New Virtual U

Trevor Chan
Founder, Enlight Software

Trevor Chan, lead designer for Virtual U, is widely recognized as one of the world's premier developers of strategy and simulation computer games. Known for their remarkable degree of realism and accuracy, Chan's simulation programs have received a number of awards. Capitalism, a simulation of the corporate environment, received accolades as the best business simulation game ever created. Chan's real-time strategy game Seven Kingdoms also received widespread praise, winning several notable industry awards.

Virtual U, the newest title to be issued by Enlight Software, was co-developed by Chan and William Massy, president of the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group. Building on the success of Capitalism in the context of higher education, Virtual U simulates the operation of a university or college with painstaking realism. The game will serve as an educational tool for university management and students studying higher education.

Enlight Software is based in Hong Kong and was founded by Trevor Chan in 1993.

William F. Massy
President, The Jackson Hole Higher Education Group, Inc.
Professor, Stanford University

A recognized expert in higher education management and research, William F. Massy is the mastermind behind the sophisticated simulation engine that drives Virtual U. Dr. Massy has been active as a professor, university administrator, and consultant for more than 30 years. During his 14-year tenure as Stanford University's vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer, he developed and pioneered financial management and planning tools that have become standard in the field.

As president of the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group, Dr. Massy consults is a consultant to colleges and universities on strategic management and on improving productivity and academic quality. Dr. Massy's recent research includes academic quality processes, faculty roles and responsibilities, uses of information technology in teaching and learning, academic information systems, financial modeling, and economic models of institutional and departmental behavior, all of which inspired the development of Virtual U.

Jesse H. Ausubel
Program Director, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

As a Sloan Foundation program director, Jesse Ausubel's main area of concern is an initiative entitled "The University as a System and the System of Universities" This initiative, which provided a large portion of the funding for the development and marketing of Virtual U, was designed by Ausubel in an effort to provide greater understanding of the challenges facing American universities and to improve the ability to act on these challenges.

Ausubel gained knowledge of the diverse issues facing the U.S. academic enterprise during the decade he worked for the U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Engineering, a major crossroads for leaders of America's colleges and universities. Ausubel's interest in simulation began with games he helped develop in the early 1980s that addressed how to reduce global warming. His 1988 book Cities and Their Vital Systems helped inspire Will Wright to create the popular game SimCity

Ben Sawyer
Cofounder, Digitalmill

Mr. Sawyer serves as our defacto product manager and is responsible for overseeing development of Virtual U, marketing, PR, and overall evangelization. As co-founder of Digitalmill, Ben Sawyer is in charge of strategy, technology, and business development. Sawyer has authored or co-authored more than 10 computer trade books as well as numerous articles on a wide range of technology areas including e-commerce, interactive game development, software marketing, and computer graphics. He is also a regular speaker on the topics of e-commerce and other emerging Internet trends.

After graduating from New York's Bronx High School of Science and attending the City University of New York-Baruch, Sawyer worked on the campaign staff for Clinton/Gore '92. He also worked on political projects for several major campaigns, a legislative re-apportionment for the Maine State Legislature, and on the news analysis staff for then President-Elect Bill Clinton.

In 1995, Sawyer settled in his home state of Maine and began a career as a high-tech freelance writer and technology consultant. That year Sawyer wrote his first book -- The Ultimate Game Developer's Sourcebook -- which was published in early 1996. In June 1997, Sawyer and Dave Greely founded Digitalmill. Recently Sawyer began working with The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Forsight and Governance project on thier "Serious Games" project. He authored thier initial whitepaper Serious Games: Improving Public Policy through Game-Based Learning and Simulation and is working on follow up reachout as well.

Neil J. Salkind
Professor of Child Development, University of Kansas

Neil J. Salkind teaches child development at the University of Kansas, where he has been a faculty member for the past 25 years. He has written more than 75 trade and textbooks including Exploring Research, Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics, and Treating Mental Disorders. He has published and presented more than 150 professional papers and has won numerous fellowships and teaching awards.