Systems Engineering Chapter

Systems Engineering Chapter Members and Contacts,

I have posted this semester’s meeting schedule to the official calendar (located here). We do not have any guest speakers at UCF lined up yet, but we will be attending the INCOSE Orlando meetings as a group. Their monthly meetings consistently feature prominent speakers from the industry and intense forum-style discussions with chapter members. If you are interested in attending and cannot find a ride, please contact myself or one of the other board members and we would be happy to carpool with you. Our contact information is listed here.

I have also posted the meeting times for the project team and the board or directors. If you are interested in working on the project with us, you can find more information on this page, or you can contact our Activities coordinator, Marvin Zarra. If you are interested in becoming part of our chapter’s leadership, you can contact myself. Also don’t forget, You can turn in membership applications at any of our meetings and begin experiencing the full benefits of being part of an established professional organization with an active student membership right here at UCF! You can download the application here.

Corey McCall
President, SEC
sec@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu

SEC Members, please order your T-Shirts as soon as possible. We will be submitting our order for the spring soon. You can submit cash, money order, or check payment to our treasurer, Alex. You may also submit your order at any of our meetings. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment or shoot us an email at sec@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu.

Update 11/16:
Presentation: link
DARPA RFI: link

Hey Everyone! On the 16th of November at 6:00pm, we will be having our next general meeting in the ENG2-310 computer lab with Dr. Thomas Burke. Dr. Burke got his BA in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, then went on to Caltech to get his PhD in Chemistry. He has had many publications, and his career is one to be envied by the majority of engineers, as he has done work for the CIA, TRW, Bearingpoint, and many other top notch companies.

Dr. Burke came to us to propose a project that we have decided to take on as our very first. We will be redesigning the DoD technology acquisition system while researching the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Global Information Grid data network as a case study. If you would like to know more about the project, come to our meeting where Dr. Burke will be introducing it to us.

Link to the official flyer: Click Here

SEC Newsletter November

We are currently hosting online elections for the Vice President and Activities Coordinator positions. If you are a member, please click the following link and vote ASAP. All votes must be submitted by Monday, October 26th at 5:00pm.

Link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDRsUHZqMFA0ZHBpczVSVnRvWVBZLXc6MA

Thank you,
Corey McCall
President, SEC

We are currently seeking to fill the officer positions of Activities Coordinator and Vice President. If you are interested and have not already submitted a short paragraph about yourself and why you would make a good officer to our email, please do so as soon as possible. We will be having a board meeting next week and would love to have your participation. Becoming an officer in a UCF registered student organization is a great way to get involved with other students, faculty, and industry professionals. Officer terms renew every spring.

Activities Coordinator:

1. Ensure that we conduct monthly chapter meetings.
2. Research local projects for chapter activity ideas.
3. Poll members about chapter project ideas.
4. Manage teams for special projects.
5. Plan activities and events.
6. Ensure that we present annual awards to SE teachers and chapter members.
7. Provide a student to present a paper at an INCOSE symposium.

Vice President:

1. Assist the President in his/her duties.
2. Assumes the President’s responsibilities in his/her absence
3. Coordinate any conferences, retreats, or training.
4. Keep accurate records of all meetings in the Secretary’s absence.
5. Work with the treasurer to perform an audit of all financial transactions of the organization once per semester.
6. Assist in special projects as assigned by the President.

Also note that you must submit a membership application if you are running for an officer position.

The October Newsletter is now available. You can view it here.

Today, CNNMoney.com’s “Best Jobs in America 2009″ article features Systems Engineering as the #1 job. Here is a breakdown of the story. The full article can be found here.

What they do: They’re the “big think” managers on large, complex projects, from major transportation networks to military defense programs. They figure out the technical specifications required and coordinate the efforts of lower-level engineers working on specific aspects of the project.

Why it’s great: Demand is soaring for systems engineers, as what was once a niche job in the aerospace and defense industries becomes commonplace among a diverse and expanding universe of employers, from medical device makers to corporations like Xerox and BMW.

Pay can easily hit six figures for top performers, and there’s ample opportunity for advancement. But many systems engineers say they most enjoy the creative aspects of the job and seeing projects come to life. “The transit system I work on really makes a tangible difference to people,” says Anne O’Neil, chief systems engineer for the New York City Transit Authority.

Drawbacks: Long hours are common; project deadlines can be fierce.

Pre-reqs: An undergrad engineering degree; some jobs might also require certification as a certified systems engineering professional (CSEP).

Update: Here are the slides from the presentation. They are not to be used without explicit permission from the author. If you have any questions, contact us at secucf@gmail.com
Dr. Sala’s Presentation
Corey’s Project Presentation

We will be holding a general meeting on Monday, October 12th at 6:00pm in the EGN2-310 computer lab. At the meeting, guest speaker Dr. Serge Sala-Diakanda, will discussing the evolution of modern Systems Engineering. We will then discuss the project that our chapter plans to take on this semester. Below, I have attached an abstract of the presentation and a biography of the guest speaker.

This meeting will be open to members as well as non-members, so invite your friends! If you are interested in becoming a member, please fill out and return the membership application (click here) along with the required $20 membership fee and a copy of your current class schedule.

We will also be voting on members to fill our currently vacant Activities Coordinator and Vice President positions. The voting will be online and open to all members so if you have not yet returned your completed membership application, please do so at this meeting! If you are interested in either of these positions, please submit a single paragraph on why you are qualified before the meeting. More information can be found here. We would love to have you as part of the SEC team!

Abstract:

Systems engineering applications are rapidly expanding beyond the traditional field of aerospace and defense. Today, systems engineers are needed in such varied domains as healthcare, supply chain management, and civil engineering, just to name a few. Many of the challenges found in those domains require the design and development of complex computer-based systems. A best practice in such case is commonly referred to as Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). This presentation will introduce the systems modeling language (SysML), and will provide practical examples as to how the language can be used to design complex solutions.

Biography:

Dr. Sala-Diakanda is visiting assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS) at the University of Central Florida. He is also director of the IBM Systems Engineering Laboratory from the Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering (IASE). Dr. Sala-Diakanda holds a doctorate in Simulation and Modeling, a M.S. in Manufacturing Systems and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. His current research focus is on the applications of systems dynamics and systems engineering method for the design and conceptualization of complex engineered systems. He currently the graduate course of Systems Engineering (ESI 6551) and will teach the new undergraduate course in Systems Engineering (EIN 4517)

Corey McCall
President, SEC
secucf@gmail.com
http://secucf.com

On August 23rd, we participated in our first membership event of the 2009-2010 school year, Opening Knight. The event was put on by the Office of Student Involvement’s Knights of the Round Table (KoRT). Several SEC representatives set up a table and answered questions for an audience of well over 2,000 students. During the event, we were able to secure the contact information of more than 60 highly interested students. We have since sent them an email and invited them to our Membership Meeting on September 9th.

Photo: Greg Anderson, Public Relations Officer. Catherine Cum, Membership Coordinator.