TY - JOUR
T1 - Lessons learned from establishing the Systems Engineering Research Center, a networked University Affiliated Research Center
AU - Lucero, Scott
AU - Pyster, Art
AU - Baldwin, Kristen
AU - DeLaurentis, Dan
AU - Wade, Jon
AU - McDermott, Tom
AU - Verma, Dinesh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Systems Engineering published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - A University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) is a highly valued engineering, research, and development resource to the federal government, largely within the US Department of Defense (DoD). Only 15 exist, all under special authority of the US Code. The Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), established in 2008, was the first UARC established as a networked research center, gradually growing to include more than two dozen university members, each offering systems engineering research capabilities. This networked model for a UARC has found support within the DoD—exemplified by the newest UARC established recently by the US Air Force. A large diverse pool of faculty and student researchers arguably delivers the most consequential academic research in systems engineering anywhere in the world. In its first few years, the SERC had to overcome challenges that single-university UARCs did not face in exchange for the advantages that such a sizable network of universities offers. This review paper explores those challenges, offering lessons for new network-based UARCs and other network-based university research centers. Systems engineering communities, globally, are exploring such constructs, and this reflective paper may offer useful insights.
AB - A University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) is a highly valued engineering, research, and development resource to the federal government, largely within the US Department of Defense (DoD). Only 15 exist, all under special authority of the US Code. The Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), established in 2008, was the first UARC established as a networked research center, gradually growing to include more than two dozen university members, each offering systems engineering research capabilities. This networked model for a UARC has found support within the DoD—exemplified by the newest UARC established recently by the US Air Force. A large diverse pool of faculty and student researchers arguably delivers the most consequential academic research in systems engineering anywhere in the world. In its first few years, the SERC had to overcome challenges that single-university UARCs did not face in exchange for the advantages that such a sizable network of universities offers. This review paper explores those challenges, offering lessons for new network-based UARCs and other network-based university research centers. Systems engineering communities, globally, are exploring such constructs, and this reflective paper may offer useful insights.
KW - Networked Research Centers
KW - SERC
KW - Systems Research Center
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166397159&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85166397159&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/sys.21712
DO - 10.1002/sys.21712
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85166397159
SN - 1098-1241
VL - 27
SP - 240
EP - 247
JO - Systems Engineering
JF - Systems Engineering
IS - 1
ER -