ModSim in Hampton Roads, the K-12 Education Imperative

HR Partnership | September 2, 2010

from Jim Batterson, a retired NASA engineer who served as Senior Advisor to the Commonwealth for STEM Initiatives in Governor Kaine’s administration

In his recent Virginian Pilot Op-Ed piece, “A Vital Spinoff from JFCOM”, Jack Ezzell pointed out many of Hampton Roads’ strengths in the area of modeling and simulation. He defined modeling and simulation as:

“Modeling and simulation refers to the process of developing a mathematical model of a real-world process, such as the flow of containers through a port facility and solving the model under different conditions. The information extracted from the model can be used to enhance the effectiveness of the real-world process and increase efficiency and profitability.”

This excellent example from the economically critical ports extends to traffic and transportation analysis. Still other current modeling and simulation applications that should be of interest to Hampton Roads’ citizens include tidal level predictions for hurricanes and nor’easters being developed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William & Mary (VIMS); innovative designs for aircraft carrier landing systems at Northrop-Grumman Newport News (NGNN); design and development at NASA Langley Research Center (NASA-LARC), of launch pad abort systems to save astronauts’ lives in the event of a rocket anomaly during launch; design of particle accelerators and instrumentation at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab); a “virtual stethoscope”, developed at the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) in collaboration with Old Dominion University’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC), as a training device that simulates the sounds of the human body’s circulatory and respiratory systems; and many, many others.

While modeling and simulation only approximates real-world behaviors and does not simply replace physical experiments, it does allow for extensive insights into system behaviors where full scale experimentation is not possible such as with hurricanes, or where experiments might involve human safety such as possible changes to the air traffic control system to allow the integration of drones with piloted aircraft, or are too expensive such as with NASA’s pioneering missions aimed at landing scientific instruments on other planets in the solar system. We know that hurricane prediction is not perfect, but with the data collected and analyzed from each unique storm, scientists improve the mathematical models making predictions for the next storms better. So it is not only the capabilities of modeling and simulation, but also the implications and limits of the model used that today’s student must learn.

What has allowed for this recent explosion of
modeling and simulation applications?
Find out by reading more…

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Navigating Business with the Federal Government

HR Partnership | August 30, 2010

The Peninsula Council for Workforce Development (PCFWD) is hosting this series in partnership with the Defense and Homeland Security Consortium (PentagonSouth) of Technology Hampton Roads (formerly Hampton Roads Technology Council) and Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC).

Ten professional leaders and top level executives in our community have volunteered once again to present a seminar from their respective expertise. It is a fantastic series for a very low cost that is aimed at those in our community exploring the idea of doing business with the government (especially the DoD). At the Seminars you’ll learn Strategic Planning, Marketing, Proposal Development, Contract Performance, Contract Administration and Accounting, Government Customer Expectations, Subcontracting with Prime Contractors, Profitability and Administration, Employee Relations and Small Business Resources.

Classes are held at the Peninsula Workforce Development Center, 600 Butler Farm Road, Hampton, VA on Tuesdays, September 14 – November 16, 2010 from 7:00 to 9:15 p.m. Participants will receive an official certificate of completion from Thomas Nelson Community College and 2.0 Continuing Education Units.

“I very strongly recommend this seminar. For a small investment in time and cost, it provides a unique opportunity to be exposed to the full spectrum of the business environment for contractors operating in the defense and homeland security marketplace, crossing all functional lines.” — Harry Train, Admiral, U.S. Navy (ret.)

“As I retired from the Navy, the seminar helped me understand the business. I was able to use it immediately in my job in industry.” — Rick Doran, Allied Command Transformation, Norfolk, VA

For further information or to register contact Carolyn Tarrant or Rita Bond at the Peninsula Council for Workforce Development. Phone: (757) 826.3327 or Email: ctarrant@pcfwd.org or rbond@pcfwd.org.

From Matthew James, President & CEO, Peninsula Council for Workforce Development (PCFWD)

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Regional Collaboration – Where the Action Is

HR Partnership | August 16, 2010

Regional Continuous Improvement Forum and Professional Societies of Hampton Roads Joint Meeting on September 10th

More and more the critical issues for Hampton Roads are not only those of port development, tunnel expansion, and light rail, but broader challenges of workforce sustainability, energy resource/distribution development, and general organizational performance (Lean/Six Sigma). These issues cut across professions and organizations, presenting significant challenges but also great opportunities for regional collaboration.

Professionals bring advanced education and proven skills to the job. But with challenges extending across knowledge and enterprise boundaries, tasks need teams and communities. Increasing productivity and improving economic development depends on our ability to network and function as a region as well as a traditional hierarchical organization.

Most of us can’t directly engage in the regional issues of transportation and port/trade development. And most of us will only support light rail by buying tickets for a ride to the Tides game or Waterside. But we can engage with our peers in discussions and initiatives to deal with workforce matters and productivity continuous improvement.

Organizations all across the region are stakeholders in these challenges – either as problems to resolve or opportunities to address. Yet no single enterprise can deal with regional workforce, energy or productivity matters as their corporate objective. Collaboration is the approach – among various knowledge resources in Hampton Roads.

The Hampton Roads Quality Management Community (HRQMC) is sponsoring a Forum on September 10th to provide visibility to the benefits of collaboration, and to provide opportunity to both identify more initiatives for collaboration as well opportunities to make contacts with whom to collaborate.

Jeff Brooks, COO of Earl Industries, will discuss….

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Growing talent starts early

HR Partnership | August 14, 2010

Click on graphic above for larger image.

According to Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads, 90% of a child’s brain is developed by the age of 5. Hampton Roads and Virginia is faced with three employee options: import talent, export jobs or GROW the talent here. That growth begins with early education which provides the foundation for economic productivity, responsible citizenship and strong communities.

See http://SmartBeginningsSHR.org for more information and to learn how to get involved.

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Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development

HR Partnership | August 3, 2010

Southeastern Virginia Partnership for Regional Transformation (SEVA-PORT) Innovation Index

Download and read the complete SEVA-PORT Innovation Index report.

Virginia’s Southeastern region, centered in Hampton Roads, has a long and distinguished history as an important economic center for Virginia, the Atlantic Coast, and the entire US. The region can trace its modern history back to the Jamestown Settlement of 1607, and, thanks to its unparalleled harbor and port facilities, it has long been a leading center for the US Navy and related defense purposes.

The military and defense‐related industries have always served as the region’s economic anchors, and continue to do so today. However, the 21st century Hampton Roads economy diverges from past patterns because of its growing sophistication and diversity. The region is no longer simply a “Navy Town;” it is becoming a thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. Today, the Hampton Roads metropolitan area is home to more than 1.7 million people, making it the 35th largest metropolitan area in the US. The wider Southeastern Virginia region is home to more than 2.3 million.

The region’s growing economic prosperity and dynamism did not simply emerge out of thin air. It has been the result of conscious effort by regional leaders who have worked to nurture a strong, innovative, diversified, and resilient economy that builds upon long‐standing connections with defense-related industries to support innovation in a host of industries and clusters. Groups like the Hampton Roads Partnership (HRP), the Hampton Roads Research Partnership, and the Crater Regional Partnership (CRP) have long supported this mission.

Beginning in 2007, these efforts were rapidly accelerated by the creation of the Southeastern Virginia Partnership for Regional Transformation (SEVA‐PORT). SEVA‐PORT was a new regional initiative focused on the critical task of building a stronger talent base in a region encompassing 25 cities and counties located in Southeastern Virginia. Building on promising initiatives focused on local strengths in the modeling and simulation (M&S) sector, and the transportation, warehousing and distribution (TWD) industries, SEVA‐PORT sought to strengthen the region’s talent base with skills and expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics‐related (STEM) disciplines.

The SEVA‐PORT collaborative has operated for nearly three years, and has spawned a host of new economic and workforce development initiatives throughout Southeastern Virginia. This report assesses the SEVA‐PORT legacy, but is also does much more. SEVA‐PORT was an important first step, but more needs to be done.

Thus, this analysis also looks forward and assesses how the region performs in terms of building a strong base for future innovation. It contains a newly created Southeast Virginia STEM Workforce Innovation Index that tracks the region’s performance on several key variables:

  1. Its ability to nurture and support a STEM‐savvy workforce,
  2. Its local base of entrepreneurial companies and innovation‐based businesses, and
  3. Its performance, and projected performance in the key regional business clusters of Modeling and Simulation, and Transportation, Warehousing, and Distribution.

This report concludes with suggested steps for building on the progress already made via SEVA-PORT and other regional economic and workforce development initiatives. Specifically, the region should consider the following goals as top priorities for work that will continue to support the legacy of the SEVA‐PORT effort. These initiatives include…

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2010 State of the Workforce

HR Partnership | August 1, 2010

Industry Clusters for Hampton Roads (2nd Quarter 2009)
Note: The size of the bubbles in the chart represents the location quotient (competitive advantage) with larger bubbles associated with bigger location quotients. Click on graphic above for larger image.

The depth, length, and unique circumstances of the current recession will likely change the regional economy in ways still unknown. And while the financial crisis that spawned the recession may require that we reevaluate how we invest, save, and spend, the recognition of our vulnerability as businesses, workers, and a nation may in fact make us stronger. If there was ever a question as to whether we have transitioned from nation states with some autonomous control of our destiny to globalization of finance, business, and the workforce, it is now answered….

Download and read the complete report.

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Courage, confidence and character

HR Partnership | July 29, 2010

Leadership skills start young

On October 2, hundreds of girls from all over southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina will fill the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News for the annual Girl Scout Jamboree. Through programs set up by NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, the Mariners’ Museum, NASA and the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, girls in grades K through 12 will sail away on an adventure of discovery by exploring labs, touching artifacts and reliving personal accounts.

This year, the Girl Scout Jamboree kicks off more than just a new membership year – it celebrates a new era in Girl Scouting. On July 6, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) released a new brand initiative and marketing campaign, aimed to modernize the 98-year-old organization.

“About one out of every 10 girls participates in Girl Scouting and that’s a tremendous number. But that also means we have a great opportunity to grow even after almost 100 years. We have literally revamped our entire organization to appeal to that 90 percent of girls who aren’t benefiting from the Girl Scout Leadership Experience,” said Kathy Cloninger, Chief Executive Officer of GSUSA.

GSUSA also released a new campaign that speaks to what Girl Scouts are doing today. Known by the tagline What Did You Today?, the campaign challenges and empowers girls and the community to think about how they take action each day to not only better themselves but to better their community and the world….

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Monster comes to Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | July 26, 2010

Opportunity, Inc., the South Hampton Roads’ Workforce Development Board, has partnered with Monster.com to bring the region several free “Power Job Seeker” Employment Workshops.

Why do you need to attend?

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Pentagon advisory board: close JFCOM, axe 5100+ employees in Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | July 23, 2010

Steven Bixler, a senior systems analyst briefs a standing room only crowd at the Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities Modeling and Simulation Demonstration hosted by the US Joint Forces Command’s Joint Futures Lab. The demonstration brings state of the art modeling and simulation capabilities to natural disaster and terrorist threat response. (Click on this USJFCOM Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Joe Laws for a high-quality image)


From InsideDefense.com: Defense Business Board: Reducing Overhead and Improving DoD’s Business Operations, July 22, 1010
Presentation (PDF 43 pages, 1.2MB) and Statement of Arnold Punaro, Task Group Chair (PDF 25 pages, <1MB)

Pentagon advisory board recommends axing Joint Forces Command

Command employs more than 5,100 in Hampton Roads
From Peter Frost, Daily Press, July 23, 2010

A Pentagon advisory board is recommending that the Defense Department eliminate the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command as part of a plan to significantly cut defense spending.

The Defense Business Board, the Pentagon’s independent board of economic and business advisers, made the preliminary recommendation Thursday in a presentation at the Pentagon.

Joint Forces Command is the linchpin of Hampton Roads’ blossoming high-tech industry, a segment that provided almost 4,500 high-paying jobs and pumped about $365 million into the local economy in 2007, according to 2007 Old Dominion University report.

“It would be absolutely devastating” for Hampton Roads if Joint Forces Command would be shut down, said Andrew Sinclair, a program manager for the Hampton Roads Partnership, a nonprofit made up of business leaders and elected officials whose goal is to promote regional development.

“We’ve put a lot of effort and resources into building Hampton Roads into a modeling and simulation cluster, and it has all been built around Joint Forces Command,” he said Friday. “There are a number of businesses that are here only because of Joint Forces Command. If it were to go away, all of our effort to grow the modeling and simulation industry would really be for naught.”

Get the full story…

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Save the HRFO

HR Partnership | July 14, 2010

FilmOffice@HRP.org
(757) 943-0993

Save the Hampton Roads Film Office

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