Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Monday, November 2, 2009 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
Edward Crawley
"The Zen of Systems Architecting"
ABSTRACT -- Successful outcomes for today's complex systems developments are often traceable to their beginnings. This is not a new realization; rather, the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians originated classical architecting in response to this very notion.
The practical distinction between engineering and architecting is subtle but nonetheless important. It is in the formalism and tools used to solve problems. Architecting is more the "art" than the structured analyses we are used to thinking about in the practice of spacecraft system engineering. This talk, called "The Zen of Systems Architecting," will serve to illustrate the similarities and differences, and try to motivate, or at least re-emphasize the inclusion of architecting within the standard NASA systems engineering process, as both processes are essential.
SPEAKER -- Edward Crawley is the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT, and is a Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of Engineering Systems. He received an SB (1976) and an SM (1978) in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and an ScD (1981) in Aerospace Structures from MIT. He currently serves as the Director of the Bernard M. Gordon MIT Engineering Leadership Program, an effort to significantly strengthen the quality of engineering leadership education for competitiveness and innovation. From 2003 to 2006 he served as the Executive Director of the Cambridge MIT Institute, a joint venture with Cambridge University, funded by the British government and industry, with a mission to understand and generalize how universities act as engines of innovation and economic growth. Dr. Crawley's earlier research interests centered on structural dynamics, aeroelasticity and the development of actively controlled and intelligent structures. Currently he is engaged with NASA, on the design of its lunar and earth observing systems, and with BP on oil exploration system designs.
In his outreach and public service, Dr. Crawley has served as chairman of the NASA Technology and Commercialization Advisory Committee, and was a member of the NASA Advisory Committee. He holds the NASA Public Service Medal. In 1993 he was a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Space Station Redesign. He has served on numerous committees of the National Research Council, and recently co-chaired the committee reviewing the NASA Exploration Technology Development Program. He is a member of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National Academies.