Analytics Magazine Analytics Magazine, September/October 2014 | Page 66

WSC 2014 and supply chain management, military applications, business process modeling, project management and construction, homeland security and emergency response, environmental and sustainability applications, and networks and communications. The Modeling and Analysis of Semiconductor Manufacturing (MASM) is a conference-within-a-conference featuring a series of sessions focused on the semiconductor field. The Industrial Case Studies track affords industrial practitioners the opportunity to present their best practices to the simulation community. The Simulation Education track presents approaches to teaching simulation at education levels ranging from K-12 to graduate and professional workforce levels. Finally, WSC provides a comprehensive suite of introductory and advanced tutorials presented by prominent individuals in the field, along with a lively poster session, Ph.D. colloquium, a new attendee orientation and a distinguished speaker lunchtime program. The theme for WSC 2014, “Exploring Big Data Through Simulation,” is timely and relevant. The explosion of data throughout the world has created both opportunities and challenges to business and technical communities. In this conference, presenters will discuss how simulation can help. In addition to 66 | a n a ly t i c s - m a g a z i n e . o r g special tracks on big data simulation and decision-making and scientific applications, conference keynote speaker Robert Roser, head of scientific computing at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., and one of the world’s leading experts on experimental particle physics, will speak about the recently discovered Higgs Boson particle and the role of simulation in the discovery. The military keynote speaker is Greg Tackett, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Evaluation Directorate (BMDED) and the Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency (BMDS OTA), U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The WSC is designed for professionals at all levels of experience across broad ranges of interest. The ex ѕ