The 12th annual SERC Doctoral Student Forum (SDSF) took place in Washington on November 13, the second day of the two-day SERC Annual Events, which also included the 16th SERC Research Review (SRR). Each year, SERC seeks submissions from a diverse pool of doctoral students conducting relevant systems engineering (SE)-related research at a SERC collaborating university, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), or Minority Institutions (MIs). In addition to current doctoral students, doctoral candidates who earned their degrees in 2024 were eligible to submit an abstract for consideration.
In his introduction at the event, SERC CTO Tom McDermott noted the breadth of submissions that were reviewed and that each year “[i]t’s exciting to see research that is presented at various stages, from beginning to concluding projects.” This year, the following five doctoral students were selected to present their work to an audience that represented academia, government, and industry:
- Dr. Harsh Anand (University of Virginia): Examination of Community Responses to Hurricane Evacuation Orders Using High-Fidelity Mobility Data
- Ms. Casey Eaton (The University of Alabama in Huntsville): Impact of Technical Measure Omission in Systems Design Frameworks
- Mr. Seyed Amirreza Hosseini (Stevens Institute of Technology): Towards a Hetero-functional Graph Theory Approach to MegaProject Management
- Mr. John Phillips (Naval Postgraduate School): Exposing Bad Behavior in Operational Systems
- Mr. Mohammedreza Torkjazi (George Mason University): A Systems Engineering Methodology for Integrating Autonomy with System of Systems and Conducting Data-Driven Trade Study Analyses
The presentations introduced attendees to research taking place throughout the SERC consortium. Topics included how to collect data that can be effective in guiding policy to help communities be more resilient to climate dangers (taking into account influencing factors such as race and income) to how early identification of the risks of autonomous systems can help mitigate these risks and increase mission achievement.
In addition to information on case studies and methodology, student presenters addressed the “So what?” of their topics, i.e., how SE practices and processes can address current real-world issues and how these contributions can have impact beyond the discipline. The open forum format encouraged engagement and exchange between student presenters and audience members.
A panel of judges including members of the SERC Research Council selected Eaton as the forum winner and recipient of a monetary prize and the Dr. Barry Boehm Award for Doctoral Student Research Excellence. Eaton’s presentation, Impact of Technical Measure Omission in Systems Design Frameworks, provided novel evidence that omitting technical measures can change design decisions for large-scale complex engineered systems (LSCES). Eaton graduated with her B.S.E. in industrial and systems engineering from The University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2019 and her M.S.E. in systems engineering in 2020. She is a recipient of the Amelia Earhart and NASA Space Grant Consortium Fellowships. Her research focuses on formalizing the selection and impacts of measures on decision making in both novel and traditional SE frameworks.
The Boehm Award, renamed in 2022 in memory of the late first SERC chief scientist, recognizes the best research presentation delivered by a doctoral student on the basis of potential impact, advancement to SE, originality, technical content, and clarity of presentation. McDermott noted the award additionally recognizes Dr. Boehm as a champion for the value of doctoral student work. The award was a fitting conclusion to the SDSF event that serves as a platform for future systems engineering leaders.
Follow SERC on LinkedIn for regular updates on systems engineering research.
