July 8, 2020 – Orlando, FL –Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) founder and CEO/president, Waymon Armstrong, has been named a finalist for the renowned Pioneer Award in the MS&T 2020 Industry Simulation & Training Awards, presented by Halldale Group. Industry, military, and business colleagues are asked to vote by  July 16th.

A true leader and visionary in the MS&T industry and the Central Florida business community since 1997, Armstrong’s investment in developing key technologies to advance simulation and training are notable. In its earliest programs, ECS brought emerging visual simulation technology to the aviation community, and as a result of his leadership in this area, he was called on to testify before the Congressional House Aviation Sub-committee on safety and security, and the State of Florida’s House Select Committee on security. Most recently ECS is providing realistic training by integrating other innovative features such as haptics technology, providing the military aviation community more immersive training.

Armstrong credits his talented team for their dedication and support to our Warfighters. ECS has made advancements in the research and development of military training for  medical, logistics, and other key specialty areas that have helped change how the military trains. Under Armstrong’s leadership, ECS recently integrated its Tactical Combat Casualty Care Simulation (TC3Sim) medical trainer with haptic technology to incorporate realistic touch feedback and natural interaction into its training scenarios. Under development with ECS for over 16 years, TC3 Sim has been named as program of record for the U.S. Army. In addition, the U.S. Army recently extended contracts for innovative aviation maintenance training and modernization programs for Project Manager (PM) Apache  and PM Cargo. An industry innovator, ECS also has one of the ongoing virtual world applications currently being used by the Veterans Administration.

Well-known as an advocate for the MS&T industry, Armstrong partnered and led with other organizations and industry leaders  to showcase, grow, and solidify the MS&T industry. In 2010, he chaired the Orange County Mayor’s MS&T Blue Ribbon Commission to grow visibility for the industry and has served on the Orlando Economic Partnership and Central Florida Foundation boards, acting as evangelist for the industry and the Central Florida business community. He leads by example, giving back to his industry and community in so many ways and often shares his entrepreneurial story.

Armstrong  has also been a frequent speaker at local, national and global events, including keynoting at I/ITSEC, MODSIM WORLD, and speaking at the Florida Simulation Summit, TSIS Small Business Panel, and numerous technology-related panels.

He has consistently  contributed to community entrepreneurship and business leadership, and served on numerous boards, including the University of Central Florida Research Foundation board, the Digital Media Alliance of Florida, GrowFL and on the Metro Orlando Military Affairs Advisory Committee, the Sunshine Chapter of AUSA, and Valencia Community College’s Digital Media Technology Advisory Committee, and as chair of  Leadership Orlando – Class 92 .

Armstrong said: “I’m humbled and honored to be included in the 2020 Halldale MS&T awards as a finalist for the prestigious Pioneer Award. For 23 years ECS has focused on leading the integration of evolving technology to make our training and simulation better. I treasure our industry and look forward to continuing to make a difference with the other outstanding companies and individuals in our industry, because together we can deliver global training solutions to help make our military and first responders stronger.”

Voting for Halldale finalists MS&T awards is open to MS&T subscribers  at this link through Thursday, July 16th, at 5:00 p.m. EDT/9:00 p.m. UTC; digital subscriptions are available at the same link at no charge which allows new subscribers to vote. The Pioneer Award honoree will be announced in mid-August and presented the award during I/ITSEC 2020.