WHAT IS SYSTEMS ENGINEERING?
Visualize a helicopter as a system. The components of that helicopter – the pilot, propeller, navigation, propulsion, etc – must all work together so the helicopter is able to perform its mission. A system performs a function that a single component cannot.
Now, think about the world as a network of systems that provide us with food, water, shelter, transportation, and the technology we need to manage our daily lives. Without these systems, life as we know it would not be possible. Likewise, without systems engineers, the management, lifecycle and performance of these systems could fail.
The academic discipline of Systems Engineering at USMA examines technical and human components, civilian and military components, land/sea/air based components and how each of these acts as a system. We improve systems by creating alternatives that increase system performance and longevity.
RELEVANT NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
Systems engineering and its disciplines are the future of the military. Military service under the current provisions of force transformation is described as joint operations involving Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps systems and units. These operations and systems are complex because of the number and type of interactions they perform, and who/what they are interacting with. These are the types of systems that systems engineering, engineering management, information engineering, systems management and operations research majors are working with.
Likewise, the integration and importance of systems thinking in the private sector is gaining momentum making Systems Engineering not only a dynamic field, but a rapidly growing one. The study of systems has far reaching implications on technology, management, urban planning and infrastructure, business, government, medicine and more.