Title: Reliability and Optimization Methods for System of Systems

Speaker: Mark McDonald, Vanderbilt University

Date/Time: Monday, April 6, 2009 at 9:00 – 10:00am MT (DST)

Location: CSRI Building/Room 90 (Sandia NM)

Brief Abstract: The concept of "system of systems" as an emerging and important multidisciplinary area has become obvious as major aerospace and defense manufacturers have large scale units dedicated to systems integration and the Department of Defense has changed its approach to acquisition. The technical challenges in modeling, simulating, analyzing and designing a system of systems are formidable, and require the integration of several areas: (1) domain specific modeling, (2) analysis of competitive and cooperative behaviors, (3) uncertainty analysis, and (4) optimization, control, and combinatorial problem solving. This presentation provides an introduction to ongoing research at Vanderbilt University in the system of systems area and illustrates applications of reliability analysis and optimization under uncertainty. Applications of optimization under uncertainty to system of systems problems spanning joint aircraft conceptual sizing and allocation and management of pandemic influenza, and control of traffic networks will be discussed.

Mark McDonald is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Prior to his appointment at Vanderbilt, he earned the BCE in 2003 from Auburn University, the MSCE from UC Berkeley in 2004, and the PhD from Vanderbilt in 2008. His research interests include reliability and optimization methods for structural and multidisciplinary systems, as well as family of systems and system of systems engineering.

CSRI POC: Jean-Paul Watson, (505) 845-8887