NCS Hires Former Army Research Lab Chief Scientist Neal Finkelstein

The National Center for Simulation (NCS) announced that Dr.Neal Finkelstein, former Army Research Lab Simulation and Training Technology Center(STTC) chief scientist and 30-year Department of Defense veteran, is the newNCS chief operating officer. Finkelstein, best known in the modeling,simulation and training industry for his passion for building government,industry and academic partnerships, has retired and will officially begin atNCS on October 1.

As the chief scientist at STTC, located on University ofCentral Florida’s (UCF) campus, Finkelstein served as the principle seniortechnical advisor on technical, programmatic and organizational issues that cutacross the organization. He provided evaluation and recommendations on a widerange of diverse day-to-day issues arising from research and development oftraining aids, devices, simulations and simulators.

“I was lucky to spend many years serving the DoD, and havingthe opportunity to work on a number of superior projects with a lot of talentedpeople,” said Finkelstein. “I am looking forward to applying that knowledge andexperience to help NCS continue to grow and further develop our commitment toSTEM, expand the use of this valuable technology in key vertical markets, andfoster collaboration and integration between the military and the commercialtechnology markets.”

Finkelstein is a graduate of Florida Atlantic Universitywhere he earned his degree in electrical engineering. He also holds a master’sin industrial engineering from Texas A&M University, as well as a doctoratein industrial engineering from UCF. Throughout the past 30 years, Finkelsteinworked in various capacities of increased responsibility in the Army includinghuman-in-the-loop specialized immersive training and simulation effectiveness;human/system integration; human sciences, mixed reality, and a number of otherprojects that cut across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, DHS and VA. Amonghis other positions, Finkelstein served at the Pentagon while supporting the establishmentof the Army Modeling and Simulation Office in Alexandria, Virginia.

And while his career highlights are numerous, he also givesfeely of his time, sitting on several boards, including UCF, Valencia StateCollege, Daytona Beach State College, and the Florida Governor’s DefenseAlliance, to name a few. He has a deep commitment to STEM and serves as theFlorida outreach STEM coordinator for the Army Education Outreach Program(AEOP) at the Army Futures Command.