Dr. Cesare Guariniello is a research scientist in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. His research ranges from system-of-systems design and architecting to space applications, cybersecurity, and defense, including projects with NASA, the Department of Defense, the US Navy, and MITRE. His recent contributions to SERC research include Policy Innovations to Enhance the STEM Talent Pipeline, Digital Engineering Transformation at JPEO-CBRND (Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense) and Approaches to Achieve Benefits of Modularity in Defense Acquisition. A native of Italy, Guariniello graduated from Sapienza Università di Roma and earned his graduate and doctoral degrees from Purdue.
Tell us about your current research – what excites you, what is challenging, and what impact are you motivated to achieve?
I find it very exciting to be able to perform research at the leading edge of technology and science. I am currently involved in projects about Model-Based Systems Engineering, autonomous passenger-carrying drones, STEM education, hypersonic vehicles, quantum physics-based communication, and, of course, analysis of various aspects of human space exploration. A variety of research projects is for sure one of the most exciting aspects, which also supports my biggest motivation for doing research: I always received plenty of support from family, friends, teachers, and colleagues, who let me follow and cultivate my interests. Now, my current research offers me the chance to give back with a two–fold impact. First, I am glad to provide my little contribution to the advancement of scientific and technological knowledge, especially when I participate in projects which have the potential to impact and improve the daily lives of a large number of people. Second, I am motivated to provide my coworkers and the students that I lead and manage in research projects with the same support and help that I always received.
As a SERC researcher, what has been your experience of collaborating with colleagues across the SERC network?
SERC has been part of my whole PhD and post-PhD professional career to date. As a student who just moved to the USA, being involved in SERC has been a pleasant and helpful experience. In the beginning, it was just collaboration with other SERC students at Purdue University, but soon I began being involved with the whole vibrant SERC community, meeting other researchers and sponsors, and little by little learning more and more about the whole SERC world. This gave me the opportunity to meet and befriend many colleagues, which led not only to a fruitful exchange of ideas, but also to cheerful times at conferences. I find it very enjoyable to attend conferences where, sometimes unexpectedly, I meet SERC researchers who I became acquainted with more than ten years ago, and to give each other updates over a good meal or during a break. I think SERC has always done a good job, even when the size of this UARC became larger, to make all SERC researchers develop a strong feeling of belonging.
Who most inspired you in your career, and what did you learn from them?
Rather than a single figure, what comes to my mind is a list of various teachers and professors, beginning back in elementary school and throughout my education. These teachers and professors that come to my mind are those who fueled and nurtured my natural curiosity and desire to learn and showed me not only how to pursue my career goals, but also how to become a better individual. From them, I learned how to never stop setting new goals and looking for new challenges, how to keep my enthusiasm about learning, and how to lead by example.
Please give the SERC network a recommendation for an interesting book, film, podcast, or article you’ve come across.
I would like to suggest two books, both also featured in a movie and a TV series. The first one, not very surprisingly, is The Martian, by Andy Weir, self-published in 2011 and then published by Crown in 2014 (the movie based on the novel has the same title). Not only does it attract me when I wear my hat of a person interested in space exploration, but especially because – with a couple of small exceptions – it is accurate and scientifically sound. It also provides a good number of practical lessons to systems engineers: systems thinking, how to look at the big picture, collaboration of various stakeholders at different levels, problem-solving sequences with analysis and a break-down of each individual problem, decision-making on priorities, redundancy, and backup plans.
The second one, from my large collection of space and astronautics books, is Moon Lander, by Tom Kelly, Smithsonian Books, 2001 (some of the anecdotes and stories present in the book were also featured in episode five of the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, entitled “Spider”). The author was the chief engineer of the Grumman team that designed and developed the Apollo Lunar Module. The book explores first-hand the difficulties of meeting deadlines and, later, the elation of achieving success on a large technological feat that had never been achieved before: designing and building a spacecraft to be used only in outer space, at a company that had no expertise in the space domain.
Considering your interest and expertise in outer space, what do you look forward to about the future of systems engineering?
I am looking forward to seeing the value of systems engineering more acknowledged in large space systems, and to witnessing the accomplishment of more widespread connection between theoretical, qualitative, fundamental research products and practical applications. The size and complexity of space missions in the near and distant future will require appropriate use of systems engineering to achieve success, with high performance, low cost, and low risk.
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