ESM'2026 Tutorial
Building Simulation Models with Flow-Based Programming using FMesh
Abstract
Simulation software can quickly become complex, even when the goal is to build a simple model. In many cases, researchers need a lightweight framework that lets them prototype ideas without a steep learning curve. Building a discrete-event or time-step simulation should be as simple as writing a few dozen lines of code.
This tutorial introduces FMesh, a lightweight simulation framework based on Flow-Based Programming. Participants will learn how computational graphs can represent simulation models as interconnected components and how this approach keeps models simple, modular, and reusable.
Through hands-on examples, attendees will build simulation models from scratch and see how the same concepts can be applied to domains such as electrical circuits and biological systems.
Short Biography
Ovsep Avakian is a professional software engineer with experience building software systems in companies ranging from startups to large technology organizations. His main interests include software architecture, distributed systems, and simulation technologies.
Outside of his professional work, Ovsep develops open-source tools for simulation in the Go ecosystem. He is the creator of FMesh, a lightweight simulation framework based on Flow-Based Programming and computational graph concepts.
His goal is to make simulation modeling more accessible by combining modern software engineering practices with simulation techniques.
