TOPICS & CATEGORIES
By Shane Klestinski, Associate Editor
The National Center for Simulation (NCS) hosted NCS Membership Night in the Research Park area near the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus, Jan. 16.
This annual event gave NCS the opportunity to welcome its members back from the holidays, thank them for supporting the organization, and present networking opportunities in a casual, social setting.
“We’ve been told by several members that – believe it or not – more business gets done here than at most other events,” said George Cheros, NCS president and CEO. “People have fun, but there’s a lot of business going on behind the scenes, too.”
Prior to the evening’s event, UCF’s Institute of Simulation and Training (IST) welcomed visitors for an open house tour of its labs. The open house invited local businesspeople to see examples of the research and experience the immersive tools IST has developed. David Metcalf, Ph.D., director of the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab, said the projects on display demonstrated the labs’ work with various organizations involving the military, energy, space and healthcare, among others.
“It’s great to do this at the start of a new year to look at all the promise we have with new innovations and technologies,” Metcalf said. “The things we’re showing highlight the integration of artificial intelligence, blockchain and cybersecurity. That’s the back-end infrastructure that makes all the beautiful front ends for simulation possible – whether that’s AR, VR, XR or a 3D holographic digital table.”
The evening’s program featured some announcements of upcoming events, a buffet line of Greek food, and a raffle contest that gave lucky attendees gift cards valued at $200 and gift baskets.
The next major NCS event will be the Lou Frey Memorial Golf Tournament at the Orange Tree Golf Club, March 24. Frey was a congressman and NCS board member whose work heavily contributed to the establishment and stability of Central Florida’s modeling and simulation community.
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