Welcome to SzajnLab, a research group in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at the George Washington University.
We study the design and development of complex systems, primarily in the aerospace and defense sectors. Our work considers both the organizational and technical system architectures to “design-in” an ability to achieve performance goals across extended and highly uncertain operational lifetimes. Recent projects have focused on the nature and function of scientific and technical expertise in the innovation process, particularly in the context of open innovation.
Our approach emphasizes a deep understanding of phenomena in their socio-technical context. We adopt a mixed-methods approach, with a strong reliance on qualitative techniques useful in understanding human behavior. We pride ourselves in collecting unique data sets that enable progress on stubborn policy-relevant problems.
TEAM
Richard Oladele Adeyeye Jr.,
PhD Student
Research Interests: decision-making, AI for complex systems design
Email: adeyeyeoladele@email.gwu.edu
Jason Crusan, DEng Student
Research Interests: crowd sourcing, concept evaluation
Email: crusan@gwu.edu
Shweta Mulcare, DEng
Student
Research Interests: system safety, AI/ML integration
Email: nanishwe@gwmail.gwu.edu
Aditya Singh, PhD Student
Research Interests: changeability, autnomous system control
News
November 3rd, 2022
Aditya presented on post-production change at his first in-person conference, National Defense Industrial Association, in Orlando, FL
November 1, 2022
New paper in JMD: Z Szajnfarber, N Joseph, E Gralla (November 1, 2022). "When do Concurrent Design Facilities Need to be Flexible? Understanding the limits of fit with novel problem types" ASME. J. Mech. Des. Feb 2023; 145(2): 021402. [Link]
September 1, 2022
New paper in JMD: E Gralla, N Joseph, Z Szajnfarber (September 1, 2022). "Fit As a Diagnostic Tool: An Analytic Review of Approaches to Measure Correspondence Between Technical and Organizational Architectures" ASME. J. Mech. Des. Dec 2022; 144(12): 121401. [Link]