Simulate THAT!

Jim CaristiDept. of Math & Computer Science

Valparaiso University

My Goal for the next 15 min.

Give you a sense of the power and simplicity of using a modern simulation language to develop and interpret models very quickly

To do modeling well requires good tools

“Good” means• easy to learn• easy to use• powerful

Simulation Software

• Arena• Simscript• Stella• MapleSim and Mathematica• VenSim• NetLogo• and many others

Arena• Discrete event and continuous modeling• Commercial software from Rockwell

Automation• Full version lists at $1895 per license• Academic version free – limited to 150 entities• Download from

http://www.arenasimulation.com/Go to “Academic Programs”, then “Academic News”, and to the McGraw-Hill website

Simulate this:

• Barbershop• Customers arrive with inter-arrival times

exponentially distributed with mean 5 min.• Barber cuts hair in 20 min. (normally

distributed, s.d. 5 min.)• Want to know how many customers in 8

hours, max and average number waiting, time in system, barber utilization

Simulate THIS:

• Bacteria on a leaf in the field grow at a temperature dependent rate

• The more there are, the faster they grow• Leaf has maximum carrying capacity• Other stuff

The student perspective

• Programming in Arena is no problem for anyone

• Calculus is no problem (only a very few exceptions)

• Statistics is a BIG problem for almost everyone

Some very cool student projects

• Zombie outbreak• Grizzly bear metapopulation• Dutch elm disease• Volleyball scoring change• Baseball• Intersection or roundabout?