Certification by Simulation Webinar Series

The Three Paths of Modeling and Simulation Regulation

Tuesday 14 May 2024 | Online

Numerous sectors are overseen by regulatory bodies that emphasize the importance of simulations. These simulations must first be determined to be credible before they can be reliably utilized for their intended purposes. Despite the vast array of industries and the diverse types of simulations, the regulator’s evaluation of these simulations generally falls into three primary categories: direct, indirect, and internal. Direct evaluation, commonly reserved for simulations of significant consequence, involves a detailed examination of the simulation itself by the regulator. Indirect evaluation focuses on whether the simulation adheres to established guidelines. Internal evaluation, meanwhile, examines the robustness of the quality assurance program under which the simulation was developed. In our presentation, we explored each of these evaluation methods, shedding light on their distinct features, advantages, and the challenges they present, to provide the audience with a deeper understanding of their nuances.

Our Speaker

Dr. Joshua Kaizer

Reactor Systems Engineer at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Dr. Joshua Kaizer has been a regulator at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission since 2006. He has spent his entire career reviewing the Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification (VVUQ) analysis which supports reactor safety models and simulations. He has performed over 30 reviews of modeling and simulation, primarily focused on thermal-hydraulics, data-driven modeling, and uncertainty analysis. He is Vice-Chair of ASME’s VVUQ standards committee, chair of the VVUQ subcommittee on AI/ML, member of the subcommittee on nuclear power, member of NAFEMS working group on simulation governance, and an associate editor of the Journal of VVUQ.