Systems & Information Engineering

Major dimensions of systems engineering will be covered and demonstrated through case studies: (1) The history, philosophy, art, and science upon which systems engineering is grounded; including system thinking and guiding principles and steps in the `systems engineering approach¿ to problem solving; and (2) The basic tools of systems engineering analysis, including; goal definition and system representation, requirements analysis, system assessment and evaluation, mathematical modeling, and decision analysis.

This course demystifies the building blocks and computational methods necessary to design and evaluate AI-driven systems. Students will gain hands-on experience in R and Python and leverage generative AI responsibly as a coding assistant. Students will learn how to formulate hypotheses, collect and preprocess data, conduct exploratory analysis, and iteratively refine AI models based on empirical evaluation. Prerequisite: CS 1110 or equivalent.

Introduction to deterministic optimization models: theory, algorithms, and applications. Coverage begins with highly structured network optimization models and ends with unstructured linear optimization models. Applications include (1) telecommunications network planning and design, (2) design and utilization of transportation and distribution networks, and (3) project management and scheduling. Corequisite: SYS 2001 and APMA 3080.

An introduction to the fundamentals for the analysis, design and evaluation of human-centered systems. For example, user interaction can be designed to leverage the strengths of people in controlling automation and analyzing data. Course topics include Task, User and Work Domain Analysis, User Interface Design Principles, Human Cognition and Information Processing (Top-Down Design), Human Perception (Bottom-Up Design), and Usability Testing. Corequisite: SYS 2001.

Focuses on the practice of systems engineering directly from current systems engineers. A variety of topics are covered by invited speakers from industry, government, and the academy. Discussions include engineering design projects, alternative career paths, graduate studies, professional development, and more immediate options with opportunities for summer internships and capstone projects. Prereq: 2nd Year or higher standing in systems engineering.

A first course in the theory & practice of discrete-event simulation. Monte Carlo methods, generating random numbers & variates, spreadsheet add-ins & applications, sampling distributions & confidence intervals, input analysis & distribution fitting. Discrete-event dynamic systems, modeling, simulation logic & data structures, output analysis, model verification & validation, comparing alternative systems, simulation optimization, case studies. Prerequisite: APMA 3100, and APMA 3120

This course shows how to use linear statistical models for analysis in engineering and science. The course emphasizes the use of regression models for description, prediction, and control in a variety of applications. Building on multiple regression, the course also covers principal component analysis, analysis of variance and covariance, logistic regression, time series methods, and clustering. Pre-requisites: CS 2100 or SYS 2201, and APMA 3100, and APMA 3120 or equivalent.

"This course is an introduction to the theory of the industrial organization (from a game-theoretic perspective) and its applications to industries with strong engineering content (electricity, telecommunications, software & hardware etc.) Topics include: congestion pricing in networks, pricing and efficiency in electricity markets, planned obsolescence in software development, ""network"" effects and the dynamics of technology adoption etc. Prerequisites: ECON 2010 and a course in probability (either APMA 3100, APMA 3110, or Math 3100)."

This course is an introduction to the theory, methods, and applications of risk analysis and systems engineering. The topics include research and development priorities, risk-cost-benefit analysis, emergency management, human health and safety, environmental risk, extreme events, infrastructure resilience, system interdependencies, and enterprise systems. Corequisites: a course in probability (APMA 3100 or APMA 3110 or Math 3100).

A design project extending throughout the fall and spring semesters. Involves the study of a real-world, open-ended situation, including problem formulation, data collection, analysis and interpretation, model building and analysis, and generation of solutions. Students work on the same project with the same team in SYS 4053 and 4054 in subsequent semesters.  Pre-requisites: SYS 2001 and SYS 2202 and FOUR of the following (SYS 3021 or SYS 3023 or SYS 3034 or SYS 3060 or  SYS 3062)

A design project extending throughout the fall and spring semesters. Involves the study of a real-world, open-ended situation, including problem formulation, data collection, analysis and interpretation, model building and analysis, and generation of solutions. Students work on the same project with the same team in SYS 4053 and 4054 in subsequent semesters.  Pre-requisite:  SYS 4053

This is a colloquium that allows fourth-year students to learn about engineering design, innovation, teamwork, technical communication, and project management in the context of their two-semester systems capstone design project. Prerequisite: must have successfully completed 6 or more courses in the standard SYS curriculum (SYS 2001, SYS 2202, and 4 of the following: SYS 3021, SYS 3023, SYS 3034, SYS 3060, and SYS 3062)

Detailed study of a selected topic determined by the current interest of faculty and students. Offered as required. Prerequisite: As specified for each offering.

Detailed study of a selected topic determined by the current interest of faculty and students. Prerequisite: As specified for each offering.

Independent study or project research under the guidance of a faculty member. Offered as required. Prerequisite: As specified for each offering.

Detailed study of a selected topic, determined by the current interest of faculty and students. Offered as required.

An integrated introduction to systems methodology, design, and management. An overview of systems engineering as a professional and intellectual discipline, and its relation to other disciplines, such as operations research, management science, and economics. An introduction to selected techniques in systems and decision sciences, including mathematical modeling, decision analysis, risk analysis, and simulation modeling. Elements of systems management, including decision styles, human information processing, organizational decision processes, and information system design for planning and decision support. Emphasizes relating theory to practice via written analyses and oral presentations of individual and group case studies. Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate program.

This course is an introduction to theory and application of mathematical optimization. The goal of this course is to endow the student with a) a solid understanding of the subject's theoretical foundation and b) the ability to apply mathematical programming techniques in the context of diverse engineering problems. Topics to be covered include a review of convex analysis (separation and support of sets, application to linear programming), convex programming (characterization of optimality, generalizations), Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions, constraint qualification and Lagrangian duality. The course closes with a brief introduction to dynamic optimization in discrete time. Prerequisite: Two years of college mathematics, including linear algebra, and the ability to write computer programs.

A graduate-level course on machine learning techniques and applications with emphasis on their application to systems engineering. Topics include: Bayesian learning, evolutionary algorithms, instance-based learning, reinforcement learning, and neural networks. Students are required to have sufficient computational background to complete several substantive programming assignments. Prerequisite: A course covering statistical techniques such as regression. Co-Listed with CS 6316.

Data mining describes approaches to turning data into information. Rather than the more typical deductive strategy of building models using known principles, data mining uses inductive approaches to discover the appropriate models. These models describe a relationship between a system's response and a set of factors or predictor variables. Data mining in this context provides a formal basis for machine learning and knowledge discovery. This course investigates the construction of empirical models from data mining for systems with both discrete and continuous valued responses. It covers both estimation and classification, and explores both practical and theoretical aspects of data mining. Prerequisite: SYS 6021, SYS 4021, or STAT 5120.

This course is an introduction to the theory of the industrial organization (from a game-theoretic perspective) and its applications to industries with strong engineering content (electricity, telecommunications, software and hardware, etc.). Topics include: congestion pricing in networks, pricing and efficiency in electricity markets, planned obsolescence in software development, "networks" effects and the dynamics of technology adoption.Prerequisite: ECON 2010, APMA 3100 or 3110.

A study of technological systems, where decisions are made under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Topics include conceptualization (the nature, perception, and epistemology of risk, and the process of risk assessment and management) systems engineering tools for risk analysis (basic concepts in probability and decision analysis, event trees, decision trees, and multiobjective analysis), and methodologies for risk analysis. Prerequisite: APMA 3100, SYS 3021, or equivalent.

This course will teach students the required skills, concepts, and algorithms to develop mobile robots that act autonomously in complex environments. The main emphasis is on mobile robot locomotion and kinematics, control, sensing, localization, mapping, path planning, and motion planning. Besides theory, students are exposed to simulation environments and lab exercises with real robotic systems.

For master's students.

Detailed study of a selected topic, determined by the current interest of faculty and students. Offered as required.