Summary form only given. With support from the Department of Energy, Illinois Institute of Technology is leading a team to develop a high fidelity "faster than real-time" dynamics simulator capable of predicting complex, large-scale power system behavior based on (eventually) real-time measurements. The team is leveraging several mathematics and computational advances (e.g., PETSc linear solvers, nonlinear solvers, time-stepping algorithms, memory management and multi-core processors) to improve the speed of dynamics simulations. In addition, the team is leveraging recent modeling and simulation advances (e.g., new three-phase unbalanced network models, single-phase induction motor models, protection system models) to improve the fidelity of the dynamics simulations. The goal is to aid operators in their true time of need, when there is a significant risk of cascading outages. The project will accelerate performance and enhance accuracy of dynamics simulations, enabling operators to maintain reliability and steer clear of blackouts. In the long-term, the proposed simulator will form the backbone of the newly conceived hybrid real-time protection and control architecture that will coordinate local controls, wide-area measurements, wide-area controls and advanced real-time prediction capabilities. The team members (and roles) are as follows: Illinois Institute of Technology (modeling, algorithm development, dynamics simulator development, verification and validation), Argonne National Laboratory's Mathematics and Computer Science Division (algorithm development), Electrocon, the developer of CAPE, a protection system modeling and simulation tool (protection engine development, independent verification & validation), Alstom Grid, a control center Energy Management System vendor (independent verification & validation), Commonwealth Edison, a large metropolitan utility (independent verification & validation), McCoy Energy (facilitate utility advisory group) and AltaLink, a large Canadian transmission system operator (independent verification & validation). This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-OE0000624. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.