Research is a major activity of the Systems Engineering faculty and is an integral component of the student experience in every Systems Engineering program of study. Research in Systems Engineering consists of three primary types:
Student Thesis Research
Required for students in the resident MSSE program
Research topics may be suggested by students, faculty, or external sponsors
Must relate in some fashion to the engineering of complex systems
May be analytical, experimental, or design-oriented
Represents individual work of the student
Results in a publishable thesis
Student SE Projects (MSSE, resident and non-resident; SEA; and Total Ship Systems Engineering programs)
Required for students in all SE degree programs
Must address the design of a complex system
Is performed by a team of 4-12 students
Projects are typically suggested by faculty or external sponsors
May require the development of new tools or approaches
May require prototyping
Result in formal NPS project reports
Report must demonstrate participation of all students on the team
Faculty Research
Expected of tenure-track faculty
May address any aspect of systems engineering or its application to a complex system
Funding is typically reimbursable from an external sponsor
Is the primary source of faculty-generated thesis projects
The Systems Engineering Department currently emphasizes research in:
Systems engineering process
SE specialty disciplines (reliability, human systems integration, logistics, safety, etc.)
Simulation and modeling of complex systems
Biologically-inspired unmanned vehicle and robotic control systems
Counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
Ship systems
Combat systems
Network-centric systems
A general description of NPS Systems Engineering courses and laboratories (and how they support research) is provided in the NPS Research links below, along with examples of student and faculty research.
