As Chief Operating Officer at the National Center for Simulation (NCS) Dr. Finkelstein works alongside the President/CEO, NCS Board of Directors, and NCS member companies on promoting, protecting, and growing the Modeling, Simulation, and Training (MS&T) community while working on shared challenges that cut across government, academic, and industry from the research, development, and acquisition of training aids, devices, simulations, and simulators (TADSS). He enjoys breaking down stovepipes, supporting the integration of technologies such as digital twins, AI, VR, AR, cyber, mobile apps, data mining, data analytics, data storage, sensors, and gamification.
Prior to working at NCS Dr. Finkelstein served in the Department of Defense for 31 years. His last position was as Chief Scientist for the U.S. Army MS&T Laboratory in Central Florida. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Dr. Finkelstein holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Finkelstein holds a certificate in Program Management from the Army School of Engineering and Logistics at Texarkana, Texas. He also has three Level III Certifications in the Acquisition Corp for Science and Technology Management, Program Management, and Engineering. He is a past graduate of the U.S. Army Leadership and Education Development Course, and a Graduate of the Manager’s Development Course.
Over his career, Dr. Finkelstein has worked in various capacities of increased responsibility specializing in digital twin technologies, human-in-the-loop immersive training and simulation effectiveness, human sciences, human/unmanned research, mobile application development, mixed reality, and served on billions of dollars in projects that cut across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp, DHS, and Veterans Administration (VA) to name a few. Dr. Finkelstein also served at the Pentagon while supporting the establishment of the Army Modeling and Simulation Office in Alexandria, VA. He has chaired or participated in 47 Source Selection Evaluation Boards, authored/co-authored over 70 technical publications, and is a Faculty Scholar, Adjunct Professor, and past Senior Advisor to the University of Central Florida School of Modeling, Simulation, and Training (SMST). Dr. Finkelstein sits on numerous boards including; The longest serving member on the Team Orlando Board of Directors, National Defense Industrial Association (Orlando), Valencia State College, Florida Governor’s Defense Alliance, Florida I-4 High Technology Corridor, Chair of the Florida Polytechnic University Engineering Board of Directors and is the Director of STEM Camp Orlando for five years, a partnership STEM Camp involving NASA, Universal Studios, VA SimLearn Center, and Nicolson Robotics Surgery Center.
Neal is married to Lysa Finkelstein and they have two daughters, Kaitlynn (UCF Graduate) and Kara (attending Flagler College).
