As yet undecided: Does ‘engineer’ in the title limit acceptance of systems engineers?

Panel: 12

When: Wed 19, Jul 15:30-16:55 HST

Where: 313C

Keywords: soft systems systems thinking defining SE communicating about SE

Topics: 1. Academia (curricula, course life cycle, etc.) 1.5. Systems Science 1.6. Systems Thinking 22. Social/Sociotechnical and Economic Systems 3.5. Technical Leadership 5.10. Diversity (cultural boundaries, diverse engineering teams, training underserved groups, etc.)

Abstract: Does the word ‘engineering’ limit the acceptance of SE to traditional domains and product-centric efforts, meanwhile excluding soft systems practitioners and applications? The panelists and participants will share perspectives on how systems engineers can be better integrated into the broad spectrum of global challenges. Would a new discipline title better convey our ability to participate and contribute productively to fields of endeavor outside science and technology? How can we communicate the message that engineering and engineers are more flexible than implied by traditional stereotypes? This panel is made up of persons who have been examining the role and attributes of systems engineers and will offer suggestions about how their research and observations lead them to address this question. The panel will open in debate format with panelists arguing pro and con positions to establish a critical foundation before transitioning to open dialog with the audience. Audience experiences are welcome as we try to close this session with either new ideas for messaging for our current “systems engineer” brand or suggestions for a new title for soft systems engineering.

Biography
Cecilia Haskins:

Cecilia Haskins - Cecilia is recently retired and continues in emeritus status with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Southeastern Norway (USN). Her career included over 30 years as a practicing systems engineer and over 20 years educating the next generation of engineers on the importance of systems approaches. She joined INCOSE in 1993 where she held a variety of leadership and other volunteer positions, was recognized as an INCOSE Founder, and continues to be active as a mentor and author. She is a certified SE since 2004.

Biography
David Long: David has spent over 30 years helping organizations assess, adopt, and deploy methods to increase their systems engineering proficiency while simultaneously working to advance the state of the art. David founded and led Vitech where he developed innovative, industry-leading methods and software to engineer next-generation systems. Today, he is the Chief Engineer for Digital Engineering at the Systems Engineering Research Center working to coordinate and advance their digital portfolio. He co-authored A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering and frequently delivers keynotes and workshops around the world.

An INCOSE Fellow and Expert Systems Engineering Professional, David was the 2014/2015 President of INCOSE. David currently serves as INCOSE’s Director for Strategic Integration and as a coach in INCOSE's Technical Leadership Institute.

Biography
Tom McDermott: Tom McDermott is the Chief Technology Officer of the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) and a faculty member in the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. He previously held roles as Faculty and Director of Research at Georgia Tech Research Institute and Director and Integrated Product Team Manager at Lockheed Martin. Mr. McDermott teaches system architecture, systems and critical thinking, and engineering leadership. He provides executive level consulting as a systems engineering and organizational strategy expert. He is a fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) and recently completed 3 years as INCOSE Director of Strategic Integration.

Biography
Christopher Hoffman:

Chris Hoffman is the current INCOSE Technical Director. Certificate: System Design & Management, Systems Engineering, MIT (2012) Various electro-mechanical engineering roles, Cummins Inc. (25 years) Various leadership roles, INCOSE (11 years) Certified Systems Engineering Professional (2015). Current Main Field of Activity: Director, Engineering Information Systems Owner: I currently manage the strategy and portfolio planning of over 1300 software tools and applications that enable product design & development for Cummins Inc.

Biography
Chris Browne:

Chris Brown hails from the Research School of Engineering, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, and is Sub Dean of the ANU College of Health and Medicine. As a systems engineer and teacher, Chris Browne's classes are centered around the innovative jigsaw classroom approach. Systems engineering is an inter-specialist engineering discipline that integrates traditional engineering specializations and Chris has created a classroom environment that provides a coherent second-year systems experience for students and was a recent recipient of an Award for Teaching Excellence.

Biography
Jawahar Bhalla:

JB is a member of the panel review committee for IS23.

Biography
Nicole Hutchinson:

Nicole Hutchison is a Principal Investigator (PI) and research engineer at the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC). Her primary work through the SERC has been in human capital development research. This has included the development of competency frameworks for systems engineering (the Helix project), digital engineering, and mission engineering. She is currently the Managing Editor for the SEBoK and the Lead Editor for the “Enabling Systems Engineering” section of the SEBoK. She has helped to plan and conduct exercises in Emergency Management, helped run the Louisiana Family Assistance Center following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and served 10 years in emergency medicine. Dr. Hutchison is an active member of INCOSE, currently serving as the Events Portfolio Manager and on the Certification Advisory Board. She holds her Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) credential.