Dr. Kalyan Perumalla will be delivering a keynote at the 2026 Winter Simulation Conference to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
2026 Titan of Simulation
Weathering the AI, Quantum, and other Tsunamis Hitting the Shores of Modeling and Simulation
The current computational landscape is arguably unlike any seen in recent decades, with the emergence and confluences of high-performance computing (HPC), quantum computing and networking, algorithm design, generalized models, and eye-catching software engineering automation. Supercomputing or high-performance computing, once limited to niche conversations, are now everyday terms with daily news on massive computing or data centers and their associated resources. The renewed attention to the immense potential of quantum technologies has brought them to the top echelons of scientific investments across countries. Efforts and advancements in quantum computing and networking are unraveling new frontiers in the definition and feasibility of modeling, simulating, and controlling some of the most fundamental physical processes. Operations Research is poised to undergo sea changes, under recently disruptive advancements in algorithm design, such as AlphaEvolve and similar services. The massive efforts underway around the world towards the goal of a so-called “artificial general intelligence” are challenging the very raison d’être of classical modeling and simulation. Software engineering is at an especially noteworthy inflection point from the emergence of natural, spoken English (or human language) as the new coarse-grained control-panel to many levels of human-computer interfaces, including traditional computer programming. Real-life, lifesaving and life-enhancing applications are emerging as potential beneficiaries of the cumulative and synergetic progress that these advancements offer; these applications include Scientific Discovery in Physical Sciences, Earth Systems Modeling, and Drug Discovery, to name a few. Nevertheless, there remains an immense volume of unknowns as the landscape transitions from euphoria to lasting feasibility, deeper scientific comfort, and resource-effective realization. We will examine some of the rapid advancements, efforts, challenges, and unprecedented opportunities with which the global scientific community is being presented, along with our perspectives on ways the modeling and simulation community may adapt to weather this set of simultaneous tsunamis to effectively transform itself.
Bio
Kalyan Perumalla is the President of VIPRA Computing Labs Inc. and previously served as a Program Manager at the U.S. Office of Science, as well as a Distinguished Scientist at a U.S. National Laboratory. Kalyan’s modeling and simulation career started in 1999 as one of the best paper award winners for a seminal advancement in parallel discrete event simulation and followed with additional contributions including multi-GPU-based simulations, supercomputing-based scaling of large Internet simulations, micro- and meso-scopic vehicular traffic models, microscopic epidemiological outbreak models, and cyber-physical systems. He is a computer scientist with a primary research focus in supercomputing, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence (AI). As a Federal Program Manager in Advanced Scientific Computing Research at the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Science, he managed a $100-million R&D portfolio covering AI, HPC, Quantum, Scientific Discovery, and Basic Computer Science. In his 25-year R&D leadership experience, he previously led advanced R&D as Distinguished Research Staff Member at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) developing scalable software and applications on the world’s largest supercomputers for 17 years, including as a line manager and a founding group leader. He has held senior faculty and adjunct appointments at the University of Tennessee, Georgia Tech, and University of Nebraska, and was an IAS Fellow at Durham University, UK. He also served recently as the elected chair of ACM SIGSIM, 2020-22.
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