SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Padilla's research on complexity as a function of understanding provides the foundation to innovative research on problem formulation and model specification. From the development of frameworks to the creation of tools, Dr. Padilla explores new avenues for simulation innovation. He is the lead of the CLOUDES project (cloudes.me), which seeks to make simulation creation simple and accessible to anyone, anywhere. He is currently conducting research on regional stability of communities hosting displaced populations in the contexts of absorptive capacity and resilience in Colombia, Greece, South Africa.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Engineering Management
Old Dominion University (ODU), Norfolk, VA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

VMASC, Research Associate Professor
Suffolk, VA
Present

COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY

The project focuses on studying regional dynamics in communities hosting displaced populations. The project combines primary data collection in three countries and simulation models towards theory development.

MODELING HUMAN AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR IN CYBER

The project focused on understanding the role human and organizational behavior play in cybersecurity. The project generated insights relying on system dynamics, agent-based and Monte Carlo models among others in areas such as cyberloafing and insider threat.

SIMULATION CREATION FOR STEM EDUCATION

The initiative departs from the premise that model creation is perhaps the ideal form of learning and acquiring STEM concepts and skills. Under this effort, new and novel frameworks and tools were created to facilitate STEM education.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Johnson, J., Padilla, J., and Diallo, S. (2020). Closing the Academic Achievement Gap: A System Dynamics Study. Journal of Simulation, DOI: 10.1080/17477778.2020.1718021.

Padilla, J., Kavak, H, Lynch, C., Gore, R., and Diallo, S. (2018). Temporal and spatiotemporal investigation of tourist attraction sentiment on Twitter. Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE 13(6): e0198857.

Gore, R., Padilla, J. and Diallo, S. (2017). Markov Chain modeling of cyber threats. The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation 14(3), 233-244.

Tolk, A, Diallo, S., Padilla, J., and Herencia-Zapana, H. (2013). Reference Modeling in support of M&S – Foundations and Applications. Journal of Simulation 7(2), 69-82.

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Padilla, J., Shuttleworth, D., and O’Brien, K.(2019). Agent-based model characterization using natural language processing. Winter Simulation Conference. National Harbor, MD.

Padilla, J., Frydenlund, E., Wallewik, H., and Haaland, H. (2018). Model co-creation from a modeler’s perspective: lessons learned from the collaboration between ethnographers and modelers. International Conference on Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction and Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation, 70-75. Washington DC.

Vernon-Bido, D., Grygorian, G., Kavak, H., and Padilla, J. (2018). Assessing the impact of cyberloafing on cyber risk. Spring Simulation Conference, Baltimore, MD.

Padilla, J. J., Diallo, S. Y., Barraco, A., Lynch, C. J.*, and Kavak, H.* (2014). Cloud-based simulators: making simulations accessible to non-experts and experts alike. Winter Simulation Conference, 3630-3639. Savanah, GA.

CV/RESUME