VMASC had a strong presence at the 2025 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), the premier global venue for modeling and simulation research. Our faculty and students contributed across papers, panels, and community leadership.

Dr. Philippe Giabbanelli was recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer, a distinction awarded to only 7 out of more than 700 reviewers this year, in acknowledgment of the quality and depth of his reviews across four program tracks.

Rafi Soule presented the paper “A Simulation-enabled Framework for Mission Engineering Problem Definition: Integrating AI-driven Knowledge Retrieval with Human-centered Design,” co-authored with Dr. Barry Ezell. Their work introduces a unified workflow that merges AI-enabled knowledge retrieval, stakeholder co-design, and model-based engineering—improving early problem definition, strengthening stakeholder alignment, and supporting faster validation.

Jhon G. Botello presented “Toward Automating System Dynamics Modeling: Evaluating LLMs in the Transition from Narratives to Formal Structures,” co-authored with Brian Llinás, Dr. Jose J. Padilla, and Dr. Erika Frydenlund. The paper evaluates how LLMs can guide system dynamics model creation by translating narrative descriptions into archetype-based structures and discusses next steps toward fine-tuning for improved automation.

Dr. Giabbanelli also presented a paper led in collaboration with Dr. John Beverley (University at Buffalo), Istvan David, Ph.D. (McMaster University), and Andreas Tolk (The MITRE Corporation). Titled “From Over-reliance to Smart Integration: Using Large-Language Models as Translators between Specialized Modeling and Simulation Tools,” the paper argues for leveraging LLMs as middleware—ensuring responsible use of AI by connecting, rather than replacing, specialized simulation tools.

In addition, Dr. Giabbanelli facilitated the panel “From Submission to Publication: Meet the Editors of Simulation Journals,” where editors from multiple leading journals shared best practices and insights on navigating the publication process.

VMASC is proud of our team’s impactful contributions to WSC 2025 and our continued leadership in advancing the science and practice of modeling and simulation.