The Proceedings of the 2024 Conference on Systems Engineering Research

Alejandro Salado is an Associate Professor of systems engineering with the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering at the University of Arizona and the Director of its Systems Engineering program. In addition, he provides part-time consulting in areas related to enterprise transformation, cultural change of technical teams, systems engineering, and engineering strategy. Alejandro conducts research in problem formulation, design of verification and validation strategies, model-based systems engineering, and engineering education. Before joining academia, he held positions as systems engineer, chief architect, and chief systems engineer in manned and unmanned space systems of up to $1B in development cost. He has published over 150 technical papers, and his research has received federal funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Naval Surface Warfare Command (NSWC), the Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), among others. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the International Fulbright Science and Technology Award, and several best paper awards. Dr. Salado holds a BS/MS in electrical and computer engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, a MS in project management and a MS in electronics engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the SpaceTech MEng in space systems engineering from the Technical University of Delft, and a PhD in systems engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Ricardo Valerdi is a Professor and Head of the Department of Systems & Industrial Engineering at the University of Arizona.  Previously he was a Research Associate in the Engineering Systems Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  His research focuses on systems engineering metrics, cost estimation, test & evaluation, enterprise transformation, and performance measurement.  His research has been funded by Army, Navy, Air Force, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, the IBM Center for the Business of Government, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He was the Founder and co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Enterprise Transformation and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cost Analysis and Parametrics.  He served on the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) as well as a member of the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico. He received a Ph.D. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Rick Steiner is an independent Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) consultant and systems modeling coach, with clients in various Aerospace and Defense companies, and an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona.  He retired after a 30-year career at Raytheon as an Engineering Fellow and a Raytheon Certified Architect. He has focused on pragmatic application of systems engineering modeling techniques and has been an advocate, consultant, and instructor of model-based engineering. Rick has served as chief engineer, architect, and lead system modeler for several large-scale defense programs.  He has been recognized by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) as an Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP) and has been honored as an INCOSE Fellow. Mr. Steiner continues to be a key contributor to the development of SysMLv2 and contributes to the system modeling professional certification process. He is also co-author of “A Practical Guide to SysML”, currently in its 3rd edition.  Rick is an avid amateur astronomer, auto restorer, bass guitarist, Church volunteer, and recumbent bicyclist. 

Larry Head received his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona in 1989. He has over 30 years of research and development experience in adaptive traffic signal control, signal priority, traffic management, and connected and autonomous vehicle systems. From January 2020-July 2020 Dr. Head served as the Interim Vice Provost for Online Learning at the University of Arizona. From March 2018 to July 2019 Dr. Head served as the Interim Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. From 2016 – 2018 Dr. Head served as the founding Director of the Transportation Research Institute. From 2006-2013 Dr. Head served as the Department Head of the Systems and Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Arizona. From 1997 to 2003 he was the Senior Vice President for Research and Development for Siemens ITS where they developed and deployed advanced traffic management systems in over 40 cities in the US. In 2007, Dr. Head partnered with Raytheon, iRobot, Tucson Embedded Systems (TES), and Preferred Chassis to compete in the DARPA Grand (Urban) Challenge. In 2010, in cooperation with Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), they established the MCDOT SMARTDrive National Connected Vehicle Test bed in Anthem, Az. The test bed has been a cornerstone for research in Connected Vehicle systems including the Multi Modal Intelligent Traffic Signal System (MMITSS). Dr. Head served as chair of the National Academies Transportation Research Board’s Traffic Signal Systems Committee (AHB25) from 2006-2012 and is currently a member of the TRB Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee and Traffic Signal Systems Committee. He was co-Chair of the National Transportation Communication for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) Signal Control and Prioritization Working Group (1211) from 2014-present and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Dedicated Short Range Communication Technical Committee from 2014 – 2018, and now a member of the SAE C-V2X Technical Committee.