Crista Lopes is featured in an O.C. Register article for the way in which she is using Second Life as a simulation environment for things like ubiquitous computing environments.

"UC Irvine computer scientist Crista Lopes was happy to do all her work in the real world – until February, that is. ...

In the programming process, Lopes said, she discovered that the simplified physics of Second Life are close enough to the physics of the real world that Second Life can be used as an inexpensive simulation tool by small- to medium-sized companies. It's a low-cost alternative to the sophisticated simulation programs in use by industrial designers at big-bucks enterprises such as NASA and the military, as well as Boeing and other aerospace contractors. "