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?

The past decade in computer and software advances – greatly increased memory and computational speed at substantially lowered cost – has made the development and exercising of such mathematical models part of the standard toolbox for today’s business people, scientists and engineers and, now, is even accessible to students in all grades K-12.  In addition to the analysis of mathematical models, the industrial applications of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) have also become accessible to our middle and high school students in curricula programs such as Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a four-year turn-key engineering curriculum led in Virginia out of ODU’s Batten School of Engineering; and extra-curricula activities such as “F1 (Formula One) in Schools”, in which open-wheel race car models are designed and fabricated using CAD/CAM software/hardware.  Even a K-5 primer on the principles of modeling and simulation, “The Shape of Change”, is available at www.clexchange.org.   This book, written by two Massachusetts elementary school teachers provides classroom activities that demonstrate such system dynamic behaviors fundamental to modeling and simulation, as mammoth herd extinction, deforestation, and disease-spread.

These broad applications often tie together the previously disparate areas of theory-based K-12 math, science, social studies, and health with the hands-on K-12 area of CTE (Career and Technical Education) – formerly known as vocational or technical education.

The Commonwealth of Virginia and, particularly, Hampton Roads is actively engaged in growing our K-12 students’ knowledge of modeling and simulation.  A few selected examples:

• In its recent 2010 revision of Science Standards of Learning (SOL), the Virginia State Board of Education added modeling and simulation as a required skill in the laboratory investigation objective (grade 6, life science, physical science, biology, chemistry, and physics) for virtually all middle and high school science students in Virginia.
• In a collaboration between the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) and Virginia Beach Public Schools, Ocean Lakes High School science and math teachers have developed and piloted cross-discipline modeling and simulation curriculum that is now being spread throughout the region.
• NASA Langley Research Center in collaboration with Old Dominion University and VMASC has provided workshops led by national leaders in K-12 modeling and simulation to teachers from throughout Hampton Roads and as far west as Charlottesville.
• The Virginia Governor’s Academy at Pruden Center in Suffolk in collaboration with Tidewater Community College, provides regional instruction in CAD/CAM, including rapid prototype fabrication for high school students. READ THE STORY
• NASA Langley has provided modeling and simulation training to teachers from schools throughout Hampton Roads including Title 1 schools such as Campostella Elementary School in Norfolk and the Achievable Dream Academy in Newport News.

These are just a few of the actively growing K-12 modeling and simulation initiatives in the Commonwealth and Hampton Roads.  As curricula have developed, discussions are now starting to center around embedding K-12 teachers in industry during the summers so that they may experience first-hand applications of modeling and simulation at the real-world high tech work places in Hampton Roads.  This cross-training is aimed at enabling teachers to further develop a modeling and simulation curriculum that is both relevant and contemporary to prepare our 21^st century citizens for success in the globally competitive economic realities of their world.

Photo caption:  Kids don’t question, they just flow, which is why they are often experts on computers. It seems to indicate that it is not so much the technical skills but the ability to creatively explore that gets them there. Taken at MacWorld EXPO 2007, Moscone Center, San Francisco.

Photo credit:  David Pham on Flickr