ESD.84 Engineering Systems Doctoral Seminar
As taught in: Fall 2002

Understanding complex systems requires a holistic approach that cuts across traditional disciplines, as illustrated in this diagram from lecture 1. (Diagram by Prof. Daniel Roos. Used with permission.)
Level:
Instructors:
Prof. Christopher Magee
Prof. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld
Course Features
Course Highlights
Spanning the full breadth of MIT's innovative, multidisciplinary Engineering Systems Division, the seminar features prominent speakers in fields including engineering, management, and history.
Course Description
Examines core theory and contextual applications of the emerging field of Engineering Systems. The focus is on doctoral-level analysis of scholarship on key concepts such as complexity, uncertainty, fragility, and robustness, as well as a critical look at the historical roots of the field and related areas such as systems engineering, systems dynamics, agent modeling, and systems simulations. Contextual applications range from aerospace to technology implementation to regulatory systems to large-scale systems change. Special attention is given to the interdependence of social and technical dimensions of engineering systems.