Zoe Szajnfarber

As SERC’s third and current chief scientist, Dr. Szajnfarber chairs the SERC Research Council and leads it in shaping the research focus areas and other initiatives such as the annual AI4SE & SE4AI Research and Application Workshop. At The George Washington University, she is a Professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering with a secondary appointment in International Affairs. She is also the faculty director of the GW Trustworthy AI Initiative. She previously chaired the systems engineering department and served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for GW Engineering.

Dr. Szajnfarber’s interdisciplinary research focuses on the design and development of complex socio-technical systems, primarily in the aerospace and defense sectors. Her research has been recognized by best paper awards across engineering and management outlets and through grants from flagship interdisciplinary programs at the National Science Foundation, including INSPIRE (Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education) and NRT (National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program). See extended bio and connect on LinkedIn.

Career Highlights

• Outside of academia, worked as a systems engineer for space contractors ranging from MDA Space Missions to Dynacon, Inc. and as an innovation advisor to NASA and the European Space Agency
• Spent sabbatical year at Harvard Business School in the Laboratory for Innovation Science
• Served as chair of the Council of Engineering Systems Scholars and Universities