Robert
G. Sargent, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science at Syracuse University, received
the 2002 Lifetime Professional Achievement Award from
the INFORMS–College on Simulation (INFORMS–CS).
The award was presented at the Opening Session of the
2002 Winter Simulation Conference. The full text of
the award citation is available online at <www.informs-cs.org>.
The highest honor given by INFORMS–CS, this award
recognizes major contributions to the field of simulation
that are sustained over a professional career. For 2002
the award selection committee consisted of James R.
Wilson, chair (North Carolina State University); Thomas
J. Schriber (The University of Michigan); and Julian
Reitman (University of Connecticut, Stamford).
Bob Sargent first became involved with discrete-event
simulation in the early 1960s as a graduate student
at The University of Michigan, where he studied simulation
methodology and developed simulation models. After completing
his Ph.D. in 1966, Bob joined the faculty of Syracuse
University and taught there until he retired in the
late 1990s. In the field of simulation Bob has made
significant contributions to research, practice, dissemination
of knowledge, development of software, service to the
profession, and advancement of the status and visibility
of the discipline.
His contributions to simulation research include groundbreaking
papers in the following areas: hybrid analytic/simulation
modeling; event graph models; hierarchical control flow
graph models; computational speedup of model execution
and event-list processing; output analysis; and a general
framework for discrete-event modeling and simulation
based on formal logic. Perhaps Bob is best known for
his research on verification and validation of simulation
models.
Bob
Sargent’s contributions to simulation practice
include pioneering work on modeling of computer systems
for performance evaluation as well as work with the
U.S. Air Force on military problems.
An active disseminator of simulation knowledge to practitioners
and researchers alike, Bob has given numerous tutorials
on wide-ranging simulation-related topics at conferences
and universities around the world. He was a coeditor
of the Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference
in 1976 and 1977; coeditor of a special issue of Operations
Research on simulation (1983); and coauthor of state-of-the-art
bibliographies. Bob was a National Lecturer with the
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) from 1985
to 1989. He supervised nine Ph.D. students, six of whom
did their dissertation research in simulation. For the
special fiftieth anniversary issue of Operations Research
(2002), Bob coauthored an invited article on the past,
present, and future of the field of simulation that
was titled “Perspectives on the Evolution of Simulation.”
His contributions in service to the simulation community
are especially noteworthy. Bob has held all the offices
in INFORMS–CS, including president (1978–1980).
He has served on most of the College’s committees
and was involved in establishing all the awards given
by the College. Bob’s service to the Winter Simulation
Conference (WSC) spans four decades. He was the representative
of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) to the
conference committee of each annual WSC from 1974 to
1984; and he served on the WSC Board of Directors from
1976 (when he was instrumental in reviving the conference)
to 1984.
Bob’s editorial work includes helping to establish
the Simulation Department of Management Science in the
mid-1970s. He was the Departmental Editor for Simulation
Modeling and Statistical Computing (Research Contributions)
of the Communications of the ACM from 1980 to 1985.
Bob also helped to establish the ACM Transactions on
Modeling and Computer Simulation (TOMACS); and he served
on the TOMACS Editorial Advisory Board from 1989 to
1997. Bob has received service awards from ACM, IIE,
the WSC Board of Directors, and INFORMS–CS (in
particular, he received the College’s Distinguished
Service Award in 1988).
Bob
Sargent has set a standard for uncompromising integrity
and a commitment to excellence that many people in the
international simulation community have tried to emulate.
Bob’s career epitomizes the highest ideals of
the INFORMS–CS Lifetime Professional Achievement
Award, and it was with great pride that the selection
committee presented the award to him.
