Keynotes

2019 Keynote Speaker

Dr. Robert Atlas

Director Emeritus
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

Modeling and Simulation for Reducing the Risks Associated with Extreme Weather

The reduction of losses related to hurricanes and other extreme weather phenomena involves many complex aspects ranging from purely theoretical, observational, computational and numerical, to operational and decisional. A correct warning can lead to proper evacuation and damage mitigation, and produce immense benefits. However, over-warning can lead to substantial unnecessary costs, a reduction of confidence in warnings, and a lack of appropriate response. In this chain of information, the role played by scientific research is crucial. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in combination with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), other agencies, and universities is contributing to these efforts through observational and theoretical research to better understand the processes associated with extreme weather. This includes model and data assimilation development, Observing System Experiments (OSE), and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE) designed to ascertain the value of existing observing systems and the potential of new observing systems to improve weather prediction and theoretical understanding. We describe innovative research for developing advanced next-generation global and regional models to improve weather prediction, and the application of OSSEs to optimize the observing system.

Bio

Dr. Robert Atlas is the former Chief Meteorologist at NASA\’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and is the Director Emeritus of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\’s (NOAA) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Fla. Some of the areas he focused his research on included the prediction, movement and strengthening of hurricanes. He has worked with both satellite data and computer models as a means to study these hurricane behaviors.

Dr. Atlas received his Ph.D. in Meteorology and Oceanography in 1976 from New York University. Prior to receiving the doctorate, he was a weather forecaster in the U.S. Air Force where he maintained greater than 95 percent forecast accuracy. From 1976 to 1978, Dr. Atlas was a National Research Council Research Associate at NASA\’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, an Assistant Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science for SUNY and Chief Consulting Meteorologist for the ABC television network.

In 1978, Dr. Atlas joined NASA as a research scientist. He served as head of the NASA Data Assimilation Office from 1998-2003, and as Chief meteorologist at NASA GSFC from 2003-2005. Dr. Atlas has performed research to assess and improve the impact of satellite temperature sounding and surface wind data since 1973. He was a key member of the team that first demonstrated the significant impact of quantitative satellite data on numerical weather prediction and is the world’s leading expert on Observing System Simulation Experiments, a technology that enables scientists to determine the quantitative value of new observing systems before funds are allocated for their development.

He served as a member of the Satellite Surface Stress Working Group, the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) Science Team, the ERS Science Team, the SeaWinds Satellite Team and the Working Group for Space-based Laser Winds, the Scientific Steering Group for GEWEX, Chairman of the U.S. World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Advisory Group for model-based air-sea fluxes, and the Council of the American Meteorological Society. He is currently a member of the Science Teams for two NASA space missions.

From 1974-1976, he developed a global upper-ocean model and studied oceanic response to atmospheric wind forcing as well as large-scale atmospheric response to sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies (unusual events). In more recent years, his research concentrated on the role of how the air and sea interacts in the development of cyclones, the role of soil moisture and unusual SST events in the initiation, maintenance and decay of prolonged heat waves and drought, and most recently on the modeling and prediction of hurricane formation, movement and intensification.

Titan of Simulation Speakers

Peter Glynn

Thomas Ford Professor
Stanford University

Uncertainty and Risk: Simulation, Stochastics, and Statistics

Simulation has become the critical tool in understanding uncertainty in a wide range of disciplines. In this talk, we will discuss how simulation is influencing both stochastics and statistics, and also discuss insights for the simulation modeler that derive from these methodological areas. We will also talk about how the interactions between simulation, stochastics, and statistics are changing in light of advances in machine learning, increasing data volumes, and the growing availability of inexpensive parallel computing platforms.

Bio

Peter W. Glynn is the Thomas Ford Professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He is a Fellow of INFORMS and of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, has been co-winner of Best Publication Awards from the INFORMS Simulation Society in1993, 2008, and 2016, and was the co-winner of the John von Neumann Theory Prize from INFORMS in 2010. In 2012, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. His research interests lie in stochastic simulation, queueing theory, and statistical inference for stochastic processes.

Dr. Margaret Loper

Chief Scientist, Information & Communications Laboratory
Chief Technology Officer, Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies
Associate Director, GT Institute for Information Security & Privacy
Georgia Tech Research Institute

Simulation Trust in the Internet of Things

The urban environment is becoming increasingly more connected and complex. In the coming decades, we will be surrounded by billions of sensors, devices and machines, the Internet of Things (IoT). As the world becomes more connected, we will become dependent on machines and simulations to make decisions on our behalf. When simulations use data from sensors, devices and machines (i.e., things) to make decisions, they need to learn how to trust that data as well as the things (and simulations) they are interacting with. As simulations become more commonplace in IoT and smart city applications, it is essential that decision makers are able to trust the simulations making decisions on their behalf. This talk is focused on simulation and model trust, including the fundamental principles concerning how trust is established, maintained and used in simulations and a theory behind their operations.

Bio

Dr. Margaret L. Loper, is a principal research scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute. She is the chief scientist of the Information & Communications Laboratory, Director – Trust at GT Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP) and the Chief Technology Officer of the Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things Technologies (CDAIT).

Her current research is in the area of computational trust algorithms for machine-to-machine communications. Loper also teaches simulation courses for both academic and professional education, and she is involved in projects that bring modeling and simulation into K-12 education.

Dr. Loper has been involved in modeling and simulation for more than 30 years, specifically focused on parallel and distributed systems. Loper has led projects on compliance testing and federation testing, as well as the interoperability of live, virtual and constructive systems. Previous work in casual ordering focused on improving performance of synchronization algorithms by exploiting temporal uncertainty of simulation events. Past projects at Georgia Tech included the Department of Defense High-Level Architecture Federate Testing project, which consisted of the process, tools, and procedures used for HLA compliance and the HLA Federation Verification Tool used to assist federation developers during federation integration. Other projects included the M&S WebBook, Distributed Interactive Simulation Standards Development, and DIS compliance test procedures and tools.

Dr. Loper earned a Doctorate in Computer Science from Georgia Tech, a Master\’s in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University.

Women in Technology named Loper the 2010 Woman of the Year in Technology in the Medium Business category.

Military Keynote

Dr. Mark W. Lukens

Senior Operations Research Analytics
Undersecretary of Defense Acquisition and Logistics
Department of Defense

Cyber Resiliency Wargame Series – Assessing Cyber Risk to Mission for Combat Commanders

Cyber resilience is typically examined in a stove piped fashion and not well integrated into systems development, operational planning and acquisition. Cyber resilience encompasses people, processes, technology and data, BUT technology is the typical focus of weapon system cyber assessments. Cyber resiliency requires a mission assessment of system vulnerabilities. However, two unique perspectives exist within the DoD that need to be integrated.

Combatant Commanders are focused on the \”so what\” for cyber and have concerns which include but are not limited to: Theater Network Operations, alignment of scheme of maneuver to dynamic Key Cyber Terrain, and a more complex challenge of synchronizing authorities, C2 and warfare integration to disrupt and defend Kill Chains that impact scheme of maneuver.

Acquisition focused commands (OSD and Services) must concern themselves with Weapon System Resilience (people, processes and tools), enhancing Cyber Vulnerability Assessments, and to support warfighting requirements they must gain a deep understanding of mission impacts. When assessing a system of systems architecture (such as GPS), the analysis must be rooted in systems engineering and address:

Critical nodes that affect mission performance
Prioritization of risk with a deeper understanding of threats, vulnerabilities and mission impact
Rank order prioritization of investments to exploit (or defend) critical nodes

To meet these challenges, traditional qualitative wargames and exercises can be enhanced with a combined approach of systems engineering analysis, threat awareness and M&S tools to provide a more discrete assessment of offensive cyber impacts and defensively oriented cyber resilience.

Bio

Dr. Mark W. Lukens is the Senior Operations Research Analyst for Cyber Analytics within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, Acquisition and Logistics. He has developed and is the wargame director for the Cyber Resiliency Wargame series. He is also the lead for the Cyber Mission Model and the Economics of Cyberspace Operations projects for the Department of Defense.

Dr. Lukens received his PhD in Computational Science from George Mason University in 2004. He also holds three Masters Degrees, two from Georgia Tech in Operations Research and in Industrial Engineering, and one from the U.S. Army War College (Strategic Studies). In 1986 he graduated first in Operations Research at the United States Military Academy (USMA).

His previous positions at the Pentagon include Division Chief of Program Development, Army G-8, Program Analysis and Evaluation; Division Chief of Manpower and Forces Analysis, Army G-8; Senior Analyst, Projection Forces, OSD Program Analysis and Evaluation; and Branch Chief and Force Structure Analyst, Army G-1. He has also been a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analysis; Military Deputy for Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity at Aberdeen Proving Ground; Director of the NATO ISAF Afghanistan Assessment Group in Kabul Afghanistan; and an Assistant Professor and Instructor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at USMA, West Point. He is a retired Army Colonel with over 29 years of active service, including experience as an infantry officer and paratrooper, with service in Desert Storm.

He has received a number of awards and decorations, including the ORSA Military Application Section Award for the top cadet in Operations Research at USMA; Outstanding Strategic Research Paper, US Army War College; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit, (with 3 Oak Leaf clusters); Bronze Star; Combat Infantryman’s Badge; Ranger Tab; and Master Parachutist Badge.

MASM Keynote

Sabine Herlitschka

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer
Infineon Technologies Austria AG

A European View on Future Semiconductor Industry Needs for MASM

The Modeling and Analysis of Semiconductor Manufacturing (MASM) conference and related previous conferences have emerged from the　Joint European Submicron Silicon Initiative (JESSI)/SEMATECH collaboration project in the late 90s of the last century. The Measurement and Improvement of Manufacturing Capacity (MIMAC) data sets, which also include a simulation model of an Infineon facility, served for decades as reliable simulation reference models with substantial complexity to test academic solutions for research questions coming from academia itself and from the industry. More than a thousand of peer-reviewed publications speak an impressive language on the academic and industry coverage of MASM. Discrete-event and agent based simulation have moved from the tool and factory level to the entire semiconductor supply chain and sometimes even beyond covering the domains of value chains containing semiconductors. However, at the heart remained semiconductor manufacturing and semiconductor development.

With \”Horizon 2020\” the European Commission has set up the largest international collaborative research & innovation program. ECSEL, the Initiative on \”Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership\” is the joint strategic European approach building on the JESSI experiences. Projects under the ECSEL umbrella contribute to reaching the next level for semiconductor development, manufacturing and supply chain. In this talk, some first results of trend-setting projects will be discussed. In the long term, it is very likely that new technologies such as Big Data, semantic web, AI with Deep Learning will change the way how we develop and manufacture semiconductors. The question is: how and who? MASM has to play a crucial role on the way to answer this question. Clearly, the semiconductor industry and its related B2B World containing semiconductors have the capacity to lead this change, thus unlocking the broader innovation potential towards the B2C World.

Bio

Sabine Herlitschka is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Infineon Technologies Austria AG.

Her professional career includes industrial biotechnology research, international research & innovation management and financing, Internships at leading U.S. organizations (National Science Foundation, American Association for the Advancement of Science), Fulbright Scholar at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University/SAIS, as well as founding Vice-Rector for Research Management & International Cooperation at the Medical University of Graz/Austria.　Before joining Infineon Technologies Austria, Herlitschka was Director of European and International Programs in the Austrian Research Promotion Agency.　For more than 20 years she has been involved in strategic European Research & Innovation Programs as project coordinator, evaluator, and member in pioneering European & international expert groups. Amongst others, she is Chair of the Governing Board of ECSEL – the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Program.　Herlitschka holds a Ph.D. in Food- and Biotechnology with Postdoc specialization in molecular biology and genetic engineering and a Master of Business Administration.