Tim Marler is a senior research engineer at the RAND corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His work revolves around modeling and simulation with a focus multi-objective optimization, human modeling and simulation, training simulators and virtual environments, VR/AR, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technology.
Over his career, Marler has worked on projects involving technology assessment, forecasting, and deployment; algorithm analysis and development; training simulators; human systems integration; system integration software for electromechanical systems; and computational models for optimization-based equipment distribution, injury prevention, human performance prediction, and motion capture. He is particularly interested in growing programs based on interrelated projects, often centered on software development.
He has helped grow the RAND Biological Technologies' Emerging Challenges (BioTEC) Group and leads the VR/AR thrust for RAND's Tech and Narrative Lab. He currently serves on the Department of Commerce's Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee within the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Previously, Marler spent seventeen years at The University of Iowa's Center for Computer Aided Design, where he was the assistant director of the Virtual Soldier Research lab, the codirector of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology lab, and an adjunct professor with the Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. Additional experience ranges from software design to manufacturing, at Ford Motor Company, Amana, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and Hon.
Marler holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.
Selected Publications
Marler, T., Straus, S. G., Mizel, M. L., Hollywood, J. S., Harrison, B., Yeung, D., Klima, K., Lewis, W. L., Rizzo, S., Hartholt, A., Swain, C. , "Effective Game-Based Training for Police Officer Decision-Making: Linking Missions, Skills, and Virtual Content," Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), 2020
T. Marler, D. Young, "The Pragmatic Road to a Ph.D.," Times Higher Education, 2018
M. Bataineh, T. Marler, "Neural Network for Regression Problems with Reduced Training Sets," Neural Networks, 2017
T. Marler, N. Capdevila, J. Kersten, A. Taylor, S. Wanger, J. MacKiewicz, "Human Simulation for Task-Based Survivability Analysis," International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation, 2016
T. Marler, J. Arora, Multi-Objective Optimization: Concepts and Methods for Engineering, VDM Verlag, 2009