Yaman Barlas received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering, from Middle East Technical University, Ohio University and Georgia Institute of Technology respectively. In 1985, upon receiving his doctoral degree, he joined Miami University of Ohio as an assistant professor of Systems Analysis where he was granted tenure in 1990. He worked as a guest researcher at MIT in the summer of 1990. In 1992, he gave seminars in Istanbul, as a United Nations TOKTEN consultant. He joined Boğaziçi University in 1993, where he is currently working as a professor of Industrial Engineering and directing the SESDYN research laboratory (http://www.ie.boun.edu.tr/sesdyn/).  He spent his sabbatical leave at University of Bergen in Norway, in 2000. His interest areas are validation of simulation models, system dynamics methodology, modeling/analysis of socio-economic problems and simulation as a learning/training platform. He has published numerous articles in journals, proceedings and books, and offered academic and professional seminars nationally and internationally in these areas. He teaches simulation, system dynamics, dynamics of socio-economic systems and advanced dynamic systems modeling.  He is a founding member of the System Dynamics Society and member of several other international and national professional organizations. Professor Barlas was the Chair of the 15th International System Dynamics Conference, held in Istanbul in 1997. He is the editor of System Dynamics Review for short articles, an invited Honorary Editor of the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems and a former President of the System Dynamics Society.