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SERC TALKS: “What Does Test & Evaluation Mean in a Digital Engineering Enabled World?”

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Speaker: Dr. Darryl K. Ahner, P.E., Director, Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques Center of Excellence (STAT COE), Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) | CONTACT

Abstract
Testing has often been looked at as a (un)necessary evil. In order for testing to be value added, it must not take too much time, provide quality information, and provide timely information to appropriate affect systems engineering and acquisition decisions. In this talk we will discuss the demand for testing events, the Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques process (since STAT is mandated in DoD policy anyway), and what test planning may look like in a digital engineering environment. Examples of efficient and effective test planning will also be discussed, both those that were conducted during development and those developed post deployment.
Bio
Dr. Darryl K. Ahner, P.E. is the Director, Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques Center of Excellence (STAT COE) and was instrumental in shaping its graduate-level test engineering operational concept leading to its establishment by the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2012. He is also a Professor of Operations Research, Program and Curriculum Chair of the Data Analytics and Data Science programs, and Director of the Center for Operational Analysis at the Air Force Institute of Technology. As Director of the STAT COE, he is responsible for executing the Center's mission to provide independent advice and assistance to designated major acquisition programs in the application of scientific test and analysis techniques for test planning and the resulting data analytics. The Center also conducts externally funded applied STAT research, provides STAT education, and develops best practices and case studies in the employment of STAT. Dr. Ahner is a licensed Professional Engineer. He has written over 50 technical articles, made over 70 technical presentations, and has led several technical working groups. He has been a faculty member at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) since 2010, where his research emphasizes optimization of test & evaluation, autonomous systems, big data analytics, reliability, stochastic models, simulation, and military operations research applications. Prior to AFIT, he taught for five years at the United States Military Academy at West Point and served for three years as the research director for an Army analysis center at the Naval Postgraduate School. In addition to being a member of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), and International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA), Dr. Ahner has been an active member of the Military Operations Research Society (MORS), most recently serving as Vice President for Professional Development and Vice President (Secretary of the Society) on the Executive Committee. A 1990 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Ahner retired from the US Army in 2012. During this time he was awarded the Legion of Merit, an award usually reserved for general officers and a Special Act Award for leading modeling, simulation, and analytic research efforts. His academic studies include Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he earned a M.S. in applied mathematics and a M.S. in operations research and statistics, and Boston University where he earned his doctoral degree in systems engineering while a Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Fellow. Dr. Ahner’s awards include the 2020 Colonel Charles A. Stone Award in recognition of an individual who has made outstanding contributions to furthering the AFIT mission, member of the 2019 U.S. Air Force Analysis Team of the Year Honorable Mention, 2018 Journal of Defense Analytics and Logistics Best Paper for “Finding the Fuel of the Arab Spring Fire: A Historical Data Analysis,“ the 2016 Richard H. Barchi Prize for the best paper given at the Military Operations Research Symposium for “Suitability Analysis of Continuous-Use Reliability Growth Projection Models”, the 2017 Affiliate Society Council of Dayton Outstanding Engineers & Scientists Award, the 2014 E. Grosvenor Plowman Award for Best Paper at Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Global Conference for "Exploring the Use of the Upper-Semi Variance as a Robust Estimator For Calculating Safety Stocks," the 2012 Colonel Charles A. Stone Award, a 2008 Special Act Award including a $5000 Cash Award presented by a 4-star general in recognition of meritorious scientific achievement, and the 2007 Wilbur B. Payne Award in recognition of the best Army analytical technical study.

More information on all SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

NOTE TO PARTICIPANTS: SERC Talks broadcasts is now using the Zoom for Government Webinar platform. Prior to the SERC Talk, we encourage all participants to install and test the platform to exercise full virtual capabilities. Installation is NOT required to join the session, as Zoom is accessible via web browser.

Download Zoom for Government client | Zoom for Government FAQ | Zoom for Government: How to join from your browser

More information on all SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

SERC TALKS: “How are Digitalization and AI Driving Improvements in Healthcare Delivery?”

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Speaker: David Zion, Head, Systems Engineering Center of Excellence, Strategic Program Leader, Philips Healthcare | CONTACT

Abstract
This presentation examines the progression of health systems from individual diagnostic and treatment devices to connected systems and solutions. The transformation of health care delivery has changed the needs and key performance indicators that clinicians and hospital leaders use to measure success. To succeed with healthcare innovation today, new technologies must come with new business models and outcome-based incentives, aligned across all stakeholders; with collaboration based on shared objectives and risks. Hospitals want medical device providers to be integrators and brokers of technology, helping healthcare providers to embed third-party apps and devices into their workflow via a common underlying deployment platform. Patients now play a more central role in their own care decisions. Whereas the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) has created a system of record to keep track of clinical decisions and to support billing, it does not yet fulfill the need of optimally connecting staff and patients, or enabling dynamic workflows and seamless user experiences. A system of engagement, which connects and interprets patient data from various sources to support caregivers with relevant insights at the point of care will help both care givers and patients alike with better delivery of healthcare.
Bio
David Zion is currently a Strategic Program Leader at Philips Healthcare, a health technology company dedicated to improving people’s health and well-being through meaningful innovation, aiming to improve 2.5 billion lives per year by 2030, including 400 million in underserved communities. David has spent over twenty years in Ultrasound System Research and Development, leading teams in transducer design, software and hardware engineering, and program management. While leader of the global Ultrasound R&D team, David drove the significant expansion of the product offerings in Cardiology and Radiology, as well as new Point-of-Care applications, utilizing highly integrated systems design to deliver first-to-world high performance portable Ultrasound solutions. In 2018, he founded and now leads the Systems Engineering Center of Excellence at Philips, a team dedicated to deploying best practices in all aspects of the architecture, modelling, design, integration, and life-cycle management of a diverse set of products and solutions delivered to customers across the globe. Prior to working in the Philips Ultrasound business, he has worked in the Automated Test, Defense Electronics, and Telecommunications industries, delivering multiple products into production with specific focus on design-for-test and design-for-service methodologies. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Economic Systems from Stanford University.

More information on all SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

SERC TALKS: “How Can a Systems Approach Help Critical Civil Infrastructure Become Smarter, More Sustainable and Resilient?”

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Speaker: Michael Salvato, Vice President, Infrastructure Advisory Practices, Mott MacDonald | CONTACT

Abstract
Climate change, NetZero energy, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution are all game changers for infrastructure providers. Inadequate and ill-prepared infrastructure will increase the consequences of rapid urbanization, extreme weather events and digital disruption, driving up the costs to individuals, businesses, and society, reducing economic productivity and undermining the quality of life for people and plant. To build smarter, more sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, cities will need to reimage infrastructure services they provide, and arrange deeply interconnected technological, social and environmental systems to do so. Infrastructure 4.0 is comprised, not just of physical assets and digital twins, but an interconnected web of social, institutional, and ecological systems. New, complex forms of socio-technological systems are emerging that require a synthesis across traditional disciplines of engineering, information technology, environmental science, and policy. Leaders in smart, sustainable cities are embracing information and communication technologies and other means to meet the needs of populations without compromising future generations, envisioning new possibilities, and developing transformational roadmaps for a smarter, more sustainable and resilient future.
Bio
Michael A. Salvato serves as Vice President of Infrastructure Advisory Services at Mott MacDonald - a global engineering, management and development consultancy guiding clients through many of the planet’s most intricate challenges. His current responsibilities include managing the Aviation Digital Transformation Program for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In 2018, he retired from the NY MTA as the Director and Program Executive for Enterprise Information and Asset Management with over 35 years of experience in infrastructure planning, engineering, construction, asset management, program management, economics, finance, and information systems. Michael is currently doing research on smart infrastructure with New York Academy of Sciences and am a member of the Board for Smart City New York. He was an advisor for Blueprint 2025, a National Infrastructure Plan, also, a research professor of urban infrastructure systems at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering where he helped set up the Center for Urban Science Progress program on Urban Systems and Informatics, the founding Chair of the Institute of Asset Management in the US and a member of the US delegation that produced the ISO 55000 standard for asset management.

More information on all SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

SERC TALKS: “What Does Digital Transformation Look Like from the C-Suite?”

Speaker: Dr. William (Willy) Donaldson, Assistant Professor and Director, Biotechnology and Management Program, and Director of the Luter Business Institute at Christopher Newport University | CONTACT

Abstract
Digital transformation is hard enough without systematic resistance from the very enterprise you are trying to transform, but transformation means change and change is hard. This talk addresses some of the fundamental processes and perspectives embraced in the C-Suite (CEO, COO, CinC, Exec. Director, etc. level) and how these fundamental processes, while systematic, may not be systemic. Digital transformation requires addressing and changing some of these strongly held perspectives and addressing an enterprise culture developed over time that seeks to sustain these non-systemic dynamics.
Bio
Dr. William (Willy) Donaldson is Assistant Professor in Management at Christopher Newport University. Dr. Donaldson is the Director of the CNU Luter Business Institute and Director of the Biotechnology and Management Program. Willy has over 35 years of experience as a board member and President, has been CEO of 8 companies, and helped start dozens of companies. He has over 30 years of experience in higher education. Willy is the Founder and President of Strategic Venture Planning, a management consulting firm that assists boards, investors, families, and senior management teams to maximize results.

Dr. Donaldson’s areas of research interest include Enterprise Management Systems; Corporate Universities and their impact on performance; Family business issues, dynamics, and transitions; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Systems Thinking; and Corporate Governance and Board Performance.

Dr. Donaldson authored Simple_Complexity: A Management Book for the Rest of Us: A Guide to Systems Thinking.
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This Talk is free to the public and all are welcomed to join and participate in this open discussion. Slides will be up at least two hours prior to the Talk if not sooner. If you have any questions regarding joining this session, please contact the SERC Talks webinar coordinator, Ms. Mimi Marcus.

More information on future SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

SERC TALKS: “The Practice of Mission Integration: How to focus and synchronize Department of Defense activities towards critical warfighter missions?”

Speaker: Mr. Elmer Roman, Director, Mission Integration, OUSD, (R&E) AC / Engineering  | CONTACT

Abstract
This presentation discusses how R&E is addressing the NDAA FY2017 Sec 855 Mission Integration Management (MIM). This will include an overview of Mission Engineering (ME), the technical component of MIM, and current engineering efforts in support of the Joint Staff and modernization priorities. This Talk follows August SERC TALKS: “’Mission Engineering’: Systems of Systems Engineering in Context” with Judith Dahmann, MITRE and our SERC Sponsor Research Review Mission Engineering Panel.
Bio
Mr. Roman joined the Senior Executive Service in August 2020 to serve as the Director for Mission Integration at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. He returns to the Pentagon after having served as Secretary of State and Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico since December 2019. Mr. Roman served as the Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety where he was in charge of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, the Fire Department Corps Bureau, the Forensic Sciences Bureau, the Medical Emergencies Bureau, the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau, the 9-1-1 Services Bureau, and the Special Investigations Bureau. He was also the Homeland Security Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Roman obtained his degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus, a master’s degree in Systems Engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Administration from Colorado Technical University. He graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Recruit Depot in Parris Island, the USMC Officer Candidates School, the US Navy Senior Engineering Duty Officer School the Federal Executive Institute the Defense Acquisition University, and has completed courses in executive development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. After serving in the Marines, he made his transition to the Naval Reserve Engineering Duty program, leading heavy lift salvage support missions worldwide. These include the heavy lift operations of the destroyers USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) and USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) after the fateful collisions in 2017. Mr. Roman participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009.

Prior to his confirmation, Mr. Roman was the Director of the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program and team leader for Mission Integration in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Mr. Roman was responsible for providing executive leadership and management of demonstration programs for new advanced defense technologies. He directed the planning and transition of new combat capabilities to the Joint Forces and National Security Agencies within a portfolio worth over $700 million. Mr. Roman is also a CAPTAIN in the U.S. Navy Reserve where he serves as the Commanding Officer of the Office of Naval Research S&T 113 Unit and prior to that he served as the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving Unit and Pillar Lead of the Salvage, Diving, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Forces of the Naval Sea Systems Command. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1991 to 1997.

Previously, Mr. Roman served from 2010 to 2015 as Oversight Executive of International Cooperation and Asymmetric Warfare programs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. He was responsible for the implementation of Department of Defense’s efforts in the fight against transnational organized crime; security cooperation, humanitarian assistance/disaster management, and capacity building for allied countries.

Mr. Roman served in a diplomatic assignment from 2005 to 2010 as Regional Director of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global at the United States Embassy in Santiago, Chile. While in Chile, he was appointed as Secretary-General of the Specialized Inter- American Naval Conference of Science and Technology and was a member of the Country Team of the United States Embassy in Santiago.

His awards include two US Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medals, two US Navy Meritorious (Military) Service Medals, and the Chilean Armed Forces Military Star for his work during the response of the category 8.8 earthquake in 2010. He is also the recipient of the United States Navy League RADM William S. Parsons Award for scientific and technical achievement, the General Carl A. Spaatz Award, the 2009 STEM Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Conference Luminary Award, a Department of State Meritorious Honor Award and a NASA Technical Achievement Commendation, amongst other military and civil awards.
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Talk Resources

Referenced documentation:

Prior Talks in the Mission Engineering series:

August SERC TALKS: “’Mission Engineering’: Systems of Systems Engineering in Context” with Judith Dahmann, MITRE
SERC Sponsor Research Review 2020 PANEL: Mission Engineering Research Challenges

If you have any questions regarding the logistics for the Talk series, please contact our Talks webinar coordinator, Ms. Mimi Marcus. If you would like to present in a future SERC Talk, please contact our SERC Talks Editor-in-Chief and SERC Research Council Chair, Dr. Barry Boehm. More information on future SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

SERC TALKS: “’Mission Engineering’: Systems of Systems Engineering in Context”

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Speaker: Dr. Judith Dahmann, Technical Fellow, The MITRE Corporation  | CONTACT

Abstract
Today most organizational or societal capabilities rely on a mix of material and non-material ‘systems’ working together to achieve desired outcomes – to achieve their ‘mission’. Organizations typically define mission statements about why they exist – their “reason for being” -- and they use these mission statements as the basis for planning actions and investments. Government or religious organizations often form ‘mission’ teams to achieve a set of goals to share ideas or conduct negotiations. Space and defense organizations commonly refer to planned actions to achieve objectives as their ‘missions’ - e.g. US NASA Apollo mission to the moon. In most cases these include a set of objectives and a plan of actions to achieve these objectives. Recently US Defense has started to apply systems engineering concepts and practices to missions in what is being termed ‘Mission Engineering” - the deliberate planning, analyzing, organizing, and integrating of current and emerging operational and system capabilities to achieve desired mission effects. In this presentation Dr. Dahmann will discuss the motivation for employing systems approaches to mission capabilities as an extension and a broader context for application of systems of systems engineering.
Bio
Dr. Judith Dahmann is a Technical Fellow at the MITRE Corporation Center and the capability lead for Systems of Systems (SoS). Dr. Dahmann is the MITRE project leader for SE Technical Support to OUSD R&E supporting mission engineering (ME) activities and the application of digital engineering to ME. She was the technical lead for development of the DoD guide for systems engineering of systems of systems (SoS) and the project lead for ISO 21839, a international standard on ‘SoS Considerations Throughout the System Life Cycle’. Dr. Dahmann is also the task lead for a set of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) SoS programs investigating advanced technology approaches to complex SoS challenges. Dr. Dahmann is an INCOSE Fellow and the co-chair of the INCOSE Systems of Systems Working Group and the co-chair of the NDIA SE Division SoS Committee. She teaches Enterprise SE as an adjunct faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University in the Systems Engineering Program for Engineering Professionals.

If you have any questions regarding the logistics for the Talk series, please contact our Talks webinar coordinator, Ms. Mimi Marcus. If you would like to present in a future SERC Talk, please contact our SERC Talks Editor-in-Chief and SERC Research Council Chair, Dr. Barry Boehm. More information on future SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!

NOTE TO PARTICIPANTS:
SERC Talks broadcasts using the Zoom Webinar Platform. Prior to the SERC Talk, we encourage all participants to install and test the platform to exercise full virtual capabilities. Installation is NOT required to join the session, as Zoom is accessible via web browser.

Zoom Installation | Zoom Web Client | Troubleshooting Guide

More information on future SERC Talks can be found here. Thank you!