Registration and Networking
8:00 am - 8:30 am
SERC Research Review 2025
Nov 20, 2025 Washington, DC, United States
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The 17th SERC annual events will take place on November 19-20 at the historic National Press Club in Washington, DC. This two-day gathering of academic experts, sponsors from the Department of Defense, and industry innovators will showcase funded SERC research projects and foster vigorous discussions on trends in systems engineering.
The events will start on November 19 with the 13th annual SERC Doctoral Student Forum (SDSF), where students from SERC collaborating universities will present in competition for the Dr. Barry Boehm Award for Doctoral Student Research Excellence.
The following day, during the SERC Research Review, researchers from the SERC university network will present their projects across four focus areas: Trusted Systems, Digital and Data-Driven Systems, Enterprises and SoS, and Human Capital Development. The review will also celebrate the next recipient of the annual Founders Award.
For questions, contact SERC Communications Manager Alan Skontra.
Venue and Lodging
The SERC Research Review will take place at the National Press Club, located at 529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045. There will be directional signage in the lobby directing you to the 13th floor.
A room block has been arranged at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, located at 1000 H Street NW Washington, DC 20001. The block rate will remain until November 3, unless all rooms are booked sooner.
Executive Insights
Mr. Kraig Conrad
Chief Executive Officer, National Contract Management Association
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Dr. Laura Freeman
Deputy Director, Virginia Tech National Security Institute
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Mr. Tom Steffens
Former Deputy Chief Financial Officer, United States Department of Defense
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Dr. Dinesh Verma
Executive Director, SERC and the Acquisition Innovation Research Center
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Agenda: Thursday, November 20
Welcome and Opening Remarks
8:30 am - 8:50 am
Location: Ballroom
Speaker:
- Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, Systems Engineering Research Center
Executive Insights
8:50 am - 10:10 am
Location: Ballroom
Speakers:
- Mr. Kraig Conrad, Chief Executive Officer, National Contract Management Association
- Dr. Laura Freeman, Deputy Director, Virginia Tech National Security Institute
- Mr. Tom Steffens, Former Deputy Chief Financial Officer, United States Department of Defense
- Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, Systems Engineering Research Center
Networking Break
10:10 am - 10:30 am
Enterprises and SoS
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Ballroom
Presenters:
- 10:30 am | Ms. Phil Zimmerman, Stevens Institute of Technology
WRT-1086 & WRT-2405: Digital Materiel Management - 11:00 am | Dr. Ali Raz, George Mason University
WRT-2504: DoD Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems Revision - 11:30 am | Dr. Bryan Mesmer, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
WRT-1078: Improving and Assessing Architectures and Architecture Decision Making
Workforce Development
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Location: First Amendment Room
Presenters:
- 10:30 am | Mr. Tom McDermott, Stevens Institute of Technology; Dr. Nicole Hutchison, Virginia Tech
HELIX Employability Skills in Undergraduate Education (DCTC Experience) - 11:00 am | Mr. Tom McDermott, Stevens Institute of Technology
WRT-1082 The Future of Managing Megaprojects - 11:30 am | Dr. Mark Blackburn, Stevens Institute of Technology
Handbook on Digital Engineering with Ontologies
Lunch
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Digital and Data-Driven Systems 1
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: Ballroom
Presenters:
- 1:00 pm | Mr. Tom McDermott, Stevens Institute of Technology; Dr. Valerie Sitterle, Stevens Institute of Technology
WRT-1089: Department of the Air Force (DAF) Digital Materiel Management (DMM) – Standards to Structure and Secure Data
WRT-2510: DAF DMM Data-Driven Methods, Policies and Solution Architectures
- 1:30 pm | Dr. Mark Blackburn, Stevens Institute of Technology
WRT-1084: Roadmapping a Framework of Computationally Enabled Ontologies for Digital Engineering - 2:00 pm | Dr. Paul Wach, Virginia Tech
WRT-2406: Optimized Portfolio Digital Engineering Transformation
Trusted Systems 1
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: First Amendment Room
Presenters:
- 1:00 pm | Dr. Barry Ezell, Old Dominion University
WRT-2403 & WRT-2506: Spectrum Advanced Training Technology Laboratory (SATTL) - 1:30 pm | Dr. Peter Beling, University of Virginia
WRT-1085: Trusted AI SE Challenge - 2:00 pm | Dr. Zoe Szajnfarber, SERC Chief Scientist and Research Council Chair; Professor and Faculty Director, GW Trustworthy AI Initiative
Insights from AI4SE & SE4AI 2025
Networking Break
2:30 pm - 2:50 pm
Digital and Data-Driven Systems 2
2:50 pm - 3:40 pm
Location: Ballroom
Presenters:
- 2:50 pm | Dr. Mark Blackburn, Stevens Institute of Technology
WRT-2502: Systems Engineering Transformation Through Digital Engineering - 3:10 pm | Dr. Michael Orosz, University of Southern California
WRT-1069: Space Systems Command Military Communications & Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Directorate (SSC/CG) – Mission Engineering and Integration of Emerging Technologies (SSC_CG_SYSENG)
Trusted Systems 2
2:50 pm - 3:40 pm
Location: First Amendment Room
Presenters:
- 2:50 pm | Ms. Emma Meno, Virginia Tech
WRT-2402: Framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Resilience Through Evaluation of Systems and Technology (FAIREST) - 3:10 pm | Dr. Sachin Shetty, Old Dominion University; Dr. Peter Beling, University of Virginia; Mr. Tom McDermott, Stevens Institute of Technology
WRT-1087: Center for Offshore Wind Energy Cyber Vulnerabilities and Threat Identification
Closing Remarks
3:40 pm - 4:00 pm
Details
Event
SERC Research Review 2025
- Start Date
- November 20
- End Date
- November 20
- Event Link
- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/serc-annual-events-2025-tickets-1640745617309?aff=oddtdtcreator
Venue
National Press Club
- Address
-
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045 United States - Website
- https://www.press.org/
Organizer
Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC)
- serc@sercuarc.org
- Website
- http://www.sercuarc.org/