• Vance Souders, 2026 Conference Chair, Thermo Fisher
• VADM Sean Buck, USN (Ret.), President, NTSA

Scholarship Award Presentation
• VADM Sean Buck, USN (Ret.), President, NTSA  

• Dr. Eric Davis, Program Manager, DARPA Strategic Technology Office  

This is our 15th annual session to address the growing issue of managing the human/ machine interface as we hurtle towards the Singularity and the Metaverse. We will continue our discussion of how to achieve fluency with smarter balance between humans and machines to optimize outcomes. The Simulation Century Panel presentations this year will focus on the challenges and opportunities of implementing AI and simulation in the intelligence community.

• Richard Boyd, CEO, Ultisim Moderator
• Dr. Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Deputy Director for Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics in the Earth Sciences Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Vir Thanvi, Vice President Engineering, Entarian  

Click the “Download Program/Agenda" link at the top of the page to view the full list of Presentation Sessions. *Coming Soon!  

Click the “Download Program/Agenda" link at the top of the page to view the full list of Presentation Sessions. *Coming Soon!  

Digital engineering is the use of authoritative, connected digital representations to inform system design, development, analysis, and decision-making across the lifecycle. Perfect fit for modeling and simulation tech, right? Nonetheless, digital engineering and modeling and simulation are too often treated as adjacent disciplines: the former focused on authoritative system representation, the latter on experimentation and analysis. This panel explores a more impactful view, where digital engineering and simulation form a reinforcing flywheel. Digital models and representations enable more mission-relevant, connected, and reusable simulations; those simulations, in turn, generate evidence that improves designs, validates concepts, and informs acquisition. Drawing on perspectives from defense digital engineering, digital twins, and model-based mission engineering, the panel will examine how this flywheel can move M&S from a supporting activity to front and center as an engine for speed, integration, and mission impact.

• Benjamin Bell, Vice President of Advanced Capabilities Engineering, Potawatomi Business Development Corporation - Federal Group Moderator
• Richard Boyd, CEO, UltiSim
• Daniel Hettema, Director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation, OUSD R&E
• Dale Ormond, Senior Advisor, Kompozition  

Click the “Download Program/Agenda" link at the top of the page to view the full list of Presentation Sessions. *Coming Soon!  

In this dynamic session, presenters distill their professional essence into a single slide and 60 seconds. Presenters will introduce themselves, outline their services or capabilities, and share their conference goals. Whether you’re a researcher, entrepreneur, or industry professional, this rapid-fire spotlight ensures maximum impact in minimal time.

• Luke DeVore, Managing Partner, Voltron Group Moderator  

Hosted By: VMASC, Virginia Modeling, Analysis, & Simulation Center  

Join us for an immersive, after-dark vibe coding session where we dismantle traditional, passive team alignment meetings and replace them with a gamified, high-octane competitive sprint. Designed for developers, designers, product minds, and builders of all levels, this collaborative workshop challenges structured squads to work alongside specialized AI agent force multipliers to synthesize ideas, align designs, and deploy a fully functional, working MVP before the clock runs out. By transforming static consensus-building into an active, role-specialized team sport, the event fosters an intense creative momentum fueled by both friendly rivalry and deep technical camaraderie. You will not just debate specifications; you will sketch layouts, synchronize architectures, resolve real-time conflicts, and walk out of the room with a tangible, working prototype that solves a real world problem randomly pulled from a hat filled by you and others preceeding the event. Bring you cellphone, thinking cap, and collaborative spirit and let's build something real together.  

• Vance Souders, 2026 Conference Chair, Thermo Fisher  

• Rahul Thakker, President, BAE Systems OneArc  

• Lt Col Kip Trauch, USAF, Commander, 224th Air Defense Squadron (ADS) (Invited)  

Click the “Download Program/Agenda" link at the top of the page to view the full list of Presentation Sessions. *Coming Soon!  

Click the “Download Program/Agenda" link at the top of the page to view the full list of Presentation Sessions. *Coming Soon!  

• DAF Modeling and Simulation Office  

• Vance Souders, 2026 Conference Chair, Thermo Fisher