November 12, 2024

SERC Research Review 2024

NOV

SERC RESEARCH REVIEW

Washington, DC

MAIN PAGE

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

DOWNLOAD SRR AGENDA

November 6, 2024

SERC and INCOSE AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop 2024

KEY DATES

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

ABSTRACT GUIDELINES

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.

SUBMIT ABSTRACT

Submit Abstract

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Ali Raz – araz@gmu.edu
Ramakrishnan Raman – ramakrishnan.raman@incose.net
Tom McDermott – tom.mcDermott@incose.net

October 30, 2024

SERC UPDATES – October 2024

The networked national resource to further systems research and its impact on issues of national and global significance.

OCTOBER 2024

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS // NEWS // EVENTS
COLLABORATORS’ CORNER // OPPORTUNITIES

Dr. Dinesh Verma, Executive Director, Systems Engineering Research Center and Acquisition Innovation Research Center

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.

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”
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”
George Mason University, PI: Benjamin McMartin – “Enabling Digital Rights Management (DRM) of Intellectual Property Licenses for the Department of Defense”
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!

If an opportunity exists at your institution that you would like us to share, please submit a collaborators’ update.

SERC & AIRC

DoD College Acquisition Internship Program

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

October 28, 2024

NDIA 27th Annual Systems and Mission Engineering Conference

The NDIA Systems Engineering Division will be hosting their 27th Annual Systems and Mission Engineering Conference in Norfolk, VA on October 28-31, 2024.

This conference is held in co-partnership with the NDIA’s Test & Evaluation and Integrated Program Management Division. It brings together defense community members from industry, government, and academia to highlight ways for improving defense acquisition and system performance. Additionally, the conference provides an interactive forum for program managers, system engineers, chief scientists, speciality engineers and managers.

Visit Event Website

October 16, 2024

IEEE Digital Engineering 101: Value, Methods, and Technologies

Join this webinar on October 16, 2024 about data engineering with SERC CTO Tom McDermott, the Distinguished Lecturer selected by the IEEE Systems Council. The lecture will cover topics on data engineering as a technology process, its importance for managing modern engineered systems, and the motivations and challenges with translating digital engineering strategy into practice.

September 17, 2024

AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop 2024

The fifth annual AI4SE and SE4AI workshop is sponsored and organized by the U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center Systems Engineering Directorate and the Systems Engineering Research Center and will be hosted at the George Mason University Arlington Campus on September 17-18.

For questions, please contact Alan Skontra at askontra@stevens.edu.

Safer AI-Enabled Complex Systems: Responsible Deployment of AI through Systems Engineering

The rapid development and deployment of AI presents both tremendous opportunities and inherent risks. As AI continues to revolutionize various industries, and is embedded in complex systems at various levels, it becomes crucial to strike a delicate balance between seizing the potential benefits and addressing and mitigating potential harms. The conference theme, “Safer AI-Enabled Complex Systems: Responsible Deployment of AI through Systems Engineering,” aims to foster discussions and insights on how systems engineering can support the development of robust and ethical AI systems, and how AI tools can in turn transform the practice of systems engineering.

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. The AI4SE track delves into the application of AI in support of systems engineering processes, by enabling enhanced decision-making, optimization, validation, and verification.

AGENDA

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Missy Cummings

Professor and Director of Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center, George Mason University

As one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots and an engineer, Dr. Mary “Missy” Cummings is accustomed to breaking barriers and solving problems. A naval officer and military pilot from 1988-1999, Cummings was one of the U.S. Navy’s first female fighter pilots. She is now the director of Mason’s Autonomy and Robotics Center (MARC) and a professor at George Mason University. She holds faculty appointments in the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Computer Science departments. She is an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fellow and recently served as the senior safety advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Cummings received her BS in Mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1988, her MS in Space Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994, and her PhD in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2004.

Mr. Daniel Mahanty

Division Director for Learning, Civilian Protection Center of Excellence

Mr. Dan Mahanty is the Division Director for Learning at the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, where he leads the Center’s research and analytic agenda, and drives the exploration of technology solutions for civilian harm mitigation. Prior to his service at the Department of Defense, he served as a Director of Research, Learning and Innovation and US Program Director for seven years at the international non-profit, Center for Civilians in Conflict, where he led research initiatives focused on civilian protection and civilian harm mitigation. He also spent sixteen years at the U.S. Department of State, where he started and led the Office of Security and Human Rights, leading efforts to integrate US leadership on human rights in security policy and practice. He is a non-resident associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and was an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University and with the Kansas University program at the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth. His research on civilian harm mitigation has been cited by the New York Times and Washington Post, and his writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, Defense One, War on the Rocks, and USA Today. He holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University. He is from Greeley, Colorado and now lives in McLean, Virginia.

Mr. Matthew Rose

Global Public Sector Industry Principal, Snowflake

Mr. Matthew Rose is the Global Public Sector Industry Principal at Snowflake, where he leads a team serving government and education organizations. He focuses on public sector needs and bringing solutions and technologies into the public sector market. Before joining Snowflake, he led Adobe’s Public Sector Business Development and Strategy. Previously, Matthew served in government, most recently as the DOD’s Chief Design Officer, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s Strategy and Policy Directorate Chief; GSA’s Director for Cloud and Infrastructure; and Special Advisor on Technology Protection for the Secretary of Defense. He is a founder of several companies, sits on the Stimson Center and Atlantic Council, and serves in the Army Reserve. Matthew has three graduate degrees and has published extensively on the topics of defense and technology. He resides in Warrenton Virginia with his wife and three children.

Presentation Slides

Refer to the printable agenda for times. Presentations will be available for download after the workshop.

September 17 | Keynotes, Panels and Other Presentations

9:00 AM – Keynote
Mr. Matthew Rose, Global Public Sector Industry Principal, Snowflake

SERC Research Review (SRR) Agenda

The networked national resource to further systems research and its impact on issues of national and global significance.

OCTOBER 2024

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS // NEWS // EVENTS COLLABORATORS’ CORNER // OPPORTUNITIES

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.