Introduction

Background
In 2005 the U.S. House of Representatives established the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus, composed of members who either have an economic interest in M&S activities or have concerns about the advancement of technology in the U.S. The Caucus has about 40 Members and is currently chaired by Congressman Randy Forbes (R) of Virginia and Congressman Solomon Ortiz (D) of Texas. The purpose of the Caucus is to promote the growth of M&S activities throughout the U.S. through advocacy and legislation. Actions taken by the Caucus to this point have been very encouraging. House Resolution 487, which declared M&S a "National Critical Technology," was passed by the House in June 2007.  Most recently, legislation has been proposed for inclusion in the Higher Education Act that would offer attractive incentives to colleges and universities across the country for the establishment of programs dedicated to the study of M&S.

The Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus began a series of annual meetings under the title "M&S Leadership Summit" in 2006. These events are designed to bring together key members of the M&S Community of practice from industry, government and academia to discuss issues facing the M&S community at large. The first two summits were based on a topical agenda designed to discuss and debate progress in work force development, business practices, and technology.   The focus of the 2008 Summit was education, and the theme was "Education: Enabling Modeling and Simulation, a National Critical Technology."

This Event
The theme of the 2010 M&S Leadership Summit is Realizing the Promise of House Resolution 487:  A Call to Action.  The event will feature a key note speaker and a visionary panel of key leaders from industry, government, and academia, to set the stage for our working group sessions to define a detailed action plan in four key areas:  Workforce Development, Technology Research and Development, Industrial Development, and Business Practice. 

The outcome of this event will be a national action plan for broadening the use of modeling and simulation across these four key areas.  This action plan will provide a road map for all in the community of practice to follow in expanding the depth and breadth of this technology and industry.

Don't miss this important annual event for the M&S Community of Practice!