Tom McDermott is a leader, educator, and innovator in multiple technology fields. He currently serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, as well as a consultant specializing in strategic planning for uncertain environments. He studies systems engineering, systems thinking, organizational dynamics, and the nature of complex human socio-technical systems. He teaches system architecture concepts, systems thinking and decision making, and the composite skills required at the intersection of leadership and engineering. He has over 30 years of background and experience in technical and management disciplines, including over 15 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology and 18 years with Lockheed Martin.
Tom’s professional accomplishments in this position come from a combination of servant leadership, systems thinking, and heuristic knowledge of complex system architectures. His long-term research goal is to develop methods and tools that support better systems thinking in the management and engineering domains and enable more rapid development of system knowledge. His current research activities focus on innovation models, strategic foresight techniques, system data analytics, and modeling and simulation of policy implications in current and future complex systems.
Tom is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, with degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering. He developed his career in the defense electronics industry, culminating in a leadership position with Lockheed Martin as Chief Engineer and Program Manager for the F-22 Raptor Avionics Team. Tom was GTRI Director of Research and interim Director from 2007-2013. During his tenure the impact of GTRI significantly expanded, research awards doubled to over $300M, faculty research positions increased by 60%, and the organization was recognized as one of Atlanta’s best places to work as well as one of the nation’s leaders in employee development. He also has a visiting appointment in the Georgia Tech Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Tom is one of the creators of Georgia Tech’s Professional Masters degree in Applied Systems Engineering and lead instructor of the “Leading Systems Engineering Teams” course.
- SERC-2018-TR-109-Enterprise System-of-Systems Model for Digital-Thread Enabled Acquisition
- SERC-2017-TR-113-Human Capital Development – Resilient Cyber Physical Systems
- SERC-2017-TR-113-Human Capital Development – Resilient Cyber Physical Systems Addendum
- SERC-2018-TR-105-New Project Incubator
- SERC-2019-TR-007-RT 204: Systemic Security and the Role of Heterarchical Design in Cyber-Physical System
- SERC-2019-TR-010-Meshing Capability and Threat-based Science and Technology (S&T) Resource Allocation
- SERC-2020-TR-002-Digital Engineering Metrics
- SERC-2020-SR-003-Summary Report: WRT-1001 Digital Engineering Metrics
- SERC-2020-TR-001-WRT 1002: Approaches to Achieve Benefits of Modularity in Defense Acquisition – Part 2
- SERC-2019-TR-017-2019 - New Project Incubator
- SERC-2020-TR-005-Methods to Evaluate Cost/Technical Risk and Opportunity Decisions for Security Assurance in Design
- SERC-SR-2020-004-Concept of Operations (CONOPS) Exploiting Cyber Vulnerabilities of Oil and Gas Pipelines Building the Systems Assurance Framework
- SERC-2021-TR-016-WRT-1033: Transitioning Mission Aware Concepts and Methods to Evaluate Cost/Risk Decisions for Security
- SERC-2021-TR-024-WRT-1040 Application of Digital Engineering Measures
- SERC-2022-TR-003-WRT-1043: DAU Digital Simulations (Base Year)
- SERC-2023-TR-007-WRT-1043: DAU Digital Engineering Simulation (Option Year 1)
- SERC-2024-TR-004-WRT-1043: DAU Digital Engineering Simulation Option Year 2
- SERC-2022-TR-009-WRT-1051: Program Managers Guide to Digital and Agile Systems Engineering Process Transformation
- SERC-2023-TR-002-WRT-1058: Systems Engineering Modernization Policy, Practice, and Workforce Roadmaps
Lead Author
- Poster - RT 182: Enterprise Systems-of-Systems Model for Digital Thread Enabled Acquisition
- Poster - RT 175: Human Capital Development – Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems
- Presentation - SERC Workshops
- Presentation - Enterprise Systems-of-Systems Model for Digital Thread Enabled Acquisition
- Presentation - AI4SE 2021: "Digital Engineering and AI –Transformation of Systems Engineering"
- Presentation - SSRR 2021 "WRT-1040 | Application of Digital Engineering Measures"
- Presentation - SSRR 2021 "WRT-1033 | Transitioning Mission Aware Concepts and Methods to Evaluate Cost Risk Decisions for Security Assurance Design"
- Presentation - WRT-1051 & WRT-1058: Systems Engineering Modernization Policy, Practice, and Workforce Roadmaps
- Presentation - ARR 2022 | WRT-1040: Application of Digital Engineering Measures
- Presentation - AI4SE 2023: SERC Perspectives
- Presentation - Virtual AI4SE 2023: SE in the Era of Human-Machine Teaming Roadmap for AI and SE
- Workshop Report - Cyber Resilient Weapon Systems Workshop #6 – Preparing the Engineering Workforce for Cybersecurity Challenges
- Workshop Report - 2023 "Agile Development of Hardware-Reliant Systems" Research Workshop Report
- Other - Research Transition Report 2017 “Transitioning research into practice – crossing boundaries through integrative collaboration”
- Other - [AGENDA] Model Based System Assurance: Enabled By Digital Engineering
- Other - [FLYER] Model Based System Assurance: Enabled by Digital Engineering
- Other - AIRC Perspectives: Managing Portfolios in an Environment of Dynamic Requirements and Uncertainty
Co-Author
- Digital Engineering Measures
- Human Capital Development – Resilient Cyber Physical Systems
- New Project Incubator 2017-2018
- Systemic Security and the Role of Heterarchical Design in Cyber-Physical Systems
- Meshing Capability and Threat-based Science and Technology (S&T) Resource Allocation
- Approaches to Achieve Modularity Benefits in the Acquisition Ecosystem
- New Project Incubator 2019-2020
- Methods to Evaluate Cost/Technical Risk and Opportunity Decisions for Security Assurance in Design
- Transitioning Mission Aware Concepts and Methods to Evaluate Cost/Risk Decisions for Security
- DAU – Digital Engineering Simulation
- Enablers to Systems Engineering Modernization