FL-08), and Bobby Scott (VA-03). Congressman Forbes highlighted the need for expansion of M&S technology to be applied to one of our nation's most vital infrastructures - agriculture.  Congressman Scott called for the increased investment in M&S education. Congressman Keller touched on the use of M&S technology to study education and the IT workforce. Congressman Feeney drew an historical parallel between M&S systems today and President Eisenhower's commitment to the National Defense Highway System, which benefited many Americans.

For a full recap on the conference events, read the Official Daily News Digest of I/ITSEC 2007.  For general I/ITSEC 2007 conference info, click here.

Bold Quest 07 Event a Success

U.S. Joint Forces Command completed evaluations of various combat identification technologies during Bold Quest 07 in September. Bold Quest 07 is a military utility assessment of technologies developed in USJFCOM's Coalition Combat Identification Technology (CCID) advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD), as well as other CCID technologies developed by the services and multinational partners.

“The operational and analytical network between NTC and Nellis was the backbone of the event,” said John Miller, USJFCOM's operational manager for the CCID ACTD. “We were able to get the permissions we needed to set up a very complex network with multiple levels of security for the event to ride on.”

The event was held at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and the National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California. Nearly 850 people from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, The United Kingdom, and NATO participated.

Click here to read more on Bold Quest 07.

Upcoming Events

2008 M&S Leadership Summit

February 11, 2008
Virginia Beach, VA

The 2008 M&S Leadership Summit will be conducted on Monday, February 11, 2008, in Virginia Beach, VA, at the new Westin Hotel in the Virginia Beach Town Center. The focus of the 2008 Summit is education, and the theme is "Education: Enabling Modeling and Simulation, a National Critical Technology.”

The 2008 M&S Leadership Summit will bring together leaders from various domains of society to address the level of utilization and sophistication of M&S within their domains, and will include a series of panels to facilitate group discussion.

For more information on the event, click here.

M&S Must Reads

Getting serious
December 6, 2007
The Economist
It is a typical example of the colonisation of a new frontier. A few intrepid explorers stake out some new, unexplored territory. Before long the first settlers move in and start to look for ways to make a quick buck. Click here to read more.

Faster Computers Accelerate Pace of Discovery
December 3, 2007
Washington Post
Sometime next year, developers will boot up the next generation of supercomputers, machines whose vast increases in processing power will accelerate the transformation of the scientific method, experts say. The first "petascale" supercomputer will be capable of 1,000 trillion calculations per second. That's about twice as powerful as today's dominant model, a basketball-court-size beast known as BlueGene/L at the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California that performs a peak of 596 trillion calculations per second. Click here to read more.

Real hope in a virtual world: Online identities leave limitations behind
October 6, 2007
Washington Post
After suffering a devastating stroke four years ago, Susan Brown was left in a wheelchair with little hope of walking again. Today, the 57-year-old Richmond woman has regained use of her legs and has begun to reclaim her life, thanks in part to encouragement she says she gets from an online "virtual world" where she can walk, run and even dance. Click here to read more.

Virtual reality model shows 30 buildings that could be targets for attack
November 8, 2007
Government Computer News
The Columbus, Ohio, police plan to field virtual technology to combat terrorism as early as 2009. The department is working with Athens-based Ohio University to build accurate, interactive models of 30 high-profile city buildings and sites that are likely targets for terrorist attacks or other violent incidents. Click here to read more.

Simulation Software Plays a Role in Katrina Rebuild Effort
November 5, 2007
Design News
After all the devastation and destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, you'd hardly think anyone would be up for a repeat performance. But that's exactly what's happening in university labs, government agencies and even at some private consulting companies. In the two years since the storm blew through, engineers and scientists have been poring over computer-based simulations and full-scale models, trying to recreate the conditions of the biggest storm to hit the U.S. in more than a century. Click here to read more.

Modeling, simulations aiding military planners
November 1, 2007
Government Computer News
The use of high-tech modeling and simulation support is taking on increasing importance and sophistication in global military decision-making, Air Force Gen. Lance Smith said in a closing keynote address at this week’s MILCOM conference. Click here to read more.

Military showcases simulations in Suffolk
November 3, 2007
The Virginian-Pilot
A banker might be the last person you'd expect to see at a modeling and simulation expo put on by the military's Joint Forces Command. But those high-tech tools might have applications for the banking industry, said Wayne Milligan, vice president of consumer and corporate staff technology production support in Bank of America's downtown Norfolk office. He saw the potential to use computer simulations to detect problems in online-banking software before it's put into use. Click here to read more.

Gaming Hearts and Minds

November 2007
Defense Technology International
The U.S. Army is turning to massive multiplayer online simulations - i.e., computer gaming - as one way of improving the intersponal skills of soldiers who will interact with civilians during tours of duty. Click here to read more.

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.

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