Software agents are aimed at addressing the demand for programs that autonomously interoperate to solve problems in open and dynamic environments. As the number and complexity of agent-oriented programs increase so does the need for simulation and other software engineering tools to support their design and experimental evaluation. On the other hand, one branch of simulation research, distributed modeling and simulation, faces engineering problems, which agent-oriented software methodologies are likely to answer.

Scientists working on distributed modeling and simulation and those working on multiagent systems with an interest in simulation methodologies will be brought together to explore the two perspectives on agent-oriented software in distributed modeling and simulation:

Designing Test Beds for Multi-Agent Systems:

• What are the specific requirements for modeling and simulation of multi-agent systems?
• How do distributed and parallel modeling and simulation methodologies support the design and evaluation of multi-agent systems?

Agent-Oriented Approaches in Designing Simulation Systems:

• What kinds of solutions do agent-oriented software approaches offer to enhance reuse of simulation models and interoperability of simulation systems?
• How can agents be defined to search for reusable models, classes, and domain knowledge components that support modeling and simulation?
• What kind of knowledge does an agent need and what kind of interface has to be provided by simulation systems to enable agents to search for simulation services over the World Wide Web?
• What is, or might be, the role of agent-oriented approaches within emerging distributed interactive simulation environments such as the High Level Architecture?
• How can software agents be employed to improve efficiency or effectiveness of distributed parallel simulation?
• What are mechanisms which support security in using agent-oriented approaches in distributed modeling and simulation?

The 1999 Dagstuhl seminar will continue the tradition of the "Artificial Intelligence, Planning and Simulation for Autonomous System Conferences" held in the USA and Australia over the last several years dedicated to emerging issues in simulation methodology.