04 February
Noon, LT308 Huxley
| Title: | Applying systems skills to highly complex systems problems to create "systems that work": case studies from Defence |
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| Abstract: | Defence is superbly rich in the challenges of designing highly complex technologically-based systems that can cope with risk and uncertainty. Individually and collectively these present fascinating and difficult systems problems for scientists and engineers. This seminar will explore the nature of complex systems problems and the challenges they present. Case studies will used to illustrate how they can be tackled. Discussion will focus on the insights to be gained from defence experiences and whether these are more generally applicable and the lessons to be learned for practising engineers. |
| Speaker Details: | Professor David Oxenham David Oxenham is a Fellow of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory based at Porton Down in Wiltshire. His interests and activities are wide ranging with a common thread related to developing and applying a systems approach to complex problems in defence bringing together analysis, technology, military concepts and industrial capabilities. David joined the Ministry of Defence (MOD) as a scientist in 1980 after completing a PhD in Low Temperature Physics at Birmingham University. His career has spanned research, trials, project support, operational analysis and programme management. The first half of his career was spent at the Royal Aerospace Establishment and its successors leading teams carrying out research into aircraft and weapons navigation systems. In 1993, after a period managing a major weapons research programme, he moved to become Technical Manager (Air Studies) in the MOD's .Centre for Defence Analysis. (CDA - a part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency). There, he was responsible for leading a large part of MOD's air operational analysis study programme and played a significant role in advising the decisions for most of the UK's aircraft and weapon equipment acquisitions. He left CDA at the end of 2000 to attend the Royal College of Defence Studies 2001 Course, returning to MOD's newly formed Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to take up a senior management role responsible for providing strategic leadership to Dstl's work programme for Maritime Systems. This included formulation and design of new programmes and assessing the strategic implications for Dstl's capabilities. He held this role until early 2008. David is a visiting professor at Imperial as Royal Academy of Engineering VP for Integrated Systems Design |
