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.

Students learn about systems integration, technical leadership, innovation, professional development, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the engineering field through a variety of experiences including industry speakers, field trips, student presentations, in-class activities, and projects.

Students learn about systems integration, technical leadership, innovation, professional development, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the engineering field through a variety of experiences including industry speakers, field trips, student presentations, in-class activities, and projects. As distinguished from SYS 2055, students must also complete assignments relating their summer internship work to their field of study.

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.

This course provides students with the background necessary to model, store, manipulate, and exchange information to support decision making. It covers Unified Modeling Language (UML), SQL, and XML; the development of semantic models for describing data and their relationships; effective use of SQL; web-based technologies for disseminating information; and application of these technologies through web-enabled database systems. Corequisite: CS 2100 or SYS 3501.

A second-year level undergraduate course focused on a topic not normally covered in the course offerings. The topic usually reflects new developments in the systems and information engineering field. Offering is based on student and faculty interests.Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

This course examines the lifecycle of engineered systems (ES) and the public policies developed to regulate them. It covers risks, costs, benefits, and equity as common evaluation criteria for ES and their regulatory policies. It uses case studies and basic tools of decision analysis to critically evaluate the tradeoffs involved in developing and regulating ES through public policy. Pre-reqs: (STS 1500 or ENGR 1020 or ENGR 2595 - Engineering Foundations II) and (APMA 1110 or MATH 1320), and (CHEM 1410 or CHEM 1810), and (PHYS 1425 or PHYS 1420 or PHYS 1710).

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 evaluation of candidate system designs and design performance measures. Includes identification of system goals; requirements and performance measures; design of experiments for performance evaluation; techniques of decision analysis for trade-studies; presentation of system evaluation and analysis results. Illustrates the concepts and processes of systems evaluations using case studies. Pre-reqs: APMA 3120, SYS 2001, & SYS 3021.

What is a globally sustainable standard of living? How should governments balance the desire to create national income and provide for the human needs of their citizens, against the desire to conserve natural resources and the environment for future generations? This course takes a systematic approach to answering these questions by evaluating sustainability in the context of human needs.

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.

This is an introductory course on modeling probabilistic systems. The emphasis will be on model formulation and probabilistic analysis. Topics to be covered include general stochastic processes, discrete and continuous time Markov chains, the Poisson Process, Non-Stationary Poisson Processes, Markov Decision Processes, Queueing Theory, and other selected topics. Prerequisite: APMA 3100 or MATH 3100.

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

A third-year level undergraduate course focused on a topic not normally covered in the course offerings. The topic usually reflects new developments in the systems and information engineering field. Offering is based on student and faculty interests. Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

A third-year level undergraduate course focused on a topic not normally covered in the course offerings. The topic usually reflects new developments in the systems and information engineering field. Offering is based on student and faculty interests.Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

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.

A case-based approach to the design of user interfaces with a focus on iterative project experiences. Display design concepts are related to ecological factors, situational awareness, attention, vision, and information processing. Project cases are tied to real-world problems of decision support on mobile platforms, large scale command and control, and data visualization, among others. Prerequisites: SYS 3023 or CS 3205.

"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)

A fourth-year level undergraduate course focused on a topic not normally covered in the course offerings. The topic usually reflects new developments in the systems and information engineering field. Offering is based on student and faculty interests.Prerequisites: Instructor Permission

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