Proceedings of the 33nd conference on Winter simulation

Abstract

The 2001 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) continues a thirty-four year tradition as the premier event in discrete-event and combined discrete-continuous simulation. The conference theme is 2001: A Simulation Odyssey. About the time Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke were working on 2001: A Space Odyssey the first Winter Simulation Conference was held in November of 1967. New York City was chosen as the site for what was then called the Conference on the Applications of Simulation Using GPSS. New York is where Kubrick and Clarke worked on the screenplay for their movie. Earlier in the same decade, in 1962, right around the time when the first general purpose simulation languages were being proposed, Stanley Kubrick had decided that he would make a film about outer space and technology. The Conference Keynote Address examines the film's predictions in light of current achievements in computer technology. Simulation technology has also undergone remarkable growth and change. As we conclude this first year in the new millennium, it is important to note how far we have come. Computer simulation has evolved from a specialized technology of the computer scientists to an engineering discipline with many application domains. The 2001 Winter Simulation Conference showcases both the technology and the applications of simulation. Tracks and minitracks spotlight simulation applications in areas as diverse as: manufacturing, military, semiconductor manufacturing, logistics, transportation, and distribution, business process modeling, construction engineering and project management, and telecommunications. An additional three tutorial tracks present the fundamentals of simulation, provide an in-depth discussion of advanced simulation methodologies, and demonstrate the capabilities and new features of simulation software. Recent research in modeling and analysis is presented in two methodology tracks. Special minitracks examine the future of simulation, web-based simulation and simulation in education. The Winter Simulation Conference is a nonprofit event, organized by eight sponsoring organizations and run by a volunteer committee. It all starts about five years before each conference, when the WSC Board of Directors appoints the General Chair and Program Chair. The General Chair, Matt Rohrer, selected the site and the conference committee, and then directed the committee's activities in the years leading up to the conference. But it's the volunteer conference committee that does most of the work. Each member of the committee has done a great job in organizing, publicizing and running a successful conference. The Program Chair, Deb Medeiros has developed a truly great program. Brett Peters and Jeff Smith, the Proceedings Co-Editors, had their hands full reviewing papers and working with authors to dot the i's and cross the t's in the polished final versions. Thanks to Dan Muller, the Business Chair, who created and tracked the budget to allow us to wisely manage every dollar. Ian McGregor, the Registration Chair, and Joe Hugan, the Exhibits Chair, have arranged for a full complement of vendor exhibits to provide WSC attendees with the maximum exposure to the latest products and trends. The Publicity Chair, Jay Stacey, continued our efforts to bring the word of WSC to more people in more areas, using every technology possible. As Publications Chair, Mark Grabau handled the Call for Papers, the Final Program, and all of the other numerous publications that make the conference complete. The year 2001 is the thirty-fourth anniversary of the Winter Simulation Conference, a conference that brings together academics, practitioners, and vendors in simulation and related fields. Actually, it is the thirty-third conference because the WSC was not held in 1972 and 1975. The scope of the WSC encompasses all aspects of discrete-event simulation, combined discrete-continuous simulation, and gaming. In what follows, we outline the organizational structure of the WSC, and give some historical data about the conference. The conference itself is sponsored by a group of eight professional organizations. A member from each of the sponsoring organizations serves on the WSC Board of Directors (except that INFORMS/CS is represented by two members), whose function is to assure that the conference runs smoothly from year to year. The Board selects members from the simulation community to serve on a Conference Committee for each WSC. A Conference Committee consists of a General Chair (who runs that particular conference), a Program Chair (who is responsible for the technical program), Proceedings Editors, as well as other important committee members. The Program Chair forms a Program Committee consisting of Track Coordinators, each of whom is responsible for the organization of a number of presentation sessions during the conference. Each Track Coordinator arranges for referees to review the individual papers that are submitted (or invited) for inclusion in the WSC.

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