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Stevens to lead top national systems engineering effort
Department of Defense-funded research center launched
By Kristin Boyd – Associate Editor
Stevens Institute of Technology continues to work on the front lines of research, and the information collected here could one day help protect the country, global community and even cyberspace.
The Department of Defense recently awarded Stevens a five-year renewable contract to establish a Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), which will support the development, testing, integration and sustainability of complex defense systems, enterprises and services.
The University of Southern California will be Stevens’ principal collaborator, but researchers from 16 universities and research centers nationwide—including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Virginia—will also support SERC’s overall mission.
“We are delighted to have been selected for this,” said Dr. Harold J. Raveché, president of Stevens. “At Stevens, we believe in extracting our research for the good of the greater community. This is a big deal for us.”
Stevens launched the SERC during a Nov. 24 ceremony at the Institute’s Babbio Center, where faculty members and representatives from the Department of Defense gathered for lunch and several presentations.
“It is a true honor for Stevens. It’s the right time for this center and it’s the right time for Stevens,” said Dr. George P. Korfiatis, Hon. M.Eng. ’95, provost and vice president of Stevens. “We are totally and absolutely here to make this a
success.”
Stevens’ SERC is the nation’s first University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) to focus on systems engineering research. It will provide a vital link between science, technology, research and academics.
“It’s been quite a journey to get here today,” keynote speaker Dr. James Finley, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and Technology, said during the SERC opening ceremony. “I hope it will set a new standard of performance.”
“UARC will help us advance,” he added. “Key partnerships like this are crucial. This work will naturally expand our horizons and help facilitate the importance of systems engineering across the landscape of what we do.”
Stevens brings much expertise in systems engineering to the table. In 2007, on the heels of its highly successful Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, Stevens founded its own School of Systems and Enterprises. The school thrives, as it has offered systems engineering and other courses to students at top corporations and organizations across the country and the world, including IBM, Lockheed Martin and NASA.
Dr. Dinesh Verma, dean of Stevens’ School of Systems and Enterprises, will serve as executive director of SERC, and Stevens’ research professor Dr. Art Pyster will serve as deputy executive director. Dr. Barry Boehm, director of the Center for Systems and Software Engineering at USC, will serve as director of research.
“This is a major recognition of Stevens Institute of Technology’s leadership, consolidated during the last decade, in the field of complex systems engineering,” Dr. Verma said. “The SERC brings together a critical mass of researchers focused on the hard systems problems that the Department of Defense faces.”
Emerging challenges, according to Dr. Finley, include developing alternative energy sources, creating cyber protections and defending the country during times of warfare.
“Systems engineering is the backbone of the Department of Defense. (It) is right in the crosshairs of everything we do,” he said. “We’re fighting bad guys who can re-configure themselves in six weeks, and they’re smart. Systems engineering is a major pillar, a foundation to build on.”
“The UARC is another significant step in our journey to advance systems engineering,” he added. “The sky is the limit on what we can do and achieve.”
For more information about the Stevens School of Systems and Enterprises, please visit the school’s Web site at www.stevens.edu/sse.
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