Suffolk, VA (January 9, 2025) – The Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation (OERI) announced the retirement of Dr. Michael Robinson, Chief Operations Officer, after 21 years of selfless service and dedication.
Dr. Robinson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy, as well as a Master of Science degree in physics and nuclear engineering from the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School. Dr. Robinson earned his Ph.D. in modeling and simulation from Old Dominion University.
Dr. Robinson joined VMASC in 2004 and served in many positions from Senior Project Scientist to Director of Program Advancement to Executive Director and concluding his professional experience as Chief Operations Officer for OERI, as well as Interim Executive Director for VMASC.
Prior to Dr. Robinson coming to ODU, he served as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, including two tours as commanding officer and management of multi-million-dollar budgets for a broad range of areas, including research and development, maintenance, facility modernization, transportation, and marketing. He also received numerous awards for leadership and innovation.
Dr. Robinson also served as Deputy Director of the Coastal Virginia Center for Cyber Innovation, and Director of the Center for Innovative Transportation Solutions, as well as chairing several committees such as the Engineering, and Medicine Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Emergency Evacuations and the National Academy of Sciences.
Throughout his career at VMASC, Dr. Robinson’s work focused on the use of computer modeling and simulation techniques to develop solutions in transportation related projects with an emphasis on partnerships with experts from multiple disciplines.
He is best known for his work on models for emergencies that force community evacuations, like natural disasters and man-made events like terrorist attacks.
In 2018, Dr. Robinson joined a team of evacuation experts to assess wildfire evacuation plans in California after the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people. A lot of the communities did not have acceptable evacuation plans. So, Dr. Robinson and the modeling team at VMASC set out to create a tool for these vulnerable communities.
The Fast Local Emergency Evacuation Times (FLEET) model uses U.S. Census Bureau data and road networks to estimate the time it takes to evacuate a given area. Released to the public in August 2021, FLEET has been used by communities in 27 states.
Dr. Robinson’s dedication, expertise, and leadership have left an unforgettable mark on OERI, VMASC, and the communities that have benefited from his work. As Dr. Robinson prepares to embark on this next chapter, the Office of Enterprise Research and Innovation and the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center expresses deep gratitude for his service and unwavering commitment to modeling excellence.
Dr. Eric Weisel, Senior Associate Vice President for Applied Research, will serve as Interim Executive Director for VMASC upon Dr. Robinson’s retirement.