Dr. Paul Wach is an aspiring researcher, teacher, and leader in systems engineering. His research is motivated by the need to produce practical theory to serve as the scientific foundations for engineering systems within the evolving digital paradigm. He is a research assistant faculty with the Intelligent Systems Division of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. His interests include the intersection of theoretical foundations of systems engineering, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence. Prior to Virginia Tech, he was a lead for enterprise digital transformation with The Aerospace Corporation. Other work experience includes the Department of Energy, where he served in lead engineering and management roles ranging in magnitude from $1-12 billion, as well as experience with two National Laboratories and the medical industry, where he worked on cutting-edge technology such as an artificial kidney. He received a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Georgia Tech, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech.
Tell us about your current research – what excites you, what is challenging, and what impact are you motivated to achieve?
The current momentum of systems engineering is exciting. We are in a time when government, industry, academia, and professional societies, such as INCOSE, are seeing the need for and benefits of systems engineering. We have an opportunity to provide rigor beyond the heuristics that have typically governed our discipline. The fundamental transformation that we are in the midst of is enabled by digital means that will be enhanced through an underpinning of theoretical foundations that systems engineering has been lacking. However, the number one challenge is still cultural. This drives a motivation for me to be a forever learner, teacher, and mentor, which is my impact.
As a researcher, what has been your experience of collaborating with colleagues across the SERC network?
The SERC network is awesome. Systems engineering is my intellectual home. The SERC community provides both reassurance and healthy debate. The two SERC researchers, outside of Virginia Tech, who I have interacted with the most are Jitesh Panchal, from Purdue, and Nicole Hutchison, from Stevens Institute of Technology. Jitesh has been great to work with on the topic of systems engineering for artificial intelligence (SE4AI). We make time for good laughs in between the research. Nicole has been leading a project on digital engineering that I am a part of. We are completing the project in May. Our last in-person research meeting concluded on April 19. Speaking of laughter, people sitting outside our conference room kept asking if we were actually working because of all the laughter emanating from the room. And yes, in case you were wondering, we did accomplish our work. We simply choose to conduct our research with cheer.
Who most inspired you in your career, and what did you learn from them?
An abundance of high-quality mentors throughout my life inspires me to be the best version of myself. Although there are many examples, the first is my father. He is a retired research fellow from one of the National Laboratories and always encouraged me to look deeper. Second would be Drs. David and Jennifer Pollock. The Pollocks and their lab groups taught me that research is more than just science, it is community building. Those that know me would be baffled if I did not list my third set, which is A. Wayne Wymore and those who are a part of his intellectual lineage. I read Wymore’s MBSE book, for the first time, on a flight to and from New Mexico and Washington, DC. The book is astonishing and has influenced me since. Credit goes to Alejandro Salado, my doctoral chair, for giving me Wymore’s book and pushing me to build on it. Others in the Wymorian lineage include Bernie Zeigler, who wrote the Theory of Modeling & Simulation, and Tuncer Oren, who was a student of Wymore’s. A quote from Tuncer that I will carry with me is, “When you are ready to walk ahead of others, you should not be amazed to notice that nobody is following you immediately; it may take some time for your message to be appreciated!”
Please give the SERC network a recommendation for an interesting book, film, podcast, or article you’ve recently enjoyed.
My answer may seem divergent; however, this comes from having a naturally divergent, systems being. At any given time, I am usually reading between five to ten books with varied subjects from history, science, fiction, self-development, or religion. A history book that comes to mind is The Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes. A fascinating item was that scientists believed that their work was part of a pursuit to know God. A scientific book that is sitting on my shelf to read soon is So Simple a Beginning: How Four Physical Principles Shape Our Living World, by Raghuveer Parthasarathy. From the little that I have glanced through, it seems to be a book that reaffirms the principles of general systems theory. For fiction, I gravitate to science-fiction. Dennis E. Taylor, the Bobiverse series, and Andy Weir, The Martian, are two of my favorite authors. The Expanse book (and TV) series is also good. For self-development, Malcom Gladwell’s book Blink is a good reminder to look beyond our initial judgements. For religion, my suggested read is both religious and self-development. The author Bob Schuchts writes books, such as Be Healed, that provide depth that you do not have to be Catholic to know the value of. To quote St. Ignatius of Loyola, “There are very few people who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves into His hands, and let themselves be formed by His grace.” Experiences, such as reading, have taught me freedom from the illusion of control.
What do you look forward to about the future of systems engineering?
Impact. Recognition, for systems engineering, was my snap-judgement answer. Impact is my answer. Those who do not care about recognition can accomplish great things through the recognition of others. We are at a point when we can show the world the value of systems engineering and achieve true impact. Systems engineering is acknowledged to have stemmed from the aerospace and defense industry. However, we are seeing systems engineering growth in other domains, such as healthcare. With systems engineering being transdisciplinary by nature, we should expect to see a fruitful progression in the coming years. My part of the future is through growing the knowledge community that invests in the advancement of theoretical foundations for systems engineering. After we bridge theory and practice, the impact will truly arrive.
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