New Secretary of the Board elected -
Dr. Rui Gao succeeds Dr. Michael Tiller
The Modelica Association is thrilled to announce Dr. Rui Gao as the new Secretary of the Board!
Dr. Rui Gao, Chief Scientist and CTO of Nanjing Yuansi SimTek, is a distinguished figure in the industry, known for his impactful contributions at leading companies such as Toyota, Dassault Systèmes, and Modelon.
Since the early 2000s, Dr. Gao has been a driving force in advancing the standardization and adoption of Modelica and FMI across the Asia-Pacific region through his technical expertise and collaborative efforts. His influence extends to academia, where he has earned widespread respect for organizing numerous Modelica conferences and events in Japan, Korea, and China. Notably, he served as Conference Chair for the Asian Modelica Conferences in 2020 and 2022.
Equally significant, though less publicized, is Dr. Gao’s dedication to education. Many young engineers, particularly students near his hometown of Xi’an, have benefited from his mentorship and teaching efforts.
Recognizing the growing prominence of Modelica and the FMI Standard in the Asia-Pacific region, the Modelica Association is committed to further strengthening its development in this dynamic region. We are thus delighted to welcome Dr. Gao’s extensive expertise and experience to our board in the prominent role of our secretary.
Dr. Gao was unanimously elected during an extraordinary Modelica Association assembly meeting on September 3, 2025, with his appointment taking effect immediately.
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| Dr. Rui Gao | Dr. Michael Tiller |
He succeeds Dr. Michael Tiller, who served as Secretary for over two decades and recently stepped down from the role.
On this note, the Modelica Association wants to express its deep gratitude for the numerous contributions of Michael Tiller during this time. His book “Introduction to Physical Modeling with Modelica” was among the first to teach object-oriented, equation-based modeling. Its high quality ensures its relevance today. His follow-up book on this topic: “Modelica by Example” is the online-source for many who want to learn about the Modelica language.
However, Michael Tiller’s contributions went beyond just education. He contributed significantly to the development of the Modelica Standard Library and the managing of Modelica packages. Always eager to apply new technologies and to explore new programming languages, he also contributed to the Modelica Language development. His interest for modern programming languages made him also join the Julia community.
He also played a vital role for the proliferation of Modelica in the USA. During his career he has worked on both sides of the Atlantic and as founder of the North American Users Group (NAMUG), he has installed the main competence hub in the United States and helped to establish the American Modelica Conference series.
Michael Tiller will continue as a regular member of the Modelica Association and a board member of NAMUG. The Modelica Association wishes him the very best in his future endeavors and remain deeply grateful for his decades of service on the board.
Contact information
Modelica Association
Website: https://modelica.org/
Email: board@modelica.org
Chair: Dirk Zimmer, DLR