This is not true ....
The project was government funded by the National Science Foundation. [NSF]
September 11 Pentagon Attack Simulations
Using LS-Dyna
Phase I, Completed September 11, 2002
Mete A. Sozen, Sami A. Kilic and Christoph M. Hoffmann
[http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/cmh/simulation/phase1/]
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Caroline Catz introduces and then ends the interview with Hoffmann emphasizing the "independent" and "not funded by government" status of the Rosen Center "simulation". They were clearly funded by the NSF which has national defence as a major responsibility.
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The Pentagon "simulations" are proudly claimed by Purdue & Indiana Universities as an example of the Tera Grid which provide supercomputer link-up technologies. These technologies, that made the Hoffmann "simulation" possible, are primarily funded by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.
The Department of Defence and Homeland Security are directly involved in the computing community at Purdue and Indiana Universities. [More]
This is the exact reverse of an "independent" and "not funded by government" project as claimed by the BBC.
Read how the government funded computer simulation project on the Pentagon preceded simulations on the Twin Towers in 2006. The same people were involved and again the funding came from the NSF, an arm of government. [More]
How could the BBC get it so wrong?
The NSF, whilst not directly part of government, is a federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense… In many fields such as mathematics and computer science, NSF is the major source of federal backing. The director and all Board members serve six year terms. Each of them, as well as the NSF deputy director, is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
