Beverly Gay McCarter,  Principal

Gay McCarter received her M.S. degree in Counseling Psychology and Human Systems from Florida State University and her M.F.A. degree in Fine Art (the new MBA!) from the Memphis College of Art. As a consultant she is certified in the area of self organizing systems for complex environments and has held such positions as Executive Director and Associate Director in the private and non-profit organizational arenas. In addition, Gay is an award winning artist focusing on human dynamics and the inherent effects of complexity and the edge of chaos on human consciousness. Having dual graduate degrees in Counseling Psychology and Fine Art, she is able to bring a unique and creative perspective to understanding people, their roles and relationships, and the dynamic patterns found in complex organizational systems. She is an engaging lecturer, executive coach, certified group facilitator for cultural/organizational transformations, as well as a published author and researcher in the field of complex adaptive organizational systems, analyzing the human dynamics at play in today's fast paced organizational environments.

* Daniel H. Pink, "The MFA is the new MBA", Harvard Business Review (http://www.drawingonthepromises.com/blogs/blank/2005/03/mfa-is-new-mba.html ) 

Education

Master of Science, Counseling and Human Systems, Florida State University, 1982                                                       Master of Fine Art, Painting, Memphis College of Art, 1992                                                                                     Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of Florida, 1979

Selected Publications and Presentations:

Beverly G. McCarter and Brian E. White, Ph.D.,"Leadership in a Decentralized World" (to be released June 2009 by Taylor and Francis Publications, NY, NY),  2009.

B.G. McCarter and B.E. White, Ph.D., "Emergence of SoS, Socio-Cognitive Aspects", Chapter 3 in M. Jamshidi's book, "System of Systems Engineering- Principles and Applications", 2007.

William D. Miller, Gay McCarter and Craig O. Hayenga, Ph.D.,"Modeling Organizational Dynamics", IEEE International Conference on Systems Engineering, SMC, Los Angeles, CA, April 2006.

B.G. McCarter and B.E. White, Ph.D., "Collaboration/Cooperation in Sharing and Utilizing Net-Centric Information", 5th Annual Conference on Systems Engineering Research,  March  2007.

B.G. McCarter, “Social Aspects of Complexity: Self-Organizational Dynamics”, 2008 Understanding Complex Systems Symposium,  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, May 2008.

B.G. McCarter, "Complexity and Managing Change in Organizations", George Washington University,  Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning, Washington, DC, March 2008.

Beverly G. McCarter,  "Social Aspects of Complexity", MITRE (Boston, MA, McLean, VA, and Chantilly, VA), International Council on Systems Engineering New England Chapter (Boston, MA), March 12, 2008.

Lowell F. Christy, Jr.,Ph.D., and Beverly G. McCarter, "Why Whole Systems Thinking Is Moving Beyond Engineering Backwaters?", George Washington University, Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning, Washington, DC, January 29, 2008.

Beverly G. McCarter,"Complexity and What it Means in the Work Place", Women in Defense- Washington Chapter, Washington, DC. , November 2007.

William D. Miller, Associate

Mr. Miller has thirty-four years of experience in both the conceptualization and engineering application of communications technologies, products, and services. This experience has addressed both commercial and government sectors. These applications have fallen in the areas of resource allocation, R&D priorities, strategic planning, requirements definition, system modeling, system design, system acquisition, system development, system integration and system test. Mr. Miller has managed projects funded by Bell Laboratories, AT&T, Army and Navy development commands, and the National Security Agency. He is a 40 year member of the IEEE and a 14 year member of the International Council on Systems Engineering and was elected secretary of the latter organization for three terms (1996-1997, 2003-2004 and 2005-2006).

Education

Master of Science, Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1973                                                   Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1971

Selected Publications and Presentations

William D. Miller, Gay McCarter and Craig O. Hayenga, Ph.D., Modeling Organizational Dynamics, IEEE International Conference on Systems of Systems Engineering, SMC, Los Angeles, CA, April 2006.

Pamela J. Hurst and William D. Miller, Trends in Undersea Fiber Optic Systems, MTS/IEEE Oceans 2000, Providence, RI, September 2000.

J.C. Lawson, W. D. Miller, G. P. McNamara, K. G. Oza and G. J. Ryva, The Impact of Potential New Telecommunications Services on the Structure of the Local Network, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Subscriber Loops and Services, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, March 1978.

B. R. LaCava, W. D. Miller and B. Yaged, Last Trunk Usage Measurements in Step-by-Step Switching Systems, BSTJ, Vol. 55, No, 10, 1553-1572, December 1976.

Course Offerings by William Miller:

Innovation Through Lateral Connections - recognizes that many advances in civilization and the sciences occur when people, either singly or in groups, have an a-ha moment and realize how to apply advances in one discipline to another discipline. The course provides both theory and examples to illuminate the approach. Innovation through lateral connections is relevant to the social sciences, gaming, economics, engineering, and the physical sciences.

Approximate Calculation - develops skills to perform back of the envelope calculations based on making plausible assumptions and deriving simple models. This course has applicability in situations where a rough in the ballpark answer is needed given limited resources (time and money). Approximate calculation also has value in cases where there is a solution but it is unknowable or not measurable. The course provides both theory and examples to illuminate the approach. Approximate calculation is relevant to the social sciences, gaming, economics, engineering, and the physical sciences.

Network Theory - applies the new, emerging theory of networks to the organization and operation of biological, sociological, and human-designed systems. Network theory is based on the mathematics of graph theory. Topics include the phenomena of six degrees of separation, small worlds, the organization of the Internet, the power law of networks, and scale-free networks. Network theory is applicable to the biological sciences, social sciences, gaming, economics, engineering, and the physical sciences.

Experience

2006-Present: Innovative Decisions, Inc., Senior Operations Research Analyst                                                     2002-Present: Stevens Institute of Technology, Industry Professor in the System Development and Operational Effectiveness (SDOE)Program                                                                                                                                          1998-Present: WDM Systems, Consultant in Communications Systems and Systems Engineering                              1996-1998: AT&T, District Manager and Program Manager for Fixed Wireless Services                                          1983-1995: Bell Laboratories: Member of Technical Staff, Technical Manager in Federal Systems Business Unit from 1985                                                                                                                                                                                1979-1983: AT&T General Departments: Staff Manager, Project Manager and Product Manager, Business Marketing                                                                                                                                                                             1973-1979: Bell Laboratories: Member of Technical Staff, Network Planning Division

Andres Sousa-Poza, Ph.D.,   Associate

Dr. Andres Sousa-Poza is an Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University in The Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. Prior entering academia, he worked in manufacturing and production primarily in the food industry. Dr. Sousa-Poza has international projects and management experience in Western and Eastern Europe, Southern Africa and the United States of America.

Dr. Sousa-Poza's research interests lie in the effects of social and human factors on business and technology management. Specific research applications within this field include: organizational transformation, complexity theory, Systems of Systems Engineering, and the effects of social and cultural factors on management and organizations.

Developer and provider of Complex Adaptive Situations Methodology (CASM). CASM brings a new level of intelligence and common sense reasoning to a wide variety of software applications. The CASM software combines an unparalleled common sense knowledge base with a powerful reasoning engine and intuitive interfaces to enable the development of novel knowledge-intensive applications.

Education

Ph.D. in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla, USA, 1999                                            M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla, USA, 1995                                             B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, 1989

Samuel Kovacic,   Associate

Samuel F. Kovacic is a Research Scientist with the National Centers for System of Systems Engineering (NCSOSE) at Old Dominion University. His primary research is in the philosophical constructs of worldviews and the study of management and engineering practice as it pertains to complex situations, system of systems, strategic management and organizational change. he retired from active duty with over 22 years service in the United States Air Force. During that time Sam has developed extensive experience in flight and combat operations, and the software/system engineering field working progressively challenging assignments with background in Operations, Command, Program Management, System and Software Engineering, Budgetary Oversight, Contractor Officer/Technical Representative, Communications, and Vulnerability Assessments.

Developer and provider of Complex Adaptive Situations Methodology (CASM). CASM brings a new level of intelligence and common sense reasoning to a wide variety of software applications. The CASM software combines an unparalleled common sense knowledge base with a powerful reasoning engine and intuitive interfaces to enable the development of novel knowledge-intensive applications.

Education

Ph.D (currently in pursuit) in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering from Old Dominion University.                                                                                                                                                                              M.B.A in Aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University,                                                                            B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland.