Below is information on the history of the Winter Simulation Conference. For the periods 1967-1968 and 1974-2014, the attendance figures shown below represent total paid attendance including students, but excluding exhibitor-only registrants. For the period 1969-1973, no surviving records of WSC attendance are held by any of the sponsoring societies. Consequently, attendance estimates were obtained by discussions with the Program Chairs and General Chairs for this period, namely, Harold Hixson, Julian Reitman, Arnold Ockene, Philip Kiviat, Michael Araten, Joseph Sussman, Austin Hoggatt and Michael Morris. Although the figures for the years 1969-1973 are subject to uncertainty, there is little doubt that in the period 1970-1971, attendance at the WSC was substantially higher than in all other years. In the following table, the abbreviations GC, PC, APC, PE, PCE, and APE denote General Chair, Program Chair, Associate Program Chair, Proceedings Editor, Proceedings Co-Editor, and Associate Proceedings Editor, respectively. The WSC Proceedings have been indexed in the ISI Proceedings since 2000.
CONFERENCE | CONFERENCE LEADERS | ATTENDANCE |
Conference on the Applications of Simulation Using GPSS 13-14 November 1967 Hilton Hotel, New York, NY |
Harold G. Hixson (GC) Julian Reitman (PC) |
401 |
Second Conference on the Applications of Simulation 2-4 December 1968 Hotel Roosevelt, New York, NY |
Julian Reitman (GC) Arnold Ockene (PC) |
856 |
Third Conference on the Applications of Simulation 8-10 December 1969 International Hotel, Los Angeles, CA |
Arnold Ockene (GC) Philip J. Kiviat (PC) |
400 |
Fourth Conference on the Applications of Simulation 9-11 December 1970 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY |
Philip J. Kiviat (GC) Michael Araten (PC) |
1100 |
The 1971 Winter Simulation Conference 8-10 December 1971 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY |
Michael Araten (GC) Joseph Sussman (PC) |
1200 |
The 1973 Winter Simulation Conference 17-19 January 1973 St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, CA |
Joseph Sussman (GC) Austin C. Hoggatt (PC) |
600 |
The 1974 Winter Simulation Conference 14-16 January 1974 Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC |
Michael F. Morris (GC) Harold Steinberg (PC) Harold J. Highland (PE) |
463 |
The 1976 Bicentennial Winter Simulation Conference 6-8 December 1976 National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD |
Harold J. Highland (GC) Thomas J. Schriber (PC) Robert G. Sargent (APC) |
306 |
The 1977 Winter Simulation Conference 5-7 December 1977 National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD |
Robert G. Sargent (GC) J. William Schmidt (PC) Harold J. Highland (PE) |
465 |
The 1978 Winter Simulation Conference 4-6 December 1978 The Deauville Hotel, Miami Beach, FL |
Larry G. Hull (GC) Norman R. Nielsen (PC) Harold J. Highland (PE) |
388 |
The 1979 Winter Simulation Conference 3-5 December 1979 Holiday Inn Embarcadero, San Diego, CA |
Mitchell G. Spiegel (GC) Robert Shannon (PC) Harold J. Highland (PE) |
375 |
The 1980 Winter Simulation Conference 3-5 December 1980 Orlando Marriott, Orlando, FL |
Paul Roth (GC) Tuncer I. Ören (PC,PE) Charles M. Shub (APC) |
205 |
The 1981 Winter Simulation Conference 9-11 December 1981 Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, GA |
Claude M. Delfosse (GC) Charles M. Shub (PC) Tuncer I. Ören (PE) |
267 |
The 1982 Winter Simulation Conference 6-8 December 1982 Holiday Inn Embarcadero, San Diego, CA |
Yen W. Chao (GC) Orlando Madrigal (PC) Harold J. Highland (PE) |
274 |
The 1983 Winter Simulation Conference 12-14 December 1983 Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, VA |
Jerry Banks (GC) Bruce W. Schmeiser (PC) Stephen D. Roberts (PE) |
416 |
The 1984 Winter Simulation Conference 28-30 November 1984 Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, TX |
Udo W. Pooch (GC) C. Dennis Pegden (PC) Sallie Sheppard (PE) |
350 |
The 1985 Winter Simulation Conference 11-13 December 1985 San Francisco Hilton and Tower, San Francisco, CA |
Gerard C. Blais (GC) Susan L. Solomon (PC) Donald T. Gantz (PE) |
369 |
The 1986 Winter Simulation Conference 8-10 December 1986 Radisson Mark Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC |
James O. Henriksen (GC) Stephen D. Roberts (PC) James R. Wilson (PE) |
531 |
The 1987 Winter Simulation Conference 14-16 December 1987 The Ritz Carlton, Buckhead, Atlanta, GA |
Hank Grant (GC) W. David Kelton (PC) Arne Thesen (PE) |
475 |
The 1988 Winter Simulation Conference 12-14 December 1988 San Diego Marriott, San Diego, CA |
Peter L. Haigh (GC) John C. Comfort (PC) Michael A. Abrams (PE) |
535 |
The 1989 Winter Simulation Conference 4-6 December 1989 Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, DC |
Kenneth J. Musselman (GC) Philip Heidelberger (PC) Edward A. MacNair (PE) |
619 |
The 1990 Winter Simulation Conference 9-12 December 1990 The Fairmont Hotel, New Orleans, LA |
Randall P. Sadowski (GC) Richard E. Nance (PC) Osman Balci (PE) |
517 |
The 1991 Winter Simulation Conference 8-11 December 1991 The Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ |
W. David Kelton (GC) Gordon M. Clark (PC) Barry L. Nelson (PE) |
540 |
The 1992 Winter Simulation Conference 13-16 December 1992 Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, VA |
Robert C. Crain (GC) James R. Wilson (PC) James J. Swain (PE) David Goldsman (APE) |
734 |
The 1993 Winter Simulation Conference 12-15 December 1993 The Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, CA |
Edward C. Russell (GC) William E. Biles (PC) Gerald W. Evans (PE) Mansooreh Mollaghasemi |
572 |
The 1994 Winter Simulation Conference 11-14 December 1994 Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Orlando, FL |
Deborah A. Sadowski (GC) Andrew F. Seila (PC) Jeffrey D. Tew (PCE) S. Manivannan (PCE) |
667 |
The 1995 Winter Simulation Conference 3-6 December 1995 Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA |
William R. Lilegdon (GC) David Goldsman (PC) Christos Alexopoulos (PCE) Keebom Kang (PCE) |
652 |
The 1996 Winter Simulation Conference 8-11 December 1996 Hotel Del Coronado, Coronado, CA |
Daniel T. Brunner (GC) James J. Swain (PC) John M. Charnes (PCE) Douglas J. Morrice (PCE) |
649 |
The 1997 Winter Simulation Conference 7-10 December 1997 Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Atlanta, GA |
David H. Withers (GC) Barry L. Nelson (PC) Sigrún Andradóttir (PE) Kevin J. Healy (APE) |
634 |
The 1998 Winter Simulation Conference 13-16 December 1998 Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington DC |
John S. Carson (GC) Mani S. Manivannan (PC) D. J. Medeiros (PCE) Edward F. Watson (PCE) |
778 |
The 1999 Winter Simulation Conference 5-8 December 1999 Squaw Peak, Phoenix, AZ |
David T. Sturrock (GC) Gerald W. Evans (PC) P. A. Farrington (PCE) H. B. Nemhard (PCE) |
671 |
The 2000 Winter Simulation Conference 10-13 December 2000 Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa, Orlando, FL |
Paul A. Fishwick (GC) Keebom Kang (PC) Jeffrey A. Joines (PCE) Russell R. Barton (PCE) |
710 |
The 2001 Winter Simulation Conference 9-12 December 2001 Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA |
Matt Rohrer(GC) Deb Medeiros (PC) Brett A. Peters (PCE) Jeffrey Smith (PCE) |
496 |
The 2002 Winter Simulation Conference 8-11 December 2002 Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, San Diego, CA |
Jane L. Snowdon (GC) John M. Charnes (PC) Enver Yücesan (PCE) Chun-Hung Chen (PCE) |
550 |
The 2003 Winter Simulation Conference 7-10 December 2003 The Fairmont New Orleans, New Orleans, LA |
David Ferrin (GC) Douglas J. Morrice (PC) Paul J. Sanchez (PCE) Stephen Chick (PCE) |
566 |
The 2004 Winter Simulation Conference 5-8 December 2004 Washington Hilton and Towers Washington, D.C. |
Jeff Smith (GC) Brett Peters (PC) Ricki G. Ingalls (PCE) Manuel D. Rossetti (PCE) |
687 |
The 2005 Winter Simulation Conference 4-7 December 2005 Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL |
Frank “Brad” Armstrong (GC) Jeffrey A. Joines (PC) Natalie Steiger (PCE) Michael E. Kuhl (PCE) |
700 |
The 2006 Winter Simulation Conference 3-6 December 2006 Portola Plaza Hotel, Monterey, CA |
David Nicol (GC) Richard Fujimoto (PC) Barry Lawson (PCE) Jason Liu (PCE) Felipe Perrone (PCE) Fred Wieland (PCE) |
658 |
The 2007 Winter Simulation Conference 9-12 December 2007 J.W. Marriott Hotel, Washington, D.C. |
Jeff Tew (GC) Russell Barton (PC) Shane Henderson (PCE) Bahar Biller (PCE) Ming-hua Hsieh (PCE) John Shortle (PCE) |
736 |
The 2008 Winter Simulation Conference 7-10 December 2008 Hotel Intercontinental Miami, Miami, FL |
Tom Jefferson (GC) John Fowler (PC) Scott Mason (PCE) Ray Hill (PCE) Lars Moench (PCE) Oliver Rose (PCE) |
654 |
The 2009 Winter Simulation Conference 13-16 December 2009 Hilton Austin Hotel, Austin, TX |
Ann Dunkin(GC) Ricki Ingalls (PC) Enver Yücesan (APC) Manuel Rossetti(PCE) Ray Hill(PCE) Björn Johansson (APE) |
598 |
The 2010 Winter Simulation Conference 5-8 December 2010 Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore, MD |
Joseph Hugan (GC) Enver Yücesan (PC) Michael Fu (APC) Björn Johansson (PCE) Sanjay Jain (PCE) Jairo Montoya-Torres (PCE) |
702 |
The 2011 Winter Simulation Conference 11-14 December 2011 Grand Arizona Resort Phoenix, AZ |
Preston White(GC) Michael Fu (PC) Sanjay Jain (PCE) Roy Creasey (PCE) Jan Himmelspach (PCE) |
709 |
The 2012 Winter Simulation Conference 9-12 December 2012 Intercontinental Hotel Berlin, Germany |
Oliver Rose (GC) Adelinde Uhrmacher (PC) Markus Rabe (Local Chair) Christoph Laroque (PCE) Raghu Pasupathy (PCE) Jan Himmelspach (PCE) |
701 |
The 2013 Winter Simulation Conference 8-11 December 2013 J.W. Marriott Hotel, Washington, D. C. |
Ray Hill (GC) Michael Kuhl (PC) Raghu Pasupathy (PCE) Seong-He Kim (PCE) Andreas Tolk (PCE) |
742 |
The 2014 Winter Simulation Conference 7-10 December 2014 Savannah Intl. Trade & Convention Ctr |
Stephen J. Buckley (GC) John A. Miller (PC) Andreas Tolk (PCE) Levent Yilmaz (PCE) Saikou Y. Diallo (PCE) Ilya O. Ryzhov (PCE) |
655 |
The 2015 Winter Simulation Conference 6-9 December 2015 Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa, Huntington Beach, CA |
Charles M. Macal (GC) Manuel D. Rossetti (PC) Levent Yilmaz (PCE) Il-Chul Moon (PCE) Wai Kin (Victor) Chan (PCE) Theresa Roeder (PCE) |
657 |
The 2016 Winter Simulation Conference 11-14 December 2016 Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA |
Todd Huschka (GC) Stephen Chick (PC) Jesus Jimenez (BC) Peter Frazier (PCE) Theresa Roeder (PCE) Robert Szechtman (PCE) Enlu Zhou (PCE) |
646 |
The 2017 Winter Simulation Conference 3-6 December 2017 Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, NV |
Ernest H. Page (GC) Gabriel Wainer (PC) Victor Chan (PCE) Andrea D’Ambrogio (PCE) Gregory Zacharewicz (PCE) Navonil Mustafee (PCE) |
781 |
The 2018 Winter Simulation Conference 9-12 December 2018 The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre/Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg, Sweden |
Björn Johansson (GC) Sanjay Jain (PC) Oliver Rose (BC) Markus Rabe (PCE) Anders Skoogh (PCE) Navonil Mustafee (PCE) Angel A. Juan (PCE) |
826 |