James O. Henriksen

This interview took place on the campus of the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Interviewer: Richard E. Nance

Interview place: Bethesda, Maryland

Interview date: 2013-05-21

James O. Henriksen

James O. Henriksen is the founder and CEO of Wolverine Software Corporation, which he established in 1976. He is most noted for his development of GPSS/H for IBM mainframes in 1977, enabling the continuing support of a major simulation programming language. The first commercial installation of GPSS/H was made at General Motors Manufacturing Department, and in the following years the application was expanded and improved. Wolverine is known for its other software innovations, including Proof Animation, which was introduced in 1989, and SLX, the extensible simulation language, which is its most recent product.

Henriksen has long been active in the computer simulation field and has taught numerous graduate-level computer courses, including classes at the Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Center. His research and scholarly contributions have been presented at conferences, including the Winter Simulation Conference. His published works have appeared inseveral journals. His professional interests include the construction of compilers and run-time support for discrete-event simulation and animation. During his career he has helped to develop eight compilers and five generations of animation software. Henriksen was named a Titan of Simulation at the 2006 Winter Simulation Conference.

James Henriksen, founder andCEO of the Wolverine Software Corporation.