DE Podcast: Nick Appleyard on the Mission to Democratize Simulation

Nick Appleyard, Executive Director of the ASSESS initiative to broaden the use of simulation tools. Image courtesy of Nick Appleyard.

This January, Nick Appleyard, a 30-year veteran of the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) sector, succeeded Joe Walsh to become the Executive Director of ASSESS, an initiative by the international association NAFEMS to promote broader use of simulation. The role was previously held by Joe Walsh, founder and leader of ASSESS. 

Appleyard said the momentum of adoption has been "steady. It hasn't been explosive like people have expected." But he has noticed "pockets of growth in the SMB (Small, Midsized Businesses) space with casual users and part time users." The emerging cloud-hosted and browser-based tools helped make the push, he added.

The recent integration of natural language-enabled copilots and guides in simulation software is expected to broaden usage, in Appleyard's view. The virtual assistants powered by LLMs (large language models) will act "like an expert sitting next to the casual users or new users to simulation," he imagined. 

Appleyard applauds the software vendors for the shift toward the cloud, as a way to make the tools more accessible and affordable. He is also glad to see the use of simulation upfront in the design process. "But there's also a tremendous opportunity they're missing on the manufacturing side of the business. Simulation, in my opinion, is still underutilized in that space. Companies are still trying to optimize the manufacturing processes, and simulation can play a crucial role," he added.

Appleyard is keenly interested in developing strategies to help users "sell internally to the executives on the value simulation." That is currently one of his top priorities in his new role.

For more on his thoughts, listen to the full recorded conversation in this podcast episode.