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NCS Announces 2022 Class for Modeling & Simulation Hall of Fame
The National Center for Simulation (NCS) announced it will induct two new members — Dr. Winston “Wink” Bennett and Dr. James (Jim) Wall — to the NCS Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Hall of Fame. The ceremony is Oct. 24, 2022, at the Orange County Convention Center, South Concourse – the home of the NCS Modeling and Simulation Hall of Fame where inductees are on permanent display.“Both Dr. Bennett and Dr. Wall have demonstrated a life-long commitment to the modeling and simulation community,” said George Cheros, NCS CEO and president. “Their contributions are not only being used to train and prepare warfighters, government officials, and civilians, but they have shaped M&S innovations for generations to come.”Dr. Bennett has made numerous significant contributions to the M&S community for more than 30 years. In that time, Bennett has served as the U.S. Air Force Member at Large to the NATO modeling and simulation group, created and executed an investment portfolio for the Readiness Product Line, defined many visionary products used today and for future development, and is distinguished among his peers for structuring and co-authoring the US Air Force Mission Essential Competencies. With over three decades of contributions to the M&S community, Dr. James (Jim) Wall’s work has fundamentally shaped simulation capabilities being delivered and used today. Dr. Wall’s work in advancing M&S has enabled the transformation of training and testing across multiple communities that safeguard our national and personal security, including our warfighters, emergency responders, airport operations specialists, medical professionals, intelligence officers, secret service agents, epidemiologists, and students studying M&S.
When the class of 2022 is inducted, the Hall of Fame will feature 36 distinguished individuals from different eras who leave a legacy in simulation for future generations in multiple disciplines.
The M&S Hall of Fame began in 2014 in partnership with Orange County Government. The principal objective of the Hall of Fame is to honor and recognize individuals who have significantly contributed to advancements in M&S. A nominee’s field or area of achievement is not limited to the Department of Defense. Significant contributions have been made by inductees from other areas (e.g. medical/healthcare, technology, entertainment, transportation, education, homeland security, gaming).
“We are so pleased to add Dr. Bennett and Dr. Wall to this distinguished list of M&S pioneers,” Cheros added. “Their work is forever etched into the history of modeling and simulation, and now their names will be too.”
To learn more about the NCS M&S Hall of Fame, visit https://www.simulationinformation.com/hall-of-fame.
About Dr. Winston Bennett
Dr. Winston “Wink” Bennett has made numerous significant contributions to the M&S community for more than 30 years. In that time, Bennett has served as the U.S. Air Force Member at Large to the NATO modeling and simulation group, created and executed an investment portfolio for the Readiness Product Line, defined many visionary products used today and for future development, and is distinguished among his peers for structuring and co-authoring the US Air Force Mission Essential Competencies.
In his current role, Bennett serves as the LVC and readiness technical advisor to Air Combat Command/A35 Futures Division and as a Senior Research Psychologist, Readiness Product Line Lead at the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL). There, Dr. Bennett led innovation efforts in human performance enhancement and associated technologies, including resilience training for military personnel deployed to austere locations.
Dr. Bennett has also demonstrated great leadership in advancing the adoption of modeling and simulation for training and assessment of training outcomes within the Air Force. For example, the Commander of Air Combat Command requested he develop their Future Training Concept, which involved moving from calendar-based readiness training to a measurement and metrics-focused and proficiency-based capability model.
Bennett is also noteworthy for his leadership in gaming technologies for the U.S. Air Force Academy. He led a team that created innovations in gaming and training to support training and basic research in STEM efforts. THE GRILL, a game that creates synthetic task environments and measurement tools, was developed by Bennet and his team to support Air Force Academy Cadets Summer Research Program efforts.
About Dr. Jim Wall
With over three decades of contributions to the M&S community, Dr. Wall’s work has fundamentally shaped simulation capabilities being delivered and used today. Dr. Wall’s work in advancing M&S has enabled the transformation of training and testing across multiple communities that safeguard our national and personal security, including our warfighters, emergency responders, airport operations specialists, medical professionals, intelligence officers, secret service agents, epidemiologists, and students studying M&S.
Dr. Wall established himself as a nationally recognized expert in the use of simulation to train emergency command post operations. He and his team developed the Emergency Management Exercise System, which has been used to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-sponsored training for more than 20,000 emergency managers from around the nation. Dr. Wall was the co-principal Investigator for the highly successful and commercialized Digital EMS program that connects air transport with emergency rooms and transmits real-time video and physiological telemetry.At Texas A&M, Wall executed applied research in computing and information technology, supply chain management, operations research, and healthcare systems. While director of The Innovation Proving Ground, Wall rigorously tested innovative technologies and a range of prototypes to support the acquisition process.
Dr. Wall’s service to the M&S community is also commendable. In 2010, he was the Conference Chair for the largest simulation conference in the world, the Interservice/Industrial Training, Simulation, and Education Conference. He rose to the role after 25 years serving as an I/ITSEC volunteer and committee chair. In 2011, he was appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles to serve on a 26-member Blue Ribbon panel to conduct a security review of the Los Angeles International Airport. Wall is currently supporting the Defense Science Board on a year-long study on gaming, exercising, modeling and simulation.
Dr. Wall is a retired Army Acquisition Corps officer with twenty-two years of service. He has a Ph.D. in Computer Science (2003) from Texas A&M University and a M.S. degree in Systems Technology (Command, Control, and Communications) (1986) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. In 2009, Dr. Wall was designated as a Regents Fellow by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
About the National Center for Simulation
NCS is a non-profit trade association supporting and expanding the modeling and simulation community and is committed to promoting modeling and simulation technology expansion; education and workforce development and providing business development assistance to its members. [www.simulationinformation.com]www.simulationinformation.com
