VIRGINIA BEACH - — Hampton Roads is well known for its active ports. It's also recognized as a hub for the nation's defense industry.

But modeling and simulation?

Not yet, according to U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, but there's room to grow.

"What the Internet is to Northern Virginia, what software is to Silicon Valley," said Warner, "modeling and simulation could be to Hampton Roads."

The Democratic senator appeared in Virginia Beach on Tuesday to launch the beginning of a four-day conference dubbed, "21st Century Decision-Making: The Art of Modeling and Simulation." The nation's chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, is among the keynote speakers. He is a former Virginia secretary of technology.

Speaking to the Daily Press by phone Tuesday morning, Warner said modeling and simulation could earn a place alongside the ports and defense industry as an economic pillar in Hampton Roads.

A former telecommunications executive, Warner aggressively promoted modeling and simulation as Virginia's governor from 2002 to 2006. His efforts largely centered on the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, a consortium of academia, government and industry leaders based in Suffolk.

Because of turnover at the center — as well as one of its major components, the U.S. Joint Forces Command — efforts to develop the industry in Hampton Roads have stalled in recent years, Warner said.

"We need to move this back to the front-burner," he said.

The federal government can play a role, he said, by providing tax incentives, and working with state and regional partners to brand Hampton Roads as leader in modeling and simulation.

"I think this industry has really been below the radar," he said. "There's still a lot of marketing to do."

The federal government also must continue to work with the academic world, he said, noting that Old Dominion University manages the center and is one of the few universities in the nation to offer degrees in modeling and simulation.

The payoff could be handsome: a typical modeling and simulation job commands a salary of $80,000, Warner said. It's also a growing industry, he said, moving beyond its military beginnings to everything from emergency planning to medical training.