News

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics named SERC Chief Scientist Dr. Dan DeLaurentis as one of 28 Fellows in its Class of 2023. DeLaurentis will receive his honors in May during a gala at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Dr. Beling of Virginia Tech and the SERC Research Council shared thoughts on his research into AI and cyber resilience, collaborating with the SERC network, his mentor Dr. Barry Horowitz, and what interests him about the future of systems engineering.

Building on previous research, Dr. Payuna Uday is leading a SERC team to develop a pilot framework for a collaborative STEM ecosystem to advance technical skills in the workforce of the Department of Defense and defense industrial base.

At the international Conference on Systems Engineering Research, SERC researchers shared insights for developing curriculum that supports the defense workforce as it adopts digital transformation.

In developing test and evaluation processes to improve resilience against cyberattacks, Dr. Peter Beling of Virginia Tech mapped out the FOREST (Framework for Operational Resilience in Engineering and Systems Test) that incorporates TREEs (Testable Resilience Efficacy Elements).

At the 20th annual international Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER), SERC experts contributed papers, served as session chairs, hosted workshops, met new colleagues and guided discussions that will continue to shape the field.

During a presentation for NDIA, SERC CTO Tom McDermott shared insights regarding the technology of digital engineering and its value. This video showcases a number of projects the SERC has performed to advance the Digital Engineering Strategy within the United States Department of Defense.

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

As a professor and researcher at Purdue University, Dr. Jitesh Panchal explores design at the interface of social and physical phenomena, computational methods and tools for digital engineering, and secure design and manufacturing.

Twenty years ago, the first CSER planted seeds that led to the Systems Engineering Research Center. With the next gathering in March at Stevens Institute of Technology, Dr. Dinesh Verma and Dr. Azad Madni give a thoughtful retrospective and an encouraging look ahead.

Dr. Bryan Mesmer’s research for the U.S. Army is developing processes for decision-making that will serve stakeholders decades into the future.

Dr. Mark Blackburn is leading SERC research to support the United States Space Force in building a digital engineering ecosystem that enables getting data and model transformation into everyday processes, driving all daily workflows from a unified and authoritative source of truth (#ASOT).

Summary report provides an overview of the third annual gathering of
subject matter experts in government, industry and academia working on artificial
intelligence (AI) for systems engineering (SE) and SE4AI

Dr. Mark Blackburn and team have developed a framework and architecture to better define the environment and requirements for digital engineering, resulting in the Armaments Interoperability and Integration Framework (IoIF).

SERC is among four leading research centers that have joined to launch the Archimedes Initiative, which aims to accelerate collaboration and innovation in global systems engineering.

The SERC is helping shape the Digital Engineering Body of Knowledge (DEBoK) as a valuable resource for the DoD Digital Engineering Strategy.

The National Academy of Engineering recognized Dr. Azad Madni of the SERC Research Council with the 2023 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education.

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

During the Annual Research Review, SERC experts presented a broad range of research that applies systems engineering to advance priorities within the Department of Defense and the defense industry.

The SERC is celebrating the work of Dr. Paul Collopy, a researcher, and Research Council member from the University of Alabama Huntsville. Paul’s many contributions to systems engineering have helped evolve the discipline. His impacts on the people who have had the pleasure of working with him have been equally critical.

This year’s first ever Dr. Barry Boehm Award for Doctoral Student Research Excellence was presented to Mr. Daniel Herrington, who is a Doctoral candidate in the Systems Engineering Department at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Launched in October of 2022, Dr. Peter Beling (Virginia Tech) serves as Principal Investigator, along with Mr. Tom McDermott, Co-Principal Investigator, (Stevens Institute of Technology) on the research study entitled “Measurable Requirements for Operational Resilience”.

Convening 16 March 2023 at Stevens Institute of Technology, the Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER) is framing a perspective that looks across systems engineering as it is widely known to encompass the broader transdisciplinary perspective of ‘engineering systems’, which include non-engineering disciplines and factor in uncertainty and complexity more heavily.

Dr. Brendan Englot, Associate Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology, is working with U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center to develop a coordinated team of intelligent unmanned ground vehicles capable of producing LIDAR-based mapping in GPS denied environments.

The SERC was honored to be an elite sponsor of the 25th annual NDIA Systems and Mission Engineering Conference, a three-day gathering of industry, government, and academia.

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

Researchers from the SERC and AIRC will present research methods, processes, and tools in areas of enterprises and innovation, models and data, human capital development, and digital transformation and their applications to the defense acquisition ecosystem.

The research carried out by SERC and AIRC provides analytic perspectives on the barriers, challenges, and solutions present in the DoD ecosystem. The thought leadership in these areas is matched with specific research tasks that propose solutions, methods, processes, and tools to overcome those challenges.

Dr. William B. Rouse, SERC Research Council Member and Research Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, joins the National Academy’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Committee on Emerging Trends in Aviation Safety.

Conference organizers Dr. Steven Hoffenson and Dr. Lu Xiao of the School of Systems & Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology announce keynote speakers for the Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER) taking place March 16-17, 2023.

The SERC is a leading sponsor of the 25th Annual Systems and Mission Engineering Conference of the National Defense Industrial Association. SERC experts will present on mission engineering, digital transformation, digital threads and more.

Acquisition program managers face process changes calling for more rapid deployment of capabilities, better weapon system portfolio management, and efficiencies created through digital transformation. SERC researchers examined the need to modernize systems engineering applications despite organizational challenges.

This special issue was focused on the unique abilities of systems engineers, and SERC Researchers Tom McDermott and Nicole Hutchison served as the guest editors. Read how systems engineers inform a world that needs skills in leadership, systems thinking, innovation, and design.

SERC researchers, government experts and industry innovators met for the third annual AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop, a two-day event co-hosted by the U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center Systems Engineering Directorate.

The Directorate of Integration of the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CBRND) is currently moving toward adopting digital engineering (DE) into its acquisition processes to enhance appropriate acquisition decision making.

Digital transformation is fundamentally changing the way acquisition and engineering are performed across a wide range of government agencies, industries, and academia. Digital transformation is characterized by the integration of digital technology into all areas of an enterprise, fundamentally changing operations and how results are delivered.

“What we see in both software development and military operations is a tendency for the pendulum to swing back and forth between extremes. Yet in most cases, we need a balance between armor and discipline and between mobility and agility.” In DeMarco and Barry Boehm, ‘The agile methods fray.’

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

There are multiple factors that influence whether a young person develops as a STEM capable student in K-12, pursues a STEM degree in higher education, or follows a career path requiring STEM skills.

The Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), a University Affiliated Research Center of the US Department of Defense, is now accepting submissions for doctoral students to present at the 10th Annual SERC Doctoral Student Forum.

A new SERC study devised policy options that promote DoD-defense industry collaboration in STEM education and workforce development. The research is motivated by the goals of creating a technical workforce to meet defense missions, supporting educational opportunities for defense personnel, and increasing educational opportunities for veterans and military dependents.

Every year many SERC researchers present their projects at the INCOSE International Symposium. In addition to the many papers and panels by SERC researchers, the SERC had a presence in the Exhibit Hall throughout the IS2022.

As the world becomes more interconnected, changes to environmental, political and socioeconomic interdependencies are becoming increasingly complex. The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) released its Systems Engineering Vision 2035 earlier this year.

The SERC congratulates Dr. Madni on his most recent distinctions: the IISE Fellow Award and the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society Industrial Innovation Award, and his appointment as University Professor by USC.

SERC initiated a two-year study focused on modeling economic incentives within the STEM education ecosystem and the impact of policy innovations on the STEM pipeline, as well as evidence-based assessments of STEM engagement on the part of students.

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

The Systems Engineering (SE) Modernization Lifecycle is still a work in progress, and the team will continue to iterate based on further research and engagement with the defense acquisition and SE communities.

Dr. Mesmer reviews the initial research that provides the groundwork to construct argumentation models based on the Toulmin’s theory and the steps to develop a practical tool for managing systems validation arguments.

The Capstone Marketplace is a resource for university educators seeking unique capstone design topics for their students. Participation in the CM is open to all U.S. universities with accredited engineering programs.

In addition to helping stand up the SERC in 2008, throughout his career Dr. Art Pyster has played leading technical, management, and executive roles in the sectors of education, telecommunications, aerospace, defense, air traffic control, and computing.

Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM) announces the release of the Digital Engineering (DE) Measurement Framework, jointly published by the SERC, PSM, INCOSE, NDIA, AIA and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)).

Led by Dr. Michael Orosz at USC/ISI, the SERC team is looking at how mission engineering approaches support the transition from “traditional” waterfall acquisition to a more agile approach that utilizes DevSecOps processes.

SERC Updates provides a bi-monthly highlight of research projects from across the SERC network of collaborators, recent news from the SERC community, links to popular events such as the SERC Talks, reading lists, job opportunities and much more.

The SERC is pleased to welcome three new members of the Research Council: Amanda Girth, Larry Head and Steven Schooner. These members are subject matter experts in their respective areas of research and their guidance will lead to further interdisciplinary advances…

Workforce trends will demand employees to have the competencies to collaborate effectively in the digital environment, and for employers to understand and respond to the factors that influence employee satisfaction.

SERC research at USC focused on building a digital testbed to support the adoption and implementation of MBSE as aligned with DoD strategy. The objective was to provide a holistic environment that supports the full lifecycle of an engineered system.

The Cyber Resilient Weapon Systems Body of Knowledge provides resources to protect system elements through cyber resilient engineering organized under topic areas that include technology, data and information, mission and system function.

Learn more about the Ecology-Inspired Techniques for Resilient Design of Systems of Systems (SoS) research project which set out to determine if a biological ecosystem-inspired approach to the evaluation of engineered systems could identify optimally resilient designs.

SERC UPDATES | FEBRUARY 2022 – A digest of the most recent news items and research updates related to the Systems Engineering Research Center.

The U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center Systems Engineering Directorate and the Systems Engineering Research Center jointly sponsored the second Artificial Intelligence for Systems Engineering/Systems Engineering for Artificial Intelligence (AI4SE/SE4AI) workshop on October 20-21, 2021. The workshop report is now available, detailing the in-depth exchange among and contributions by representatives of Government, Academia and Industry participants.

Marilee Wheaton, SERC Doctoral Fellow, was sworn in as President of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) at the 2022 International Workshop in January after serving the last two-years as President-Elect of INCOSE.

Aligned with DoD’s Digital Engineering Strategy, US Navy’s Military Sealift Command is deploying digital engineering within their ship maintenance division. SERC PI Dr. Sam Kovacic, Old Dominion University, and team are developing a digital twin (DT) to support this transition. Linkages between the DT and the ship in its environment enable responsive maintenance under variable conditions.

SERC ART-005 research team released Technical Report SERC-2022-TR-001 titled “Methods for Integrating Dynamic Requirements” on February 4, 2022. Questions may be addressed to Principal Investigator Dr. William B. Rouse, Georgetown University.

Dr. Dan DeLaurentis, SERC Chief Scientist, Director of i-GSDI & Prof. of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, joins the Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue as a Senior Fellow, bringing his expertise to a strategic initiative where diplomacy, technology and U.S. foreign policy intersect.

Dr. Paul Grogan, Stevens Institute of Technology, is working with earth scientists & engineers to balance demands of secure information exchange with usability challenges.

Computation innovators, do you get a kick out of digital modernization, moving, integrating and analyzing big data? There is still time to enter the second heat of the Defense Data Grand Prix. Competition winners can earn $10K – 40K for their solutions to real world defense challenges.

SERC researcher and Virginia Tech Doctoral student Kaitlin Henderson is conducting a research study with co-PI Alejandro Salado on organizational adoption of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) as part of her dissertation work.

SERC UPDATES | DECEMBER 2021 – A digest of the most recent news items and research updates related to the Systems Engineering Research Center. Happy Holidays!

The 9th Annual SERC Doctoral Students Forum (SDSF) took place on November 4, beginning with two tutorials led by SERC Research Council members. SERC Doctoral Fellows and students presented their latest research from across the SERC network. Read more about the highlights from throughout day.

A new report titled “Infrastructure Architecture Framework: A multi-sector approach to enterprise systems engineering and management” was released jointly by the New York Academy of Sciences, United Engineering Foundation, and Mott MacDonald.

SERC Investigator Dr. Peter Beling (Virginia Tech) leads research exploring operational resilience – the ability of systems to resist, absorb, and recover from or adapt to an adverse occurrence. A primary outcome of this work is a framework for determining requirements for resilience and associated test metrics.

Professor Azad Madni was invited to participate an Insights Session, focused on better understanding the nature of systems engineering, what distinguishes it from other engineering disciplines, and the principles and heuristics that underlie it.

The National Defense Industrial Association conducted its annual Systems & Mission Engineering conference 6-8 December 2021. This virtual conference focused on systems and mission engineering transformation and modernization. The program included prominent keynotes from the Department of Defense and defense industrial base, panels, and a broad selection of speakers. Many SERC projects and researchers will be featured in the program.

November 3 saw the completion of the 2021 SERC Sponsor Research Review (SSRR). The program focused on the key research results of the SERC in the last year. Read more about the highlights from the day.

The SERC would like to congratulate SERC Deputy Director Mr. Tom McDermott, who was an editor and author of the newly released “Systems Engineering and Artificial Intelligence”. This textbook presents a set of collected papers from three symposia on artificial intelligence and systems engineering that were hosted jointly by the SERC, the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).

Organizations are searching for guidance on measuring the value and benefits of DE and MBSE. For digital transformation to be successful, the systems engineering community needs a set of common guidance on what data to collect and what top-level measures can be used consistently across a variety of programs. SERC Researchers Tom McDermott and Alejandro Salado and PhD candidate Kaitlin Henderson are leading research focused on addressing that need.

The CRWS-BoK Portal provides research tools for science and technology (S&T) professionals who specialize in cyber resilient weapon systems. Engineers from the Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Government, industry, and academia will be able access this information to assist them in weapons systems and program development.

SERC UPDATES | OCTOBER 2021 – A digest of the most recent news items and research updates related to the Systems Engineering Research Center.

Congratulations to SERC Researchers Mr. Tom McDermott and Ms. Molly Nadolski, Stevens Institute of Technology, who have just published an article in INCOSE’s INSIGHT Practitioners Magazine.

Join the SERC in congratulating Dr. Azad Madni’s recent election to the National Academy of Engineering

To explore some of the persistent issues impacting STEM education and career choices, the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) has launched new research that will help to shape the STEM pipeline in the United States. Led by SERC/AIRC (Acquisition Innovation Research Center) Fellows Dr. Ruth David and Mr. Jeff Wilcox, this research task will focus on developing collaborative DoD-industry activities that will: create a technical workforce able to receive the security clearance needed to meet defense missions; support educational opportunities for defense sector personnel in both government and industry; and increase educational opportunities for veterans and military dependents.

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)) has created a series of related tasks in response to Congressional requirements to study and develop policy options and recommendations on how the Department of Defense (DoD) can use agile program and project management concepts in non-software acquisition programs. As part of this effort, Drs. Gregg Vesonder and Nicole Hutchison are leading the development of a report that describes the history of agile processes as viewed by multiple disciplines and industries that documents the agile journey-related experiences of organizations.

The SERC is pleased to announce the addition of three new members to its Research Council.

For more than 10 years, the Annual SERC Sponsored Research Review (SSRR) has united all sectors of the systems engineering and acquisition research communities – government, industry, and academia – to share progress on research that addresses challenging issues facing the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal departments and agencies. This year’s SSRR will be a three-day hybrid event, held November 2-4. For the first time ever, SERC will also offer attendees free tutorials in the morning of November 4 focused on digital engineering and security engineering.

SERC UPDATES | AUGUST 2021 – A digest of the most recent news items and research updates related to the Systems Engineering Research Center.

On May 28, 2021, the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) awarded the research task “WRT-1043: DAU – Digital Engineering Simulation” to the Systems Engineering Research Center. This is a brand new, year-long effort with potential for two additional years led by Principal Investigator Dr. Nicole Hutchison, Stevens Institute of Technology, alongside co-Principal Investigators Dr. Dinesh Verma, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Dr. Peter Beling, Virginia Tech.

Research task ‘ART-20: Quantum Technologies for Armament Systems’ kicked off on June 30, 2021, with Principal Investigator Dr. Yuping Huang, Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens), leading his current team of 14 Co-Principal Investigators. This task is slated to be a two-year effort with room to double the team of researchers. The task contains seven main tasks in support of the research and development objectives in areas of quantum photonics and related technologies at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center.

Providing access to the latest OUSD(R&E) Digital Engineering Working Group Newsletter – July 2021.

Each year, the International Council on Systems Engineering selects a Best Paper award from among the papers published the previous year in Systems Engineering. The Editorial Board considers the papers in this virtual issue to be among the best from those published in 2020. This issue includes insight into the latest research and developments in systems engineering.

The fifth year of SERC Talks begins on August 18, 2021, focused on the theme Test and Evaluation with “What Does Test & Evaluation Mean in a Digital Engineering Enabled World?” presented by Darryl Ahner, Director of Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques in Test & Evaluation Center of Excellence and Interim Dean for Research at U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology. The webinar marks the first of three that will focus on Test and Evaluation throughout the remainder of 2021.

Join the SERC in congratulating Dr. Azad Madni as the second recipient of the INCOSE Benefactor Award. The Benefactor Award recognizes an individual member, who by their actions and personal generosity has contributed uniquely to the enhanced reputation and recognition of systems engineering in society-at-large, and directly to the advancement and betterment of INCOSE.

The SERC received two awards at the 31st Annual INCOSE International Symposium, held online this year from July 17-22: the Best Theme Editors Award and the Best Article Award. The awards recognized the SERC’s curation of and contributions to the March 2020 issue of INSIGHT, the International Council of Systems Engineering’s (INCOSE) magazine, themed AI and Systems Engineering and featuring exclusively content from SERC-affiliated contributors.

SERC UPDATES | JUNE 2021 – A digest of the most recent news items and research updates related to the Systems Engineering Research Center.

On May 28, 2021, the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) awarded the research task “WRT-1043: DAU – Digital Engineering Simulation” to the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC). This is a brand new, year-long effort with potential for two additional years led by Principal Investigator Dr. Nicole Hutchison, Stevens Institute of Technology, alongside co-Principal Investigators Dr. Dinesh Verma, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Dr. Peter Beling, Virginia Tech.

On May 11-13th, 2021, the 18th Annual Acquisition Research Symposium was held, providing a virtual forum to present scholarly acquisition research, as well as for dialogue between scholars and acquisition policy-makers and practitioners. Research papers and presentations were given on recently completed and on-going Department of Defense and US Navy (DoD/DON)-sponsored projects at a variety of research institutions across the United States.

Christina L. Carmen, PhD, of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), served as faculty advisor to a multidisciplinary team of Undergraduate (UG) engineering students that completed a project sponsored by the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). The project was part of the students’ Capstone experience and provided the Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG) a solution to a mission-focused problem: how to maximize the use and organization of the interior space of its SEAL Delivery Vehicle Dry Combat Submersible (DCS). The students involved were: Nadia Alexander (Team Lead); Jay Hayman (Manufacturing Lead); Philip Tegan Ruffalo (CAD Lead); Nicholas Shelton (Team Liaison and Test/Product Analysis Lead); Kayli Wood (Cost Lead); and Christopher Smith (Research Lead).

On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) conducted an online workshop focused on their Integrated Architecture Framework. Tom McDermott, Deputy Director of SERC, and William Rouse, Senior Fellow at the McCourt School of Public Policy, were part of an academic advisory team and provided technical support with use of the newer SystemiTool that facilitated the workshop’s collaborative structure.

The Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) just reached 5 million pageviews since its first appearance in September 2012.

Wiley and INCOSE have collaborated to publish a special edition of the journal Systems Engineering, Best Papers of 2019