The mission of Science By Simulation is to help modernize
science education through the use of computational platforms based on modeling
and simulation technologies. Science By Simulation was founded
by Kumar Venkat, a technologist with
a keen interest in science education and an expert in developing software tools
based on modeling and simulation technologies.
Simulation is
an increasingly important way of doing modern science. Our goal is to
make simulation methods easily accessible to science education, allowing
students and teachers to turn their computers into powerful virtual labs and
analytical platforms. This approach supplements classroom learning, laboratory
experiments and textbooks, and provides virtual labs in which systems can be
modeled, experiments can be conducted and data/results can be collected and
analyzed to gain
insights.
Our science education tools are designed and built by simulation experts, and put powerful modeling and simulation capabilities in the hands
of students and teachers. We do not provide animation tools that typically
demonstrate a limited number of "simulations", but real and flexible simulation
tools -- similar to tools used in industry -- that can be used for serious
scientific study and inquiry.
Our tools generally include these elements:
-
The ability to describe, or model, a system -- such as a chemical reaction
system. Typically underlying such a model is a set of state equations governing the behavior of the system.
-
The use of an extensive database of basic properties to support the modeling --
such as the thermodynamic properties of chemical species.
-
A simulation engine -- event-based or time-based or both -- to exercise the
system and "run" it from an initial state to some final state.