Welcome to the Systems Engineering Center of Excellence!

Systems Engineering:

An interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems.

System:

an interacting combination of elements, viewed in relation to function.

-- INCOSE Winter Workshop, January 1996

Description

The INCOSE SECOE is a virtual collaboration of academic and industry researchers to advance the state of knowledge about systems engineering. Participants are universities, organizations, and individuals with the desire to foster empirical and theoretical research into the engineering of complex systems. This web site is the center of the SECOE; it provides information and electronic connectivity for collaboration.

The SECOE is a separate arm of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) for contracted research. It receives guidance from the INCOSE Education and Research Technical Committee.

Administration of SECOE is contracted by INCOSE as a part of each research contract. In addition to research coordination, the SECOE administration is responsible for the development and encouragement of research funding.

Services and Products

The primary goal of SECOE is to foster the development of funded research projects in SE. Research projects may be:

• Identified by INCOSE groups or external sources
• Collaborative participation by academia, industry, and government
• Contracted by funding sources
• Coordinated with other research for greater benefit
• Producing reports available to INCOSE and to participants

Charter

SECOE is chartered within INCOSE to:

• Provide a broad base of expertise and resources to foster the definition, understanding and practice of systems engineering within industry, academia and government.
• Conduct research as needed to aid in the advancement of the practice of systems engineering.
• Be a focal point for researchers from industry, academia, and government to collaborate, share, distribute and extend the existing systems engineering knowledge base.
• Act for the members as an agent to increase awareness of the need for research and to market and increase the level of funding of systems engineering research.
• Develop cooperative research efforts for faculty and students with other universities and utilize resources that may not be available on their own campuses.
• Facilitate the exchange of researchers between university, industry and government research institutions to expand and enhance the existing systems engineering research pool.

Why Participate?

• Direct access to academics for internal reviews
  By participating in SECOE projects, you gain access to experts in systems engineering theory, who can assist you with:
  • Research proposal reviews
  • Red Team and technical reviews
• Research collaboration by best minds in SE
  The results of SECOE research provide you with proof-based research knowledge rather than heuristics. Theoretical and empirical knowledge gives you specific and significant competitive advantages:
  • Ability to quickly train systems engineers, without waiting for them to develop years of experiential knowledge
  • Ability to handle changes in environment, processes, or products by understanding the impacts of those changes.
• Collaboration with company and government R&D
• Potential research teaming partner for proposals
• Rapid answers to priority topics

What do We Need From You?

• Research topics of interest to your organization
• What types of research structures best help you?
• Industry or academic researchers - Full-time or part-time SECOE participants
• Sponsorship and funding
  • Administrative sponsorship
  • Initial funding for projects

Please contact Dr. Scott Workinger to offer or discuss possible contributions.

Page last modified 7 Jun 04