This interview took place during the Winter Simulation Conference in Savannah, Georgia.
Interviewer: Robert G. Sargent
Interview place: Savannah, Georgia
Interview date: 2014-12-10
C. Dennis Pegden is the founder and CEO of Simio LLC. He holds a B.S. and M.S. from the School of Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Engineering Sciences at Purdue University (1971, 1973) and a Ph.D. from the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University (1975). Earlier in his career, Pegden was a Research Scientist for the Matrix Company (1971-1972). His academic positions include Assistant Professor for the University of Alabama in Huntsville (1975-1979) and Associate Professor for Pennsylvania State University (1979-1987). In 1982, Pegden founded Systems Modeling Corporation, and held the position of CEO until its purchase in 2000 by Rockwell Automation. He then became Director of Development for Rockwell Software (2000-2003) prior to founding Simio LLC in 2005.
Pegden led the development of the SLAM simulation language, the SIMAN language, the Cinema animation system, the Arena simulation system, and the Simio Simulation Software System. He co-authored Introduction to Simulation and SLAM (1979) with Alan Pritsker. He authored Introduction to SIMAN (1983), and co-authored Introduction to Simulation Using SIMAN (1990) with Robert Shannon and Randy Sadowski. Pegden has produced research publications in simulation and other fields. He served as Program Chair for the 1984 Winter Simulation Conference. Pegden has been honored with many awards, including The Lanchester Prize, Honorable Mention (1979) with Alan Pritsker; the Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award (1980); the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) Outstanding Professional Contribution Award (1980); the Outstanding Industrial Engineering Award from Purdue University (2002); and the Winter Simulation Conference Directors’ Award (2003).