John Sokolowski Named Vmasc Executive Director

John Sokolowski, a leading national scholar and researcher in the fast-growing field of modeling and simulation, was named executive director of Old Dominion University’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) in March 2010.

With the appointment, Sokolowski assumes a primary role in developing an M&S industry that is a significant new driver of economic development in the state. He was selected after a high-profile search by a committee composed of ODU administrators, faculty and M&S industry executives.

ODU President John R. Broderick and Vice President for Research Mohammad Karim announced the selection.

Sokolowski, a retired Naval officer, has worked at VMASC for nearly a decade. He served as a project scientist and later as director of research before being called upon in 2009 to be interim executive director after the departure of Michael McGinnis, who left VMASC to lead a technology and science center at the University of Nebraska.

“John Sokolowski has been an innovator in modeling and simulation and an efficient collaborator with VMASC’s partners,” said Broderick. “His appointment will hasten Virginia’s rise as a provider of modeling and simulation technology.”

One of the industry members of the search committee, John Dannon, senior analyst with the Lockheed Martin Center for Innovation in Suffolk, said of Sokolowski, “He is clearly the right guy for the right job at the right time.”

The selection, according to Dannon, “sends a message across the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation, that Old Dominion University is committed to providing the best possible leadership to this world-class research center.” He added that the new director’s “comprehensive vision for VMASC’s future and his reputation as a respected researcher ensures that Hampton Roads will remain an international leader in modeling and simulation research.”

Dana Dickens, president and chief executive officer of Hampton Roads Partnership, a nonprofit economic development organization, added, “Dr. Sokolowski has a clear vision for the continued leadership of ODU and VMASC in the modeling and simulation arena within the Commonwealth and internationally, capitalizing on partnerships and research between government, industry and academia. The Hampton Roads Partnership and I are eager to continue working with Dr. Sokolowski and VMASC to promote Hampton Roads as the center of the MODSIM World.”

(The MODSIM World Conference and Expo in Hampton Roads is an annual meeting that attracts researchers and scholars in modeling, simulation and visualization from around the world.)