Abstract:
Concurrent Engineering, the GSFC Integrated Design Center, and NASA’s Concurrent Engineering Working Group
Concurrent Engineering is increasingly recognized as a distinct branch of engineering. It uses existing methods in a new way, reorganizing sequential processes into parallel operations, thereby compressing design cycle durations by an order of magnitude. Concurrent engineering emerged in the 80’s, and its aerospace applications began in the late 90’s at JPL’s Team-X and Goddard’s Integrated Design Center. By now these two facilities have produced over a thousand instrument and mission concept designs and have been emulated at dozens of other aerospace facilities. The Concurrent Engineering Working Group, integrating portions of 19 aerospace organizations, was formed with the goal of promoting and evolving concurrent engineering in the aerospace industry.
This talk acquaints the audience with the basics of Concurrent Engineering and the issues associated with it, including who is doing this work, what information is being conveyed, and how the team operates; as well as the history and goals of the Concurrent Engineering Working Group.
Biography:
Gabe Karpati
is the Senior Systems Engineer of the Integrated Design Center at the Goddard Space Flight Center. At NASA since 1985, Mr. Karpati focuses primarily on space flight mission design and concurrent engineering. He has participated in various capacities in a number of missions, including SSBUV, COBE, Hubble Space Telescope, WIND, Polar, Cassini, and Spitzer; and has led the formulation of over a hundred mission concepts, including the Altair Manned Lunar Lander, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, and astrophysical and planetary studies commissioned by the National Academy of Science. Mr. Karpati holds Masters in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Budapest. He lives in Bethesda, MD, with his wife and three children.
John Panek
is a Mission Systems Engineer in the System Engineering Services and Advanced Concepts Branch at the Goddard Space Flight Center. At NASA since 2000, Dr. Panek focuses primarily on space flight mission design and has participated in the formulation of over 35 mission concepts. Previously he helped design and build cryogenic instruments (XRS, EXACT) at GSFC, JPL, and Fermilab. Dr. Panek holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University and an M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He lives in Bowie, MD, with his wife and two children.