SYSTEM DESIGN & MANAGEMENT - Key Persons
Amal manages all aspects of the admissions process including processing applications, assisting prospective students with the admissions process, scheduling visits and interviews, and collaborating with the admissions team to complete the review and admissions process.
She also serves newly admitted students, explaining institute policies and enrollment and planning admissions-related events and activities, and works with MIT Graduate Admissions to ensure students are properly enrolled.
Job Titles:
- Academic Administrator, SDM & IDM
Bill manages all academic administration duties for the SDM and IDM programs. He assists students with course registration, provides consultations on program progress and course plans, confirms individual degree completions with the Institute, collects and reports thesis grades and submits theses to the MIT libraries, and oversees class scheduling.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Senior Lecturer
- Engineering at MIT and an Instructor
Bruce Cameron is a senior lecturer in engineering at MIT and an instructor in the SDM integrated core class. He also frequently serves as a thesis advisor for SDM students. Bruce is the director of the System Architecture Group at MIT and also teaches in the Sloan School of Management Executive Education program. Bruce holds a B.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto and earned his Ph.D. and two M.S. degrees from MIT.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Research Scientist
- Thesis Advisor, Principal Research Scientist
Donna Rhodes is a principal research scientist in the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center. She serves as a thesis advisor for SDM students and has also taught thesis workshops for SDM. Donna holds a B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. from Binghamton University.
Douglas Hague SDM ‘99 M.S. Metals Science & Engineering Ph.D. Materials Science Dr. Hague enrolled in the SDM program as a sponsored employee at Pratt & Whitney as he transitioned from a role in manufacturing to a role in the office of the Chief Engineer. Since graduating, he has served in multiple leadership roles and most recently was named the inaugural Executive Director of the School of Data Science at UNC Charlotte. Learn more about Dr. Hague's SDM experience in his full interview.
Job Titles:
- Academic Director, Senior Lecturer, Director of the Global Teamwork Lab
Dr. Bryan Moser leads the teaching team for SDM core courses and is responsible for shaping the learning objectives and quality of delivery of SDM related courses and research. He directs the Global Teamwork Lab (GTL) at the University of Tokyo. Prior to returning to MIT in 2014, he worked for 25 years in industry at companies such as Nissan Motor Company, United Technologies Corporation, and as founder and President of Global Project Design, a firm pioneering software and methods for model-based project management.
Bryan focuses on engineering teamwork for complex systems problems and use of model-based methods to improve performance of diverse teams. He received a Bachelor in Computer Science and Engineering in 1987 and a S.M. in Technology and Policy from the MIT in 1989. His doctorate in 2012 is from the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences.
To learn more about Bryan's perspective on SDM, read his full interview.
Job Titles:
- Instructor and Thesis Advisor, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Professor of Engineering at MIT
Edward Crawley is the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT and a professor in the Aeronautics and Astronautics department. He is an instructor in the SDM integrated core class and has previously served as faculty co-director for the program. His research has focused on the architecture, design, and decision support and optimization in complex technical systems. Ed also serves as a thesis advisor for many SDM students. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Sc.D. from MIT.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Research Associate
Eric Rebentisch is an instructor in the SDM integrated core class and thesis advisor for SDM students. He is a research associate at the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center at MIT. He holds a B.S. in aerospace engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, a Master of Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University, and a doctorate in management of technological innovation from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
Erik handles day to day IT and technology needs for the SDM program, as well as managing the filming and broadcast of virtual information sessions and the SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series.
Fady Saad SDM ‘11 B.S. Mechanical Engineering; Industrial Engineering and Design A native of Egypt, Fady had spent the first 8 years of his career working for Siemens and Nokia in Europe and North Africa deploying large-scale telecommunication networks. He was ready to transition out of corporate life and was excited by the field of complex systems as he pursued his interest in building and scaling companies. After graduating from SDM, Fady co-founded MassRobotics, the largest robotics commercialization hub in the United States. Learn more about Fady's SDM experience in his full interview.
Job Titles:
- Industry and Certificate Director
- Member of the Core Leadership Team
Ignacio Vazquez Rodarte is a member of the core leadership team for the SDM program. He grows relationships with companies across a range of industries to pursue opportunities for SDM, including research collaboration, identification and sharing of best practices, and corporate sponsorships of student projects.
Ignacio also leads the Graduate Certificate in Systems and Product Development program, including admissions, sponsorship, curriculum, and instruction of the certificate capstone projects that address real-time industry problems. He works to support student development through mentorship and coaching based on his professional and MIT experience.
Job Titles:
- Event Logistics & Program Coordinator
Jasmine manages all aspects of event planning and logistics for the SDM program, including creating event concepts, selecting venues, budgeting, handling logistics and event execution, negotiating with sub-contractors, preparing expenditure reports, and evaluating event effectiveness. She has a strong background in event management and coordination, most recently as an Executive Event Specialist for Ellis Productions in Houston, TX.
Job Titles:
- Senior Financial and Administrative Officer
Jazy is the Senior Financial and Administrative Officer for SDM and IDM. She manages finance matters, including budgeting, overseeing spending and financial reporting. Jazy's responsibilities also include various human resources transactions and processing student research and teaching assistant appointments as well as fellowships. She works with Student Financial Services on tuition-related issues.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, SDM Program and Senior Lecturer
Joan joined MIT with over 20 years of experience leading technical marketing, corporate strategy, and merger and acquisition teams. She oversees all aspects of the SDM program, hosting information sessions and interviewing prospective students in the admissions cycle, chairing the annual review of the core curriculum, and serving as a thesis advisor for many students.
Joan started her career at Haemonetics, where she held various management positions in marketing. Prior to joining SDM, she was the Vice President of Business Development at Aspect Medical Systems and Covidien, where she led a global team managing technology acquisition and strategy.
Job Titles:
- Manager, SDM Career Development
Julie manages career development and employer relations for the SDM community. This involves one-on-one and small group career advising along with the development and facilitation of relevant career workshops. In addition, Julie regularly meets with companies interested in hiring our students and helps to make those connections. Prior to joining the SDM team, Julie spent 16 years as a career advisor working with MBA and MSMS students in the MIT Sloan Career Development Office (CDO).
Kate Cantu SDM '15 B.A. Chemistry, M.B.A. Project Management Selected by her employer, the United States Air Force, Kate Cantu was given the chance to join the 2014 SDM cohort as a professional development opportunity, building on her role as a program manager. "I always tell people, despite the Air Force selecting me, it was an absolute dream," Kate said. "It is an amazing program that aligns with everything I do for the Air Force and is applicable to a broad range of people, whether they are tech experts wanting to grow, or if they skew more to the side of being program managers that want to grow their development to be better managers of complex technical systems." Learn more about Kate's SDM experience in her full interview.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager
- Support to the Executive Director
Melat provides primary support to the executive director, career development manager, and financial officer. She assists the rest of the department with communications, planning, logistics, and other administrative support. Melat works in collaboration with other staff to build and maintain relationships with students, faculty across MIT, alumni, and industry in order to further the goals of the SDM community.
Job Titles:
- Faculty Co - Director, Professor of Management
- Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management
Michael Cusumano is a professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a faculty co-director of the SDM program. He is the SMR Distinguished Professor of Management and deputy dean at the Sloan. He specializes in strategy, product development, and entrepreneurship in computer software and digital platforms, as well as automobiles and consumer electronics. Michael previously held a joint appointment in the School of Engineering. He has served as thesis advisor for many SDM students and teaches the courses 15.358 Platform Strategy and Entrepreneurship and 15.904 Strategy and the CEO. Michael is part of the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management group at MIT Sloan. He holds a BA degree from Princeton and a PhD from Harvard.
Job Titles:
- Communications and Alumni Administrator
Naomi manages communications and alumni relations for the SDM program. She oversees the website and manages the department's social media, as well as planning and hosting the SDM Systems Thinking Webinar Series. As the alumni administrator, she maintains connections with more than a thousand SDM alumni around the world, staying in touch through newsletters and running events for alums in Cambridge and elsewhere.
Job Titles:
- Thesis Advisor and Affiliate Faculty, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Olivier de Weck is a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at MIT and the faculty director of the Engineering Systems Laboratory. He served as the lead instructor of the SDM integrated core class and has advised many theses for SDM students. Olivier holds an S.M. in aeronautics and astronautics and a Ph.D. in aerospace systems from MIT.
Job Titles:
- Distance Education Specialist
Ryan assists in the live broadcast of the SDM core class that enables students to participate in class at a distance. Ryan also provides AV services and video production, and captures SDM events through a variety of media.
Steven envisions and directs the use of technology in furthering the mission of SDM and the student experience. He manages information technology for students and staff, including websites, applications, servers and systems, educational technologies, and audio/visual and distance education technologies.
Suzanne Livingston SDM ‘13 B.S. Management Information Systems M.B.A. Human Factors in Information Design When Suzanne Livingston came to SDM in 2013, she had both a technical background and an MBA under her belt, however, in her role as an offering manager at IBM, she desired to grow in analytical and systems thinking. "I was working with a global team and building products that scaled to millions of users over many years. I needed an engineering focus, not just a business focus," she said. "The SDM program was balanced - a focus on engineering and a current view of strategic analysis frameworks from Sloan." Learn more about Suzanne's SDM experience in her full interview.
Job Titles:
- Faculty Co - Director, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- Weber - Shaughness Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Warren is the Weber-Shaughness Professor of Mechanical Engineering in MIT's School of Engineering and a faculty co-director for the SDM program. His research interests include dynamic system modeling, design theory and methods, and product development processes. He was instrumental in the design of the product development track for the SDM program.
Warren has also served as co-director of the MIT Center for Innovation in Product Development, as a founding director of the Nissan Cambridge Basic Research Laboratory, and served as director of the advisory board of the International Design Society. He is currently a member of the Educational Advisory Panel for the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.