The Issues

Where is engineering analysis and simulation going to lead 
our world in the next decade? Where should it be going, and 
how will we all help get it there? What are the business, 
technological, and human enablers that will carry the past 
successful developments, applications, and business impact 
of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) to higher plateaus 
during the next decade and beyond?

The Event

NAFEMS, the premier global organization dedicated to the 
advancement and improvement of engineering simulation, is 
hosting the 2012 North America Conference just outside of 
Washington D.C. on September 11-12, to bring together the 
leading visionaries, developers, and practitioners of CAE-
related technologies and business processes to share 
relevant trends and roadmaps, to explore common themes, and 
to address these issues in an openforum. The Conference's 
goal is to provide attendees with insightful content and 
perspective on how to position their organizations to 
realize the full potential of CAE now and in the future.

In addition to the two-day conference, NAFEMS will be the 
also be running a number of short training courses on 
September 10th (details below). 

These courses will be led by Tony Abbey who has created and 
taught a wide range of FEA based training classes over the 
past 15 years. He has developed a reputation for providing 
the student with an experience which draws on insight gained 
through his extensive experience, but which also challenges 
and motivates those involved. Tony has a wealth of 
experience andhas been working with FEA for over 30 years, 
both in Industry and for FEA software providers worldwide.

The Themes

There are many facets associated with maximizing the value 
of using engineering analysis and simulation in addressing 
the ever-increasingly complexity of products and their life 
cycles. The 2012 North America Conference will include 
keynote speakers, exhibits, and breakout sessions exploring 
the following subjects:

- Commercial impact of CAE investments

Development and deployment of CAE roadmaps
Integration of simulation data within Product Lifecycle 
Management (PLM)
The roles of CAE software and hardware developers 

-Innovations in Simulation Technology ("the purpose of 
computing is insight, not numbers")

High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems for CAE (further 
synergies between hardware architectures, non-traditional 
platforms, and software algorithms)
Capturing the relevant physics well enough to gain 
engineering insight through multifunctional and multiphysics 
simulations
Material characterizations including multiscale modeling
Driving design improvement and optimization from smart 
simulations
Real-time virtual simulations
Design uncertainty quantifications and non-deterministic 
optimization
Innovative approximation methods and evolutionary 
optimization
 
- Engineering Simulation Processes

Experimental errors vs. CAE foibles - which data set do you 
trust?
Regulatory affairs: Gaining acceptance of quality CAE data 
in approval of products and designs
How to accomplish validation with complex systems 

- Human Issues

Intelligent engineering collaboration environments
Teaching simulation as part of the basic engineering 
curricula
Evolving engineering processes and organizations to leverage 
CAE advances 

- Futuristic Considerations

Simulation strategies and tools for "Emerging Complex 
Adaptive Systems and Cyber - Physical Systems"
Intelligent interfaces for modeling and simulation software
Interactive, immersive 3D modeling and simulation 
tools/facilities
Potential of using Virtual and Augmented Reality, and 
Virtual Worlds in engineering simulations


Why Should I Attend?

CAE end users, visionaries, researchers, educators, industry 
managers, and CAE software and hardware developers, all have 
relevant experience and viewpoints that can help shape the 
future of CAE.  All are invited to participate, but most 
importantly to articulate, interact, and evolve their 
thinking and planning of future activities proactively, so 
as to incorporate all the ingredients necessary to maximize 
the impact of CAE in tomorrow's product design environment.

The event is open to both members and non-members of NAFEMS. 
Members with sufficient seminar credits* may be able to 
attend this event for free otherwise the following rates 
apply:

Members with seminar credits

FREE*

Members without seminar credits

$400

Non-Members

$650


*4 seminar credits are required to attend this event.



Sampler Courses

On September 10th, NAFEMS will be pleased to offer several 
'sampler' courses as part of the 2012 conference. Each of 
these courses will provide an introduction to the the topic 
area and will be free to attend for NAFEMS members with 
sufficient seminar credits (0.5 credits per sampler course). 
Non-members and those without seminar credits can attend for 
$75 per sampler course.

These courses will be led by Tony Abbey who has created and 
taught a wide range of FEA based training classes over the 
past 15 years. Tony has a wealth of experience and has been 
working with FEA for over 30 years, both in Industry and for 
FEA software providers worldwide.
Further information will be available in due course.