SERC Research Council Panel: The Future of Systems Engineering Research

Research Focus Areas Enterprise Systems and Systems of Systems Addresses the evolving needs of Enterprise scale systems, also known as Systems of Systems. These are complex systems in which the human behavioral aspects are critical and emergent behavior is the norm.Trusted Systems Addresses the challenges in conceiving, developing, deploying and sustaining systems that are safe, secure, dependable and survivable. These are all emergent properties for which it is essential that the complete system is considered, once again, including the human element.Systems Engineering and Management Transformation Address the challenges of complex systems with rapidly changing requirements and technology, while being deployed into evolving legacy environments. Decision making capabilities to manage these systems are also critical as determining how and when to apply different strategies and approaches. The focus is on the creation of MPTs that leverage the capabilities of computational, visualization, communication and IT technologies to keep systems engineering and management on the curve.Human Capital Development Addresses the challenges presented by the retirement of the baby boomer generation, the reduced numbers of US citizens entering the technical workforce and the new systems challenges facing our technical staff. Research is needed to determine the critical knowledge and skills required for our workforces as well as determining the most efficient and effective means by which this can be instilled in our workforce over the their entire career.