diff --git a/Simulator/Utils/Global.cpp b/Simulator/Utils/Global.cpp
index 8b6b0db96..396d7273d 100644
--- a/Simulator/Utils/Global.cpp
+++ b/Simulator/Utils/Global.cpp
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
  *  @brief Globally available functions/variables and default parameter values.
  */
 #include "Global.h"
-#include "MTRand.h"
 #include "Norm.h"
 
 // Debugging log data and routines
@@ -23,9 +22,9 @@ int g_debug_mask
 ///  @param  width   width of the two-dimensional array
 ///  @param  height  height of the two-dimensional array
 ///  @return string with the converted indexes and square brackets surrounding them.
-string index2dToString(int i, int width, int height)
+std::string index2dToString(int i, int width, int height)
 {
-   stringstream ss;
+   std::stringstream ss;
    ss << "[" << i % width << "][" << i / height << "]";
    return ss.str();
 }
@@ -34,9 +33,9 @@ string index2dToString(int i, int width, int height)
 ///  @param  x   x coordinate.
 ///  @param  y   y coordinate.
 ///  @return returns the given coordinates surrounded by square brackets.
-string coordToString(int x, int y)
+std::string coordToString(int x, int y)
 {
-   stringstream ss;
+   std::stringstream ss;
    ss << "[" << x << "][" << y << "]";
    return ss.str();
 }
@@ -46,9 +45,9 @@ string coordToString(int x, int y)
 ///  @param  y   y coordinate.
 ///  @param  z   z coordinate.
 ///  @return returns the given coordinates surrounded by square brackets.
-string coordToString(int x, int y, int z)
+std::string coordToString(int x, int y, int z)
 {
-   stringstream ss;
+   std::stringstream ss;
    ss << "[" << x << "][" << y << "][" << z << "]";
    return ss.str();
 }
@@ -62,10 +61,10 @@ int g_deviceId = 0;
 MTRand initRNG;
 
 // A normalized random number generator.
-unique_ptr<MTRand> noiseRNG;
+std::unique_ptr<MTRand> noiseRNG;
 
 //		simulation vars
-uint64_t g_simulationStep = 0;
+std::uint64_t g_simulationStep = 0;
 
 //const BGFLOAT g_synapseStrengthAdjustmentConstant = 1.0e-8;
 
@@ -115,8 +114,3 @@ void printPerformanceMetrics(const float total_time, int steps)
    cout << "t_gpu_calcSummation: " << t_gpu_calcSummation / steps << " ms/epoch" << endl;
 }
 #endif   // PERFORMANCE_METRICS
-
-// TODO comment
-const string MATRIX_TYPE = "complete";
-// TODO comment
-const string MATRIX_INIT = "const";
diff --git a/Simulator/Utils/Global.h b/Simulator/Utils/Global.h
index c4d48d800..aea869965 100644
--- a/Simulator/Utils/Global.h
+++ b/Simulator/Utils/Global.h
@@ -52,23 +52,21 @@
 
 extern int g_debug_mask;
 
+#include "BGTypes.h"
+#include "GraphProperties.h"
+#include "Matrix/MatrixDefaults.h"
 #include <cassert>
+#include <cstdint>
 #include <memory>
+#include <ostream>
 #include <sstream>
-#ifdef _WIN32   //needs to be before #include "bgtypes.h" or the #define BGFLOAT will cause problems
-   #include <windows.h>                    //warning! windows.h also defines BGFLOAT
-using uint64_t = unsigned long long int;   //included in inttypes.h, which is not available in WIN32
-#else
-   #include <inttypes.h>   //used for uint64_t, unavailable in WIN32
-#endif
-#include "BGTypes.h"
-   //#include "Norm.h"
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+//#include "Norm.h"
 #include "Coordinate.h"
 #include "VectorMatrix.h"
 #include "VertexType.h"
 
-using namespace std;
-
 // If defined, a table with time and each neuron voltage will output to stdout.
 //#define DUMP_VOLTAGES
 
@@ -84,12 +82,12 @@ extern const BGFLOAT pi;
 extern MTRand initRNG;
 
 // A normalized random number generator.
-extern unique_ptr<MTRand> noiseRNG;
+extern std::unique_ptr<MTRand> noiseRNG;
 
 // The current simulation step.
-extern uint64_t g_simulationStep;
+extern std::uint64_t g_simulationStep;
 
-const int g_nMaxChunkSize = 100;
+constexpr int g_nMaxChunkSize = 100;
 
 // Edge types.
 // NEURO:
@@ -127,27 +125,27 @@ inline std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &os, edgeType eT)
 }
 
 // The default time step size.
-#define DEFAULT_dt (1e-4)   // MODEL INDEPENDENT
+constexpr double DEFAULT_dt = 1e-4;   // MODEL INDEPENDENT
 // } NMV-END
 
 // Converts a 1-d index into a coordinate string.
-string index2dToString(int i, int width, int height);
+std::string index2dToString(int i, int width, int height);
 // Converts a 2-d coordinate into a string.
-string coordToString(int x, int y);
+std::string coordToString(int x, int y);
 // Converts a 3-d coordinate into a string.
-string coordToString(int x, int y, int z);
+std::string coordToString(int x, int y, int z);
 
-template <typename T> ostream &operator<<(ostream &os, const vector<T> &v)
+template <typename T> std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &os, const std::vector<T> &v)
 {
-   for (T element : v) {
+   for (const auto &element : v) {
       os << element << " ";
    }
    return os;
 }
 
-template <typename T> string vectorToXML(const vector<T> &v, const string &name)
+template <typename T> std::string vectorToXML(const std::vector<T> &v, const std::string &name)
 {
-   stringstream ss;
+   std::stringstream ss;
    ss << "   <Matrix name=\"" << name << "\">\n";
    ss << "   " << v << "\n";
    ss << "   </Matrix>";
@@ -155,11 +153,12 @@ template <typename T> string vectorToXML(const vector<T> &v, const string &name)
 }
 
 template <typename T>
-string vector2dToXML(const vector<T> &v, const string &name, const string &rowName)
+std::string vector2dToXML(const std::vector<T> &v, const std::string &name,
+                          const std::string &rowName)
 {
-   stringstream ss;
+   std::stringstream ss;
    ss << "   <Matrix name=\"" << name << "\">\n";
-   for (int i = 0; i < v.size(); ++i) {
+   for (size_t i = 0; i < v.size(); ++i) {
       if (v[i].empty()) {
          continue;
       }   // No log to print
@@ -186,54 +185,3 @@ extern double t_gpu_calcSummation;
 
 void printPerformanceMetrics(const float total_time, int steps);
 #endif   // PERFORMANCE_METRICS
-
-// TODO comment
-extern const string MATRIX_TYPE;
-// TODO comment
-extern const string MATRIX_INIT;
-
-/*****************************************************************************/
-/* Structures to hold the GraphML properties                                 */
-/*****************************************************************************/
-// We are using the Boost Graph Library (BGL) to load the simulator's initial
-// graph. BGL needs to associate the GraphML properties, we do that by
-// registering them before loading the graph.
-// The following structures are used to register those properties with the
-// GraphManager class, which is just a wrapper around BGL. The corresponding
-// classes (Layout, Connections, etc) need to do this before we can load the
-// graph.
-
-/// @brief Parent structure to store common properties for all graph vertices
-struct VertexProperties {
-   string type;
-   double x;
-   double y;
-};
-
-/// @brief Derived structure for NG911-specific properties
-/// Inherits from VertexProperty and includes attributes specific to 911 networks
-struct NG911VertexProperties : public VertexProperties {
-   string objectID;
-   string name;
-   int servers = 0;
-   int trunks = 0;
-   string segments;
-};
-
-/// @brief Derived structure for Neural Network-specific properties
-struct NeuralVertexProperties : public VertexProperties {
-   bool active;
-};
-
-/// @brief The structure to hold the edge properties
-struct NeuralEdgeProperties {
-   int source;
-   int target;
-   double weight;
-};
-
-
-/// @brief The structure to hold the Graph properties
-struct GraphProperties {
-   // TODO: Graph Properties
-};
diff --git a/Simulator/Utils/GraphManager.h b/Simulator/Utils/GraphManager.h
index 6430d87ef..09e6f1399 100644
--- a/Simulator/Utils/GraphManager.h
+++ b/Simulator/Utils/GraphManager.h
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@
  *   - The entire GraphManager class is included in the header file to ensure that  
  *     the templated class can be compiled without requiring separate declarations.  
  *
- * The structures for `VertexProperties`, `EdgeProperties`, and `GraphProperties` 
- * are declared in `Global.h`.
+ * The structures for `VertexProperties`, `NeuralEdgeProperties`, and
+ * `GraphProperties` are declared in `GraphProperties.h`.
  * 
  * This class follows the Singleton design pattern, ensuring a single instance 
  * is used throughout the simulation for consistent graph management.
@@ -39,10 +39,13 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#include "Global.h"
+#include "GraphProperties.h"
 #include "ParameterManager.h"
 #include <boost/graph/adjacency_list.hpp>
 #include <boost/graph/graphml.hpp>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <iostream>
+#include <list>
 #include <string>
 #include <utility>
 
diff --git a/Simulator/Utils/GraphProperties.h b/Simulator/Utils/GraphProperties.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..861f245b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Simulator/Utils/GraphProperties.h
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+
+/// @brief Parent structure to store common properties for all graph vertices
+struct VertexProperties {
+   std::string type;
+   double x = 0.0;
+   double y = 0.0;
+};
+
+/// @brief Derived structure for NG911-specific properties
+/// Inherits from VertexProperty and includes attributes specific to 911 networks
+struct NG911VertexProperties : public VertexProperties {
+   std::string objectID;
+   std::string name;
+   int servers = 0;
+   int trunks = 0;
+   std::string segments;
+};
+
+/// @brief Derived structure for Neural Network-specific properties
+struct NeuralVertexProperties : public VertexProperties {
+   bool active = false;
+};
+
+/// @brief The structure to hold the edge properties
+struct NeuralEdgeProperties {
+   int source = 0;
+   int target = 0;
+   double weight = 0.0;
+};
+
+/// @brief The structure to hold the Graph properties
+struct GraphProperties {
+   // TODO: Graph Properties
+};
diff --git a/Simulator/Utils/Matrix/MatrixDefaults.h b/Simulator/Utils/Matrix/MatrixDefaults.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..488ddb995
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Simulator/Utils/Matrix/MatrixDefaults.h
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+#pragma once
+
+// Default matrix implementation and initialization mode used across simulator modules.
+const char MATRIX_TYPE[] = "complete";
+const char MATRIX_INIT[] = "const";