Module 01. Introduction to Modeling and Simulation

Lecture Date: August 25, 2021 - Wednesday Slides

This is the the introduction to modeling and simulation concept. In this lecture, we will examine what a model means, why models are essential, and the process of developing a model. We will go through several examples from the real-world. One striking example is the simulation of the universe, which is shown below.

It is important to emphasize that no two models are equal, even if they represent the same phenomena. For instance, there is a wealth of COVID-19 spread models that project significantly different pictures for the pandemic’s future. The Reich Lab from UMass-Amherst runs the COVID-19 Forecast Hub by hosting simulation models’ results, which allows creating ensemble models and facilitates easy-to-compare interface among different models based on their predictive power. Similar to disease spread models, weather or climate models do not always agree on their results too. This Washington Post article explains the difference between European and American weather models.