Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems EngineeringEdited By Alex Gorod

Dr. Alex Gorod is a Professor at the University of Adelaide and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Zicklin School of Business, City University of New York. Alex is teaching courses in the areas of complex project management, leadership, systems engineering, engineering management, systems thinking, and operations management. He is a recipient of multiple awards, including the Fabrycky-Blanchard Award for Excellence in Systems Engineering Research and Robert Crooks Stanley Fellowship in Engineering Management. Alex’s primary research focus is on management of complex adaptive systems. He is an author of multiple publications, including numerous scientific articles, book chapters, and patents. In addition, Alex co-edited a book, titled "Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering." His research appeared in such journals as International Journal of Project Management, IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, IEEE Systems Journal, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Transportation Research Record, Supply Chain Management: an International Journal, and Systems Research and Behavioral Science, among others. Alex holds a PhD in Engineering Management from Stevens Institute of Technology and actively participates in multiple professional organizations, including INCOSE, IEEE, ASEE, SDS, ERS, and others. He currently serves as an Associate Editor of Entrepreneurship Research Journal. Alex is also the founder and managing member at SystemicNet, LLC, managing partner at Social Media Risk, LLC, and a partner at Mountava, LLC.

Brian E. White received his PhD and MS in computer sciences from the University of Wisconsin and his SM and SB in electrical engineering from M.I.T. He served in the US Air Force, and for eight years was at M.I.T. Lincoln Laboratory. For five years, Dr. White was a principal engineering manager at Signatron, Inc. In his 28 years at The MITRE Corporation, he held a variety of senior professional staff and project/resource management positions. He was director of MITRE’s Systems Engineering Process Office, 2003–2009. Dr. White retired from MITRE in July 2010 and currently offers a consulting service, CAU⇓SES ("Complexity Are Us" ⇓ Systems Engineering Strategies—website: www.cau-ses.net).

Professor Vernon Ireland, BE, BA, MEngSc, PhD, FieAust, CPEng, EngExec, is director of project management for the University of Adelaide, offering master’s degrees in traditional and complex project management. Previously, he has been corporate development director of Fletcher Challenge Construction, responsible for people and business systems improvement, in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Pacific, and Asian businesses of the $2 billion parent company. In academia, he was the foundation dean of design, architecture, and building at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Professor Ireland has been awarded the Engineer’s Australia Medal (2008), the Rotary International Gold Medal for contributions to vocational education (2006), and the Magnolia Silver Medal from the Shanghai Government (2000) for contributions to Chinese overseas relations. He has spent almost equal time in academia and industry interspersing these roles. Professor Ireland was chairman of the Building Services Corporation, the licensing authority in New South Wales, reporting to the Minister for Housing. He supervises 9 PhD students, 5 on linear projects and 4 on complex projects.

S. Jimmy Gandhi holds a BS in engineering management from Illinois Institute of Technology, an MS from California State University, Northridge, and a PhD from Stevens Institute of Technology in Engineering Management, with a focus on risk management. His specific research interests are in the field of risk management of extended enterprises and also in the field of risk management education in the engineering domain. He is currently with California State University-Northridge and has coauthored and been the editor for several books on entrepreneurship as well as a coeditor for the Engineering Management Handbook published by the American Society for Engineering Management. He is also a member of and actively participates in several professional organizations such as the American Society of Engineering Management and the American Society of Engineering Education.

Brian Sauser is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing and Logistics at the University of North Texas (UNT). He currently serves as the director of the Complex Logistics and Behavioral Research Laboratory and as associate director of research for the Center of Logistics Education and Research. Before joining UNT, he held positions as an assistant professor with the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology; project specialist with ASRC Aerospace at NASA Kennedy Space Center; program administrator with the New Jersey—NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; and laboratory director with G.B. Tech Engineering at NASA Johnson Space Center.

He teaches or has taught courses in project management of complex systems, designing and managing the development enterprise, logistics and business analytics, theory of logistics systems, systems thinking, and systems engineering and management. In addition, he is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Faculty Fellow, IEEE Senior Member, associate editor of the IEEE Systems Journal, and associate editor of the Guide to Systems Engineering Knowledge (a collaboration of the International Council on Systems Engineering [INCOSE], the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society [IEEE-CS], and the Systems Engineering Research Center [SERC]).

Dr. Sauser holds a BS in agricultural development with an emphasis on horticulture technology from Texas A&M University; an MS in bioresource engineering from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; and a PhD in project management from Stevens Institute of Technology.