INCOSE’s International Workshop is the event of the year for systems engineers to contribute to their industry. Attendees spend 4 focused days working alongside fellow systems engineers who are there to make a difference. Unlike INCOSE’s annual International Symposium and other conferences, there are no paper, panel, or tutorial presentations. Systems Engineers at all levels and from all backgrounds are encouraged to engage in working sessions, and contribute their knowledge and experience to take the discipline forward.
SERC UPDATES – December 2024
DECEMBER 2024
Dear Colleagues,
It was wonderful seeing many of you last month for the SERC Research Review and SERC Doctoral Student Forum. Thank you to the Honorable Dr. Douglas C. Schmidt of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for giving a keynote on test and evaluation; to Ms. Kristen J. Baldwin of the Air Force, Ms. Jennifer Swanson of the Army, and Mr. Thomas Simms of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering for speaking on a panel of Senior Executive Service members; and to the SERC researchers who presented on digital engineering, mission engineering, architecture decision making, cybersecurity, and much more.
This newsletter includes the summary report for another of our major events, the AI4SE & SE4AI Research and Application Workshop, as well as AIRC research on megaprojects and reliability requirements. When we return in the new year, Dr. Laura Freeman will host a webinar on generative AI with Dr. Schmidt and other stakeholders. Be sure to register before you break this month. We wish you the warmest of holidays!
Sincerely,
Dinesh Verma
Executive Director
AI4SE & SE4AI Research & Application Workshop 2024 Report
This fifth annual report covers presentations, panels, and keynotes from Dr. Missy Cummings of George Mason University, Mr. Dan Mahanty of the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, and Mr. Matthew Rose of Snowflake.
16th SERC Research Review Highlights Five Focus Areas
Dr. Douglas Schmidt joined SERC researchers and distinguished leaders from the DoD for rigorous discussions on applying systems engineering for national defense.
University of Alabama in Huntsville Student Wins SERC Boehm Award
During the SERC Doctoral Student Forum, Ms. Casey Eaton earned honors for her presentation on the “Impact of Technical Measure Omission in Systems Design Frameworks.”
Trusted AI Challenge for Armaments Systems Engineering
Dr. Peter Beling of Virginia Tech is the PI on SERC research that enlists college teams to develop engineering methods for system reliability and trustworthiness in the design and architecture of AI-enabled systems.
Setting Reliability Requirements for Subsystems
An AIRC research team led by Dr. Azad Madni of the University of Southern California spoke with DoD personnel responsible for system maintenance about improving reliability.
The Future of Megaproject Management
Paired with a webinar series co-hosted by Defense Acquisition University, SERC CTO Tom McDermott and colleagues examined technologies, methods and tools critical to managing the future of megaprojects.
On January 6, Dr. Laura Freeman of Virginia Tech and the SERC Research Council will moderate a webinar – Generative AI in the DoD Acquisition Lifecycle – with insights from Dr. Douglas Schmidt, Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Ms. Alexis Bonnell, Chief Information Officer and Director of the Digital Capabilities Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory; Dr. Heather Wojton, Director of the Operational Evaluation Division, Institute for Defense Analyses; and Mr. John Robert, Deputy Director, Software Solutions Division, Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute. See more details and register on the event page.
January 6, 2025
Generative AI in the DoD Acquisition Lifecycle Webinar (Virtual)
February 1-4, 2025
INCOSE International Workshop (Seville, Spain | Virtual)
March 18-21, 2025
Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER) (Long Beach, CA)
April 7-10, 2025
IEEE SysCon (Montreal, Canada)
May 7-8, 2025
Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Symposium (Monterey, CA)
June 9-11, 2025
CESUN International Engineering Systems Symposium (Arlington, VA)
We invite collaborators to submit research news to be included in future releases of the SERC Updates.
Resources:
Search SERC Publications
Search AIRC Publications
This fall, AIRC continued a webinar series with the Baroni Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University on the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform. In the screenshot above, AIRC Chief Scientist Dr. Philip Antón (top left) spoke with (clockwise) Mr. Greg Little, Senior Counselor, Palantir Technologies; Ms. Yousra Fazili, Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller/CFO); and Mr. Mark Krzysko, SES, Principal Deputy Director of Enterprise Information, Acquisition Data and Analytics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. Visit the AIRC website to see recordings of the fourth webinar and the fifth webinar.
If an opportunity exists at your institution that you would like us to share, please submit it here.
SERC & AIRC
DoD College Acquisition Internship Program
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SERC Doctoral Student Forum 2024
13
NOV
On November 12-13, the Systems Engineering Research Center will host its 16th annual events series. The SERC Research Review will gather academic innovators, government sponsors and industry colleagues for a showcase of SERC research. The following day, the SERC Doctoral Student Forum will feature the next generation of systems thinkers competing for the Boehm Award.
SERC Doctoral Student Forum (SDSF) Agenda
| 8:00AM | Light Breakfast and Networking |
| 8:30AM | Introduction |
| 8:45AM | Examination of Community Responses to Hurricane Evacuation Orders Using High-Fidelity Mobility Data Dr. Harsh Anand, University of Virginia View presentation slides |
| 9:15AM | Impact of Technical Measure Omission in Systems Design Frameworks Ms. Casey Eaton, The University of Alabama in Huntsville View presentation slides |
| 9:45AM | Networking Break |
| 10:05AM | Towards a Hetero-functional Graph Theory Approach to MegaProject Management Mr. Seyed Amirreza Hosseini, Stevens Institute of Technology View presentation slides |
| 10:35AM | Exposing Bad Behavior in Operational Systems Mr. John Phillips, Naval Postgraduate School View presentation slides |
| 11:05AM | A Systems Engineering Methodology for Integrating Autonomy with System of Systems and Conducting Data-Driven Trade Study Analyses Mr. Mohammedreza Torkjazi, George Mason University View presentation slides |
| 11:35AM | Closing Comments and Boehm Award Presentation |
| 12:00PM | Adjourn |
The SERC is seeking future leaders in systems engineering to showcase their research to an audience of academia, government, and industry. All doctoral student presenters will be considered for the Dr. Barry Boehm Award for Doctoral Student Research Excellence that includes a small monetary prize.
Doctoral students who are selected and accept are expected to present their work in person. All presentations will be 20 minutes (including Q&A). All materials must be appropriate for public release. Presentation slides will be uploaded to the SERC website after the forum.
Submissions are open to students currently enrolled in doctoral programs at SERC collaborating universities. The deadline for submissions is October 8, 2024 at 4:00pm ET.
If you have any questions, please contact SERC Communications Manager as******@st*****.edu?subject=SDSF%2023″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Alan Skontra.
*SERC universities include:
Air Force Institute of Technology, Auburn University, Carnegie Mellon University, George Mason University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Naval Postgraduate School, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Arizona, University of Central Florida, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of South Florida, University of Southern California, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech.
October 8, by 4:00pm ET
Abstract Submission Deadline
October 14
Notice to Accepted Presenters
October 18
Hotel Room Block Closes
November 3, by 11:59pm ET
Presentation Submission Deadline
November 5, by 10:00am ET
Registration Deadline
SERC Research Review 2024
12
NOV
On November 12-13, the Systems Engineering Research Center will host its 16th annual events series. The SERC Research Review will gather academic innovators, government sponsors and industry colleagues for a showcase of SERC research. The following day, the SERC Doctoral Student Forum will feature the next generation of systems thinkers competing for the Boehm Award.
SERC Research Review (SRR) Agenda
| 8:00AM | Registration and Networking |
| 8:30AM | Welcome and Opening Remarks Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, SERC & AIRC |
| 8:45AM | Executive Panel (Moderator) Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, SERC & AIRC Ms. Kristen Baldwin, SES, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) Ms. Jennifer Swanson, SES, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering & Software View presentation slides Mr. Thomas Simms, SES, Principal Deputy Executive Director, Systems Engineering and Architecture (SE&A), OUSD (R&E) View presentation slides |
| 10:00AM | Networking Break |
| 10:20AM | Keynote HON. Dr. Douglas C. Schmidt, Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) View presentation slides |
| 11:15AM | Trust and Trustworthiness in AI-Enabled Systems* Dr. Zoe Szajnfarber, The George Washington University View presentation slides *SERC Strategic Talk |
| 11:40AM | Trusted AI SE Challenge Dr. Peter Beling, Virginia Tech View presentation slides |
| 12:00PM | Lunch |
| 1:00PM | Digital Engineering for Test and Evaluation Dr. Laura Freeman, Virginia Tech View presentation slides |
| 1:30PM | Transforming SE to MBSE and Roadmapping a Framework of Computationally Enabled Ontologies for Digital Engineering Dr. Mark Blackburn, Stevens Institute of Technology View presentation slides |
| 2:00PM | Improving and Assessing Architectures and Architecture Decision Making Dr. Bryan Mesmer, The University of Alabama in Huntsville View presentation slides |
| 2:30PM | Digital Materiel Management / Digital Engineering Strategy Ms. Phil Zimmerman, Stevens Institute of Technology Mr. Tom McDermott, Stevens Institute of Technology View presentation slides |
| 3:00PM | Networking Break |
| 3:20PM | Space Systems Command Military Communications & Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Directorate – Mission Engineering and Integration of Emerging Technologies Dr. Michael Orosz, University of Southern California View presentation slides |
| 3:50PM | Secure Cyber-Resilient Engineering Methods and Tools* Dr. Peter Beling, Virginia Tech Mr. Tom McDermott, Stevens Institute of Technology View presentation slides *SERC Strategic Talk |
| 4:10PM | Center for Offshore Wind Energy Cyber Vulnerabilities and Threat Identification Dr. Sachin Shetty, Old Dominion University Dr. Peter Beling, Virginia Tech View presentation slides |
| 4:40PM | Closing Remarks Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, SERC & AIRC |
| 5:00PM-6:30PM | Networking Reception |
SERC and INCOSE AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop 2024
Sponsored and organized the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) and the INCOSE AI Working Group, this virtual workshop builds on the 2024 AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop sponsored and organized by SERC and the US Army DEVCOM Armaments Center Systems Engineering Directorate in collaboration with George Mason University.
This virtual workshop is tentatively slated to take place at 8:00pm-12:00am ET on November 6 and 8:00am-12:00pm ET on November 7. Abstracts are sought from government, industry and academia for presentations and panels to explore the exciting advancements and challenges in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and systems engineering (SE). All selected abstracts and presentations must be approved for public release.
The workshop theme is Safer AI-Enabled Complex Systems: Responsible Deployment of AI through Systems Engineering.
As in the past, the workshop will be organized around two main themes: SE4AI and AI4SE. We welcome contributions to either theme or any of the subthemes elaborated below:
SE4AI. The SE4AI track focuses on leveraging systems engineering principles and methodologies to develop safe, robust, and efficient AI systems, while extending them in response to the nature of AI enabled systems.
Specific research areas in this track include but are not limited to:
- AI embedded in complex systems of systems (SoS) and/or teams,
- Measures of trust that include a recognition of human and technology interaction, including studies on explainability, interpretability, and related AI-ilities.
- Test and Evaluation (T&E) across the lifecycle,
- System design processes that support AI across the lifecycle, including AI maintenance and sustainment principles and practice.
- Bidirectionality in human-AI collaborative systems.
- Socio-technical System Testbeds to support system characterization and/or training.
- Critical aspects of safety, reliability, and ethical considerations in developing and deploying AI systems.
AI4SE. The AI4SE track delves into the application of AI in support of systems engineering processes, by enabling enhanced decision-making, optimization, validation, and verification.
Specific research areas in this track include but are not limited to:
- Evolving role of digital engineering and its impact on the systems engineering workforce, fostering skill development and adaptation in an AI-driven landscape.
- Large Language Models (LLMs) co-pilots for systems modelers and engineers.
- Cognitive assistants: conversational systems automating many mundane data entry, exploration, and engineering calculation tasks, and many workflows, beyond LLMs.
- AI and visualization to assist in complex project management activities, including managing human teams.
- AI for system design and design space exploration.
- Other AI, data analytic, and visualization approaches to improve SE and PM.
October 5, 2024, by 11:59pm ET
Abstract Submission Deadline
October 21, 2024
Notification to Authors
November 6, 2024
Workshop Evening Session, 8:00pm-12:00am ET
November 7, 2024
Workshop Morning Session, 8:00am-12:00pm ET
Title: 200-character limit
Primary Author / Presenter: Full name, title and organization. Please note the person’s email address submitted here will be the main point of contact and receive all notifications pertaining to the abstract and event.
Additional Authors: Any additional authors and/or presenters should be listed with their organization.
Research Area: Indicate the specific research area (bullets) above you are addressing within the broad tracks of SE4AI or AI4SE.
Submission Type: Indicate whether submission is for an individual presentation, panel submission, or practitioner case study. Note that if panel submission is selected, the planned panelists and their organization must be identified.
Abstract Content: Please provide a 500 word extended abstract that clearly states the objectives, methodology, expected or achieved outcomes of your research, and explains the relevance of your work to practice.
Submission Schedule:
Abstract Submission Deadline: October 5, 2024
Notification of Selection: October 21, 2024
Disclosure:
The AI4SE & SE4AI Research and Application Workshop is an unclassified workshop. All abstracts and selected presentations must be approved for public release. All abstracts will be reviewed by the INCOSE AI Working Group.
- Ali Raz – ar**@gm*.edu
- Ramakrishnan Raman – ra****************@in****.net
- Tom McDermott – to***********@in****.net
SERC UPDATES – October 2024
OCTOBER 2024
Dear Colleagues,
Join us on November 12-13 for the SERC Research Review and the SERC Doctoral Student Forum! These annual events will showcase our research portfolio and strategic vision, insights from special guests from the DoD, and emerging thinkers in systems engineering. Get your tickets today!
This newsletter includes an overview of our efforts in the SERC and the Acquisition Innovation Research Center on human capital development. From our collaboration with Defense Acquisition University to initiatives like the Defense Data Grand Prix, we are honored to develop the next-gen workforce for national security.
Sincerely,
Dinesh Verma
Executive Director
16th Annual Review in DC to Showcase SERC Research
Distinguished leaders from the DoD will gather with SERC researchers and industry guests for rigorous discussions on digital engineering, trust in AI-enabled systems, architecture decision making, cyber resilience and more.
AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop Sees Significant Growth in Fifth Year
Some 200 participants gathered to hear 40 technical presentations, three keynote speeches and two panels on the intersection of systems engineering and artificial intelligence.
From Classroom to Command: New DCTC Scholars Train for DoD Careers
The second cohort of scholars in the Defense Civilian Training Corps, guided by AIRC, is navigating the pilot program at North Carolina A&T, Purdue, the University of Arizona and Virginia Tech.
Transforming the DoD Workforce through Policy, Skills, and Culture
This overview of SERC and AIRC research highlights numerous initiatives such the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge, digital engineering bootcamps, and the Capstone Marketplace.
Five New AIRC Research Reports
Read about “Cognitive Assistant for Training Cost Estimators,” “Mission-Aware Integrated Digital Transformation for Operational Advantage,” and others on portfolio management, intellectual property, and intelligent decision making.
Tickets are on sale for this gathering of SERC researchers, government partners and industry colleagues, plus the SERC Doctoral Student Forum. See the two-day agenda on the event page and register via Eventbrite.
October 28-31, 2024
NDIA Systems & Mission Engineering Conference (Norfolk, VA)
November 6-7, 2024
SERC and INCOSE AI4SE & SE4AI Virtual Workshop (Virtual)
November 12-13, 2024
SERC Annual Events (Washington, DC)
February 1-4, 2025
INCOSE International Workshop (Seville, Spain | Virtual)
March 18-21, 2025
Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER) (Long Beach, CA)
April 7-10, 2025
IEEE SysCon (Montreal, Canada)
May 7-8, 2025
Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Symposium (Monterey, CA)
This virtual workshop with INCOSE follows the annual in-person AI4SE & SE4AI workshop the SERC co-organizes with the US Army DEVCOM Armaments Center Systems Engineering Directorate. Register via the event page.
We invite collaborators to submit research news to be included in future releases of the SERC Updates.
Resources:
Search SERC Publications
Search AIRC Publications
AIRC Innovation Projects
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s AIRC Innovation Projects! Four SERC/AIRC universities (two in partnership) received over $500,000 in subcontracts for five projects addressing DoD needs in AI, intellectual property, industry incentives and policy.
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Georgetown University, PI: Lisa Singh – “Designing a Functional Information Retrieval System for Dynamic Organizational Use”
-
George Mason University, PI: John G. (Jerry) McGinn – “Identifying Novel Ways to Incentivize Industry in Defense Acquisition”
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George Mason University, PI: John G. (Jerry) McGinn – “Options for Strengthening the Use of Defense Production Act (DPA) Title VII in the Department of Defense”
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George Mason University, PI: Benjamin McMartin – “Enabling Digital Rights Management (DRM) of Intellectual Property Licenses for the Department of Defense”
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Stevens Institute of Technology and Virginia Tech, PIs: Jose Ramirez-Marquez and Naren Ramakrishnan – “AI-based DPCAP FAR/DFARS Change Support Tool”
Thank you to all who submitted amazing proposals this year! Stay tuned for future opportunities by visiting the AIRC Innovations Projects webpage and by following AIRC on LinkedIn!
