What software is to Silicon Valley, Modeling and Simulation could be to Hampton Roads

Video stills, clockwise from left to right: Dana Dickens, President & CEO of Hampton Roads Partnership; U.S. Senator Mark Warner; John Broderick, President of  Old Dominion University; and Gen. Martin Dempsey, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

by Andrew Sinclair, Hampton Roads Partnership’s M & S Program Manger

On Tuesday, October 13, Senator Mark Warner held his Virginia Summit on Modeling and Simulation at the Virginia Beach Convention Center with over 500 people in attendance. The Summit served as the kick-off for ModSim World 2009 where attendees heard about this burgeoning industry making an impact in Hampton Roads and nationally.

Senator Warner opened the summit with a charge to Hampton Roads:
“What the Internet is to Northern Virginia, what software is to Silicon Valley, modeling and simulation could be to Hampton Roads.”

Senator Warner also touted U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) and Old Dominion University’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) as key hubs of activity which can grow Hampton Roads’ visibility nationally and internationally.

Senator Warner introduced former Virginia Secretary of Technology and current White House Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra who praised M&S as being ideal to meeting President Obama’s goals for innovation.  Chopra also gave numerous accolades to NASA Langley Research Center personnel for their leadership in helping add M&S to the high school physics curriculum in Virginia.

Marine Corps General James Mattis, Commander of USJFCOM, spoke on the importance of M&S to the warfighter and the developing needs and capabilities to respond to an ever-changing battlefield.

The Summit was emceed by Hampton Roads Partnership President and CEO, Dana Dickens.  Following the keynotes, three panels on Defense & Homeland Security, Education & Training, and Health & Medicine followed.  Each panel had a wealth of information from its distinguished speakers, with the medical panel being the highlight of them all, as it painted a picture of opportunity and growth for an industry still very much tied to the defense industry.

Videos of the keynote speeches and panels as well as the agenda is available on Senator Warner’s website: http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=modsim.