Modeling & Simulation • National Security & Energy

Twenty years turning complex systems into models decision-makers can trust.

Group Leader, Modeling & Analytics, Strategic Security Sciences - Argonne National Laboratory.

Portrait of Adam Szymanski
01

About

I lead the Modeling & Analytics Group within Strategic Security Sciences at Argonne National Laboratory, where my team builds simulation and computer-vision software used by defense, homeland-security, and energy programs. The common thread across two decades of work, from RF propagation to military logistics to wildlife monitoring, is the same: turning a messy, real-world system into something people can test decisions against before committing real resources. More recently, my focus has expanded to agentic AI and large language models with efforts building autonomous and human-in-the-loop AI agents that plan, reason, and act both with and within modeling-and-simulation workflows. With particular attention toward AI and agentic AI that can operate in controlled unclassified and classified environments.

Before Argonne, I spent ten years at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, rising from programmer to section head on electronic-warfare and RF modeling programs. I hold a B.S. in Computer Science (Robotics minor) from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S. in Analytics, with an emphasis on machine learning and computer vision, from the University of Chicago.

"Being able to analyze 'what if' questions and help inform better decisions feels a bit like getting a glimpse into the future - and getting to influence it for the better." – We Are Argonne Feature Article
02

Timeline

2011 – Present

Group Leader, Modeling & Analytics

Argonne National Laboratory •· Strategic Security Sciences
  • Lead software engineering and RF analysis for national-security modeling & simulation programs in logistics, homeland security, and energy.
  • Program lead for Naval EW/RF modeling; technical lead for the Avian-Solar computer-vision program; contributor to the AMP logistics platform.
  • Joint appointment with the University of Chicago (CASE) and Northwestern (NAISE); mentors UChicago MScA Capstone teams.
  • Leading emerging work at the intersection of modeling & simulation and agentic AI – developing LLM-based reasoning agents for decision support and extending secure deployment patterns for AI in both controlled unclassified and classified environments.
2002 – 2011

Programmer → Section Head

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory •· Tactical Electronic Warfare Division
  • Built and ultimately led development of the Interactive Scenario Builder, a 3D RF propagation and mission-planning tool fielded across the Navy.
  • Advanced from programmer to section head, overseeing ten concurrent projects and fourteen staff (~$5M portfolio) at peak.
1999 – 2002

Programmer

Carnegie Mellon University •· Robotics Institute
  • Developed obstacle-detection and autonomous-navigation software for the Toro autonomous mower and an assistive wheelchair-navigation project.
03

Deployed Programs

Logistics Sim

Analysis of Mobility Platform

Discrete-event logistics simulation built for U.S. Transportation Command, modeling cargo and personnel across air, sea, and land for strategic and tactical planning.

Read more →
RF / EW

Interactive Scenario Builder

A 3D RF Tactical Decision Aid for Navy mission planning, calculating propagation loss for communication and radar systems in real terrain and weather.

Read more →
Computer Vision

Avian-Solar

DOE-funded computer-vision system that continuously classifies bird activity at solar facilities, built with Northwestern and UChicago collaborators.

Read more →
04

Credentials

M.S., AnalyticsUniversity of Chicago, 2016–2019
B.S., Computer ScienceCarnegie Mellon University, 1998–2002 – Robotics minor, University Honors
AwardsArgonne Impact Award (2020, 2023); Argonne Pacesetter Award (2015, 2018)
RecognitionEnergy I-Corps Graduate (2022); Dept. of the Navy Contribution Award

Working toolkit

JavaPythonC/C++RSQL TensorFlowOpenCVScikit-learn RF PropagationGISTableau Agentic AILLMsRAGSecure AI Deployment