Researchers

Leadership


Leadership

rhodes
Dr. Donna Rhodes

Dr. Donna H. Rhodes

Ph.D. in Systems Science, Binghamton University
M.S. in Systems Science, Binghamton University
B.A. in Anthropology, Binghamton University

Donna Rhodes is a principal research scientist in the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center. She is the director of the Systems Engineering Advancement Research Initiative (SEAri), a research group focused on advancing theories, methods, and practices for the engineering of complex sociotechnical systems.

She is principal investigator for numerous sponsored research projects on human-model interaction, anticipatory decision-making, human-centered digital engineering practice, and innovative approaches for enterprise transformation under the digital paradigm. Her research involves deep collaboration and engagement with government, industry and other academic partners. She teaches graduate courses, professional courses and custom executive courses, and has advised over 60 graduate students.

Prior to joining MIT in 2003, Dr. Rhodes held senior leadership positions at IBM, Lockheed Martin, and Lucent. She is a Past President and Fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and associate editor of the journal Systems Engineering. She has over 150 publications and is co-author of the book Architecting the Future Enterprise, published by MIT Press in 2015. Her contributions in the systems field have been recognized by numerous publication awards, IBM Outstanding Innovation Award, Lockheed Martin NOVA Award and INCOSE Founders Award.


cardoso
Dr. Joana Cardoso

Dr. Joana I. L. F. P. Cardoso

Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology
M.Sc. in Systems Engineering Management, University College London
M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Porto

Joana Cardoso is a research scientist in the MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center (SSRC) and in the Systems Engineering Advancement research initiative (SEAri).

She studies multi-disciplinary approaches to advance interoperability methods aiming to lower design costs and reduce development times of sociotechnical and cyber-physical systems. Joana's research leverages theory and tools from causal inference to develop and use causal graphs in the proactive identification of interoperability problems during early design stages. Application domains of interest include robotics, autonomous systems, and healthcare.

Joana is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Tau Beta Pi Association. She has several peer-reviewed journal and conference publications as well as book chapters. Her publication topics range from technical interoperability analyses based on natural language processing techniques to enterprise-level studies focused on enterprise strategic planning.


rebentisch
Dr. Eric Rebentisch

Dr. Eric Rebentisch

Ph.D. in Management, MIT
M.O.B. in Organizational Behavior, Brigham Young University
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, California State Polytechnic University

Eric Rebentisch is a research scientist in the MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center and in the Systems Engineering Advancement Research Initiative (SEAri) and is an affiliate of the Engineering Systems Laboratory (ESL) in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a lecturer in the MIT System Design and Management (SDM) program with a focus on systems engineering. He was formerly director of the Consortium for Engineering Program Excellence (CEPE) and has served as principal investigator on various sponsored research projects at MIT.

He studies complex engineering activities using a sociotechnical systems approach, drawing on perspectives from engineering, management, technology, and human behavior. His current research focuses on digital transformation in engineering organizations, including the implementation of digital engineering and model-based system engineering (MBSE). His research interests and publications vary broadly, ranging from technical system architecture optimization to organizational design and transformation.

He is the co-author of 3 books and dozens of other publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, as well as professional publications. He has advised over 90 graduate student theses at MIT and other universities. Prior to joining MIT in 1990, he worked as a propulsion engineer at Lockheed Aircraft.


ross
Dr. Adam Ross

Dr. Adam M. Ross

Ph.D. in Engineering Systems, MIT
S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
S.M. in Technology and Policy, MIT
A.B. in Physics and Astronomy and Astrophysics, Harvard University

Adam M. Ross is a research scientist in the MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center, as well as co-founder and former lead research scientist for the MIT Systems Engineering Advancement Research Initiative (SEAri).

Dr. Ross has published over 100 papers and several book chapters in the areas of systems design, systems engineering, and tradespace exploration across alternative futures during early phase design. He has received numerous paper awards, including the Systems Engineering 2008 Outstanding Journal Paper of the Year. He is a recognized thought leader in value-driven tradespace exploration and system changeability, to which he has contributed over 16 years of research.

He uses a trans-disciplinary approach, leveraging techniques from engineering design, operations research, behavioral economics, and interactive data visualization and analysis. He has worked with various government agencies and other organizations, applying analytic techniques for strategic decision support and optimization for acquisition planning. Application domains have included civil transportation, defense and civil aerospace, civil science, and commercial and defense maritime systems.


hastings
Prof. Daniel Hastings

Prof. Daniel E. Hastings

Cecil and Ida Green Education Professor of Engineering Systems and Aeronautics and Astronautics
Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
S.M. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
B.A. in Mathematics, Oxford University

Research Areas: global education; aerospace systems; spacecraft-environmental interactions; space propulsion; space systems engineering; and space policy