NSF-Sponsored Verification & Validation Study

Dear Community Members,

In July 2018, an NSF-sponsored workshop was organized by The Mineral, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) to understand the reasons for the lack of rigorous V&V practices in the mechanics and materials communities. The workshop was entitled “Verification & Validation of Computational Models Associated with the Mechanics of Materials.” The workshop report listed seven high-priority recommendations. 

In June 2019, NSF funded a comprehensive study led again by TMS to follow on some of those recommendations, such as the value-added proposition for V&V, recommended practices, new challenge problems, and strategies for training. Well, the good news is that the study will be published this October after much painstaking effort, entitled “Accelerating the Broad Implementation of Verification & Validation in Computational Models of the Mechanics of Materials and Structures.” You can visit this link to get a brief introduction, sign up for updates, and meet the Study Team, which is composed of accomplished community members familiar to you. 

As part of the dissemination and outreach process, TMS is also offering a V&V Webinar Series based on the outcomes of the study, which may be of interest to you. The series starts October 13. 

We hope that these multiple efforts will put the V&V process in its rightful place in the investigative arsenal of the mechanics and materials communities. We also look forward to and welcome your frank opinions and feedback. 

Regards, 

Nakhiah Goulbourne & Siddiq Qidwai