Position 2020 INCOSE HRC Officer President Paul Sullivan, Northrop Grumman Paul_A_Sullivan[A#}y@hoo*Pt;com|paul.sullivan3[A#}ngc*Pt;com President-Elect/Vice President Open for 2020; will fill in 2021 Immediate Past-President David Swinney, Defense Acquisition University (DAU) David.Swinney[A#}dau*D0t*edu Treasurer Alberto Duarte, NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center (MSFC) alberto.duarte[A#}nasa*Pt;gov Secretary Sheila Dyas, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) Sheila.Dyas[A#}jhuapl*D0t*edu Program Chair Susan Askew,Defense Acquisition University (DAU) Susan.Askew[A#}dau*D0t*edu Communication Chair Bob Robinson, Boeing robert.a.robinson[A#}boeing*Pt;com Web | Social Media Chair Tony Lindeman, Dynetics Tony.Lindeman[A#}dynetics*Pt;com Membership Chair Bradley Biehn, Jacobs Engineeringbradley.biehn[A#}nasa*Pt;gov Industry Representative Rodney Wheeler, MITRE rwheeler[A#}mitre*Pt;org Government Representative Dr. Eric Sholes, NASA MFSCEric.C.Sholes[A#}NASA*Pt;gov 2020-04 - present US Army Redstone Arsenal Air and Missile Research and Development Command (AMRDEC) eric.c.sholes.civ[A#}mail/Pt;mil Academic Representative Dr. Charles McCurry, PhD, Tennessee State University (TSU) cmccurry[A#}tnstate*D0t*edu

2020 Officer Biographies:

President
Paul A. "Sully" Sullivan

PAUL A. “SULLY” SULLIVAN is a seasoned systems engineer with over 28 years’ experience in the US Military and Fortune-50 companies in the arenas of Defense, Consumer and Durable Goods, and  Aerospace.  He first learned systems engineering in 1992 while performing project officer duties at the United States Marine Corps; he is a Senior Principle Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman Corporation.  He has worked in various systems and software roles:  architecting GCCS and the C2PC in the USMC, spearheading Year 2000 (Y2K) remediation and SAP ERP implementations at Procter and Gamble, Mead Johnson, and Harman Becker, representing Human-Systems Integration on the DD-1000 (DDX) Zumwalt Destroyer’s Systems Architecture Team, and implementing Model-Based Engineering for the Boeing 787 Cockpit (Fuselage Section 41) for Spirit Aerosystems.  Paul moved to Huntsville in 2009 to work Army Air Traffic Services for General Dynamics and now Missile Defense at Northrop Grumman.

Paul has earned a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Tennessee Tech and a Masters in Software Engineering from National University; he earned certification Level II Systems Engineering Acquisition Professional at the Defense Acquisition University.  Paul is an INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) and IEEE Senior Member; he is working on his CSEP & ESEP packages.  He enjoys spending time with family, exercising, and studying Aerospace and Defense topics when not volunteering for the INCOSE Huntsville Regional Chapter (HRC) and IEEE Huntsville Section.

Immediate Past-President
David Swinney
David is a Professor of Systems Engineering for the Defense Acquisition University (South Region). He teaches courses in systems engineering, test and evaluation, and information technology. He is a member of the DoD Acquisition Corps and holds level 3 certifications in the Program Systems Engineer, Program Management, Test and Evaluation, and Information Technology career fields.  

David came to Huntsville in 2005 after retiring from active duty in the US Air Force. He has extensive experience leading teams in the engineering management of large and complex aerospace systems including the development, test, fielding and support of large body aircraft, space launch vehicles, satellites, and ballistic missiles, and their associated test, launch, and support facilities. He holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University and a graduate degree in astronautical engineering, from the Air Force Institute of Technology. David has a wife and four children, and his hobbies include music, fencing, and shooting.

Treasurer
Luis Alberto Duarte
Alberto, born in Bogotá, Colombia and a US citizen, has devoted his 30 plus US years to his family, the community, and the Aerospace industry. First, worked for Federal Government contractors (Martin Marietta and Boeing Aerospace) and then for the US Aerospace Agency at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). For the last 24 years in NASA, he has had the privilege to support several organizations and programs and projects (Space Shuttle, National Launch System (NLS), Space Transportation Directorate, Safety and mission assurance (S&MA) and Engineering Directorate) in various technical and management capacities: lead project engineer, S&MA Manager, system engineer; Program risk management manager; director assistant and the X-33 Propulsion Chief Engineer.  Currently he is working under the MSFC Chief Engineer’s Office in the Systems Engineering Management Organization.  

Alberto holds: BS degree in Chemical Engineering from “National University of Colombia”; Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University of New Orleans; and Master’s degree in Systems Engineering & Engineering Management from University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). He is the President of the Optimist Foundation (over one million dollars fund).

Secretary
Sheila Dyas
Sheila has over 25 years of systems engineering and project management experience in healthcare, aerospace, undersea and industrial machinery industries. She is currently working at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and supporting the Defense Health Agency in defining processes, optimizing operations and measuring performance for funding management, medical logistics and clinical care. 

Program Chair
Communication Committee Chair
Bob Robinson
Bob is an IEEE Senior Member, Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP), and Boeing Associate Technical Fellow in embedded software systems. He currently works with the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) Advanced Network & Space Systems (ANSS) group in Huntsville, Alabama, serving as team Scrum master on the NASA Flight Computer Characterization Software and checkout, followed by test phases in the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana and the NASA Stennis facility in Mississippi. He previously worked on the NASA ARES I IUA contract, and then moved to Everett, Washington for a year to support final integration and test of the Boeing 787 flight control surface elements. He has supported the U.S. Department of Homeland Security programs and on systems engineering activities for Boeing’s efforts in Saudi Arabia and ground robotics. Bob led SPACEHAB program software engineering for 13 years, tailored program policies and procedures for conformance to SEI capability maturity model process discipline guidelines. He worked as systems and software engineer on the Carnegie Mellon Red Team for DARPA Grand Challenge desert races, and subsequently handled systems engineering for unmanned vehicles in urban combat scenarios, as well as software defined radios for U.S. Army and Air Force customers.

Bob has served in a series of software, hardware, and systems engineering roles over the past 25 years in homeland security, unmanned vehicle systems, commercial space carriers, military ballistic defense, commercial nuclear safety programs, and the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia airport. After 6 years active Navy duty in the early 70s, Bob completed multiple degrees at Louisiana Tech, then worked for Avco Electronics, SAIC, Unisys, and GTE in Huntsville before arriving at McDonnell Douglas in 1991, merging with The Boeing Company in 1997. Bob earned a Masters in Systems Architecting and Engineering from University of Southern California in 2004 (Software Engineering specialization track), Bachelors in Mathematics/Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech (1980), and completed Masters in Electrical Engineering coursework at Louisiana Tech (1981). Bob is active in twenty IEEE Standards Association committees/working groups, the SAE AS-4 Unmanned Systems standards committee, and he serves on IEEE, INCOSE, and AUVSI manuscript review teams, and reviews abstracts/manuscripts on Boeing internal conference committees.

Bob created a web-based CMMI Process Improvement discussion group on a weekend between a two-week NASA JSC Joint Integrated Simulation session. He solicited subject matter expertise from SEI and worldwide consultants, and he moderates group interactions.

In Huntsville, Bob manages the IEEE and INCOSE websites, and serves on several area technical conference planning committees annually. Bob was the 2008 Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS) IEEE Professional of the Year, currently on the HATS board as 2009 HATS president-elect and INCOSE delegate, and serves on various forum/conference planning committees. He works with area youth to promote excellence in science and technology pursuits in Science and Engineering Fairs, Future Cities Competitions, and other technology based events for middle school, high school, and university students. Bob served in 2003-2007 as INCOSE Huntsville Chapter member chair, then as communications chair and program publicist, coupled with webmaster duties.

Membership Committee Chair
Bradley Biehn
Bradley  is an Active INCOSE Member since June 2011 with more than 26 years of experience on project and program management in government and industry.  His primary areas of expertise include Verification and Validation, Risk Management, Systems Engineering, Space Systems, Ballistic Missile Defense, Interdisciplinary Space Technology research and development, and Test, Evaluation.  He works with current members to develop additional members of the local INCOSE organization.

Industry Representative
Rod Wheeler

Rod is a Principal Systems Engineer working for MITRE, where he supports MDA, PEO AVN, and previously, with PEO MS in engineering and implementing systems engineering MBSE, and their Digital Enterprise tools, methodology and processes.  Prior to working with PEO MS, he worked with NASA Exploration Program, Constellation Project, Orbital Space Plane, and MSFC Engineering Directorate, providing engineering support, implementation, and training of NASA HQ’s digital environment, Integrated Collaborate Environment (ICE) and engineering tool suite.

During his 30+ years of experience in leadership and implementation of systems engineering for DoD, NASA, and commercial hardware and software development, developed specific areas of knowledge including architectures, requirements management and traceability, development of hardware and software requirements, integration, systems modeling and simulations, functional analysis, trade studies, verification, test, configuration management, risk management, cost/schedule analysis, using DE/Model Based Systems Engineering within NASA, DoD and US commercial corporations.   

Rod holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering, from University of Alabama in Huntsville, completed all requirements for Masters in Systems Engineering at UAH, and has numerous certificates for course work to include Project Management, MBSE, Risk Management, Product Lifecycle Management.

Rod joined INCOSE (NCOSE) in 1991, participates in Multiple INCOSE Working Groups, is Past President IE Huntsville Group, and is Vice President, and Past President, of the AL-TN Trail of Tears Corridor Association, Inc. a 501(c )3.  

Government Representative
Dr. Eric Sholes is an INCOSE  Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) and is currently serving as the INCOSE-HRC government representative. He is currently supporting NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as Deputy Manager of Advanced Concepts Office.  Dr. Sholes has 19 years of experience in systems engineering and project management supporting development and support of unmanned systems, tactical missiles, missile defense systems, hypersonic missiles, and space systems with a tailored focus specializing on digital transformation and the intersection of systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and programmatic/acquisition.  He holds a Master’s in Business Administration and a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Academic Representative
Dr. McCurry joined Tennessee State University (TSU) as an Assistant Professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department in 2015. He obtained his B.S. (1995) in Electrical Engineering, M.E. (2005) in Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. (2011) degree in Computer Information and Systems Engineering from TSU.   Prior to his current position, He spent the last five years as a system and control engineering consultant (Booz Allen Hamilton) to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).  His research interest which correlated with his work at AFRL include the evolution of system engineering in the DoD,  integrated system health management (ISHM) and state awareness and real-time response (SARTR) methodologies and applications for aerospace systems, decision-making architecture based upon human cognition, decision-making in human and machine teams, computational intelligence methods (i.e. neural networks, fuzzy logic) in decision-making, and human performance and workload assessments.  His accomplishments to date include 10 conference publications, 5 conference presentations, and authorship of a textbook chapter.  He is also certified as an ASEP by INCOSE and faculty advisor to the INCOSE student division and IEEE chapter at TSU.