The New Millennium - Challenge and Change
Welcome to the 21st Century! What an exciting time and what an exclusive group of people we are to be able to witness, not only the turn of a century, but, also, the turn of a millennium. If we take a moment to reflect -
We are in a technology business. Technology continues to accelerate at a tremendous, exponential pace. One hundred years ago, the majority of people in this country did not have indoor plumbing and most did not have electricity in their homes. By the 1950's, the concept of the computer was well under way. By the end of the 1960's, we had placed men on the moon. As I write this, men are in space replacing the 486 computers on the 10 year old Hubble space telescope and we are crashing tremendously expensive space probes onto the Martian surface.
The simulation industry is no different. Our technology continues to accelerate exponentially as well. While simulations have been done in the past, primarily on large mainframe computers, today's simulation projects are more complex and run on desktop PC's. And consider that PC-based (Windows-based) simulation capabilities are less than ten years old. Today, on a Window NT PC, we are able to simulate, for example, the total environment of a complete automotive assembly plant, tracking every load and resource in detail. We are able to determine the throughput and activity of that plant before the first spade-full of dirt is turned to build the plant. Truly amazing!
But, where do we go from here? Technology will only continue to accelerate. It is imperative that we attempt to keep pace or be left behind. That is where MSUG comes in. We will continue to bring you, our members, the latest in capabilities, techniques, and leading-edge information regarding simulation technologies through our quarterly meetings, the Annual Conference, and our newsletter. This is your organization. Your input and participation are critical to our success. Please consider presenting at these venues, send us your ideas for topics and activities, and, by all means, attend. Contact any of the Steering Committee members with your ideas.
See you at the next quarterly meeting (17-May-00 at Deneb -- see below).
Dan Doss, MSUG President
Randy Combs, Speakers
The schedule for remaining meetings during 2000 is summarized in the table below:
|
Meeting |
Date |
Time |
Location |
|
General Membership |
17-May-00 |
4:30-6:30 |
Deneb1 |
|
Steering Committee |
26-Jun-00 |
12:00-2:00 |
GM-Phoenix Center2 |
|
General Membership |
9-Aug-00 |
4:30-6:30 |
Grand Rapids3 |
|
Steering Committee |
21-Aug-00 |
12:00-2:00 |
Deneb1 |
|
Steering Committee |
2-Oct-00 |
12:00-2:00 |
CSI4 |
|
All-day Conference |
1-Nov-00 |
8:00-4:00 |
MSU - Troy |
|
Steering Committee |
13-Nov-00 |
12:00-2:00 |
PMC5 |
The following is a brief summary of the MSUG Steering Committee meeting that took place at ASI on Monday, April 10, 2000.
The meeting was attended by:
Eric Cetlinski, Randy Combs, Eric Haan, Susan Khoubyari, Mr. Raki, Lou Sahr, Cindy Schiess, Bucky Strong, and Ed Williams
Randy Combs, Speakers
The MSUG Web site is under construction and we are adding a new area for simulation service providers. We will have the name of the company and a link to their web site. If you are a simulation service provider who would like to be added to our web site, or know of one, please initiate arrangements through Bucky Strong strong@deneb.com
Bucky Strong, Website
Randy Combs, Speakers
Your Programs chair on the MSUG steering committee eagerly and urgently invites presentation submissions for the general membership meetings on August 9, and November 1. Please send one-paragraph summaries to Susan Khoubyari (contact information at left).
The Michigan Simulation User Group (MSUG) was started in January, 1993 by a group of simulationists from the Detroit area. Now, in its eighth year of existence, MSUG sets a good example of what most of us need: a forum for exchanging ideas with, and learning from, our fellow simulationists. During the last eight years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Simulation Conferences. Many of these new conferences are product centered, and only serve a purpose for those people who use the specific product(s) provided by the host company. On the other hand, they are not a good forum for all simulationists (if you don’t use product X, why are you going to attend their conference).
In March, I was lucky enough to attend the IIE-sponsored 2nd annual Simulation Solutions Conference. This conference was very reminiscent of my previous experience with MSUG. There were many application-oriented presentations and simulation skills oriented presentations that allowed me to gain more wisdom about how I can better apply simulation technology. There were many opportunities outside of the actual presentations where people were able to discuss the challenges they encounter as simulationists. They were then able to get new ideas from other simulationists on how to deal with these challenges. For those people who were lucky enough to be heavily involved in organizing this conference, they were able to gain even more wisdom because of the higher interaction level they had with other simulationists.
The day after the conference ended, I received the following comments from one of the attendees (this individual has attended many simulation conferences):
There are several characteristics of SimSol that I think are great, including:
These comments capture the most important aspect of this conference in that it was a great place to exchange ideas and gain wisdom from your fellow simulationists (plus we had a lot of fun).
Khaled Mabrouk, President, The Model Builders
Michigan Simulation User Group members are encouraged to seize the opportunity to attend this conference, held in even-numbered years. The conference venue is normally a city on the Pacific Rim, but in 2000 the conference comes to the Detroit area - specifically, the Westin Hotel, 1500 Town Centre, Southfield, September 6-8. Lawrence Technological University is the conference host. Extensive further information is available at the conference web site (actual web address http://www.pcmm.com.au).
Dr. Sanaa Taraman, Senior Technical Specialist, Ford Motor Company
Attendance at the Winter Simulation Conference, held in Phoenix, Arizona December 5-8, 1999, was an exciting, instructive experience. The conference comprised special Sunday afternoon tutorials, a Ph.D. colloquium, a poster session, a keynote address (The Use of Simulation in Call Center Optimization by Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University), twelve concurrent tracks (I was track co-ordinator of the Manufacturing Application track), an exhibit hall, and vendor-user meetings Tuesday evening. Attendance was high -- well over 700.
The next Winter Simulation Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida; December 10-13, 2000. More information is available at their web site (actual web address http://www.wintersim.org).
Edward Williams, Senior Technical Specialist, Ford Motor Company
MSUG members are cordially invited to attend the 2000 WITNESS© Simulation Users Association Conference, scheduled
for September 13-14 at the Marriott Eagle Crest Resort in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
With increased technical content,
top industry speakers, informative panel discussions, and training available for all levels of WITNESS© users, this
year's WSUA Conference promises to be even better than the last.
For complete registration information, please visit our web site
(actual web address http://www.WitnessUsers.org).
Susan Hall, Lanner Group Incorporated