BENCHMARK April 2025

BENCHED

View From Your Editorial Team

Does ambition really bite the nails of success? This issue of Benchmark is all about pushing further, doing more, building the impossible, and mapping out the future. We all have dreams and fanciful things we’d like to try, do, or build but never do. But what if you decided to start planning to build the impossible? What if, today, you took your long-shelved fantastical idea and decided to take the first step towards making it a reality? That’s what Sébastien Besse has done with his concept of a 3000-metre tower, and you can read more about his journey towards designing the impossible on page 20 of this issue. We deal with so much “reality” in the simulation world that it’s refreshing to see the process behind designing something that would traditionally be dismissed as too big, too expensive, and too difficult. Have we forgotten that the human race itself is built upon people who dreamt of things that others said would be impossible? Without thinking big, where would we be? Certainly not here, that’s for sure. Ambition can push us further than we would have gone had we not dreamed.

So, I’ve gone 200 words deep into my editorial, and I’ve not mentioned the NAFEMS World Congress once. That’s some sort of record. And at the risk of sounding like a broken one, we’re excited about NWC25 and getting ready to bring the simulation world together in Salzburg this May. If you haven’t registered yet, take a look at the packed agenda of presentations, training, workshops and networking opportunities available to all delegates at nafems.org/congress, and press the “book” button before we run out of space. Again, we’re planning a Congress that is bigger and better than ever, building on previous years and developing out from our previous Salzburg Congress at the same venue in 2013. A lot of time has passed since then, and if you’d told 2013 me what we’d have all gone through by 2025, I’d have laughed in your face whilst trying to stay calm. One of the main changes in our own simulation world since then has been the dawn of the Digital Twin, AI and Machine Learning. Back in 2013, those weren’t even being discussed in any detail (if at all) in the simulation world – now, in 2025, a good proportion of presentations will have at least some element of one of those topics. I mean, 12 years isn’t exactly a “short” period of time, but it’s certainly striking just how dominant AI and ‘digital’ have become in our space.

So how do we keep up with developments like this? I’m glad you asked. The only way to do it effectively is to open yourself up to what is going on around you. And the most impactful way to do that is to (you guessed it) be part of a community like NAFEMS, attend events like our World Congress, contribute to our technical working groups and regional steering committees, and share your own experiences with colleagues, peers, and everyone in between.

As is traditional for my NWC editorial, I’ll see you at the bar in Salzburg on May 19th. Mine is a glass of whatever you’re drinking. And I’ll sling a bottle of something nice in the post to the first person who can tell me which song the first line of this is based on! 

If you have feedback or would like to see your article featured in benchmark contact benchmark@nafems.org