2020 INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter Annual Awards & Recognition Ceremony

Click to download the 2020 Holiday program

The Focus for December 16, 2020 Event

Even during this unprecedented year of challenges, we wanted to celebrate those who have helped us realize INCOSE's mission. The INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter typically hosts two major events each year at the Engineer’s Club in Baltimore, MD during a Recognition Ceremony for all of the new SEP members in August; then an end-of-the-year Annual Awards Ceremony for all of the Chapter sponsors, hosts, volunteers, special program support, and overall assistance to our Chapter activities and outreach programs. This year due to the COVID pandemic, the Chapter decided to combine the two events into a single virtual event and extend the invitation to other INCOSE Chapters globally.

On December 16, 2020, the INCOSE – Chesapeake Chapter hosted a special event via ZOOM with over 40 System Engineers to celebrate and exchange ideas to expand our horizon on how SEs can foster greater communication and professional engagement for various industries, Government, STEM community, and future potential candidates for Systems Engineering and STEM in general. But the primary focus for the event was to honor those Systems Engineering Professionals who earned their Certifications this past year and to thank the tremendous support the Chapter had received to make it another successful year and making a major impact on the Systems Engineering and STEM communities.

The evening was planned as a dual-ceremony event that resulted in a highly successful celebration. The first half of the evening was targeted as a social, networking opportunity complete with a simulated cocktail hour. Using ZOOM’s breakout room capability, Chapter event planners created 5 virtual rooms each hosted by an ESEP with topics designed to appeal to a range of interests. By design, the first half (the social hour) was designed to be informal, relaxing, and was intended to allow people to interact and visit.

To spice up this special event, 5 high profile INCOSE community personalities were recruited to host the virtual rooms and keep it interesting. The second half of the evening was the formal ceremony and awards presentations. Chesapeake’s President Mark Evans was Master of Ceremonies. He led off with a welcome and formal introduction of 5 VIPs, followed by the annual awards ceremony. Ms. Courtney Wright engaged in a lively interview on the importance of INCOSE’s Certification process. Her experience as the INCOSE Certification Manager was enlightening and well-received, as she was interviewed by the skillful senior SE, David Alldredge. This portion of the evening’s events concluded with the joint recognition ceremony of the 98 Systems Engineers that earned INCOSE SEP certification from local chapters (including Chesapeake, Washington Metropolitan Area, and Southern MD Chapters) covering the most recent period starting July 1, 2019. To make the event even more interesting throughout the evening, door prizes were awarded to five lucky winners.

PROGRAM AGENDA

6:00 Reception at Zoom Meeting Rooms
7:00 Welcoming Remarks by Chapter President

7:10 Award Presentation (Chapter volunteers and sponsors)
7:20 Dialog on INCOSE Certification

Interview with Courtney Wright, CSEP, Program Manager for INCOSE’s Certification Program. Hosted by D. Alldredge, ESEP

7:40 SEP Recognition Presentation
7:55 Closing Remarks
8:00 Adjournment however we’ll reopen the Zoom Meeting Rooms for further informal discussions if there is interest.

VIRTUAL COCKTAIL HOUR:

As guests entered the virtual event, they were met by host David Alldredge and given their choice of 1 of 5 Virtual Zoom Rooms in which to socialize & network with colleagues, peers, and friends. Each breakout room was hosted by one of our very own ESEPs as the room hosts. They managed the discussion and kept the topics lively:

Room Title	Suggested Topic	Facilitator	Suggested Drink:
...and a Happy New Year!	The INCOSE-CC into 2021 and beyond.	Myra Gross	Champagne
A fireside chat. (or hot topics in SE.)	Throw your log on the fire with selected hot topics in SE.	Rusty Eckman	Hot toddy
Ghosts of Christmas Past.	Reminiscing and introspection on the INCOSE-CC.	Gary Wieboldt	Eggnog
Wassailing we will go!	A general area to sound off.	Craig Tylers	Mulled wine
Auld acquaintances	How has SE changed through the years?	Dave Fadeley	Irish stout

GUESTS OF HONOR:

Everyone at the celebration event was honored by the attendance and active participation of four INCOSE Luminaires that also doubled as invited VIP guests during the formal part of the awards ceremony:

Ms. Kerry Lunney, President of INCOSE International, was on hand, telecommunicating all the way from Sydney, Australia during the virtual social hour. Her attendance was a big hit! Most of the attendees were able to meet and chat with her in one or more of the breakout rooms. It was obvious to all why her leadership skills are widely admired and appreciated throughout the community.

Dr. Ronald Luman, the Chief of Staff of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and a valued partner and friend of the Chapter. He is the Chesapeake Chapter’s only INCOSE Fellow and can always be counted on for a stimulating and exciting conversation. He is one of the founding persons responsible for keeping us going since our inception in 1995.

Ms. Courtney Wright, the INCOSE Certification Manager, provides great insight and guidance on new and innovative ways for SEs to become certified as INCOSE SEPs. Ms. Wright has been supporting INCOSE-CC events in the past with her presentations on certifications and in this year’s event an engaging interview to discuss the future direction for INCOSE SE certifications.

Mr. Rusty Eckman, the co-chairman of the Certification Advisory Group, is one of the hardest working co-chairs of the CAG and will be next year’s chair. Rusty provided a “fireside chat” in one of the breakout rooms and was the source of multiple great ideas for next year’s certification program and new initiatives for recruiting.

Mr. Andrew Merkle, the Mission Area Executive for Research at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and also the Program Chair of Systems Engineering for Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering showed up in the break-out rooms ready to chat and share ideas. Since he is a prolific author of research dealing with a range of biomechanics, systems engineering, and technical breakthroughs, he rounded out the high-interest guests of honor the crowd enjoyed getting to meet.

Ms. Roneal Joesphs, the President of the INCOSE – Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA) was engaging in her discussions on future STEM mentoring activities she is pursuing in the DC area. Chesapeake Chapter reps were intrigued by her efforts and offered to participate and support these mentoring activities.

ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY:

Our Chesapeake President Mark Evans was Master of Ceremonies as he thanked each awardee for their contribution to the mission of the INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter’s mission to share, promote and advance the best of systems engineering from across the globe for benefit of humanity and the planet.

The Chesapeake Chapter’s Booster Donation to the INCOSE Foundation

Recipient: Dr. James Armstrong, ESEP, INCOSE Foundation Treasurer

Communications and Information Technology

Nominated by Communications Director - Paul Martin, ESEP

Awardees:

Mark Simons
Tim Eveleigh, ESEP
JHU/APL Staff [Tammy Kolarik, ASEP, Mitch Fritsch, Bill Kaplan, Adam Radtke, and Gloria Crites]

Corporate and New Member Outreach

Nominated by Membership Director - Mark Kaczmarek, ASEP

Awardees:

David Alldredge, ESEP - Ambassador
George Anderson, ESEP, Ambassador, Past President
Charles Lapinski

Corporate Sponsors and Partners

Nominated by 2020 President - Mark Evans, ASEP

Awardees:

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering
UMBC Training Centers
Dassault Systems, No Magic
Perspecta
reStart Events
Project Performance International (PPI)
Certification Training International (CTI)
MetaTech Consulting, Inc
Planet Works, Inc.
Northrop Grumman Corporation

Youth STEM Outreach

Nominated by YSOC Committee Chair - Clinton Hilliard, CSEP

Awardees:

Jim Campbell, CSEP
Deborah Harris, CSEP

University of Maryland Student Division (UMD)

Nominated by Chapter Ambassador - David Alldredge, ESEP

Awardees:

Muhammad Taha Junaidy
- President - 2020-2021 School Year
Nilanjana Ghosh
- Vice President - 2020-2021 School Year
Krithika Govindaraj
- Secretary - 2020-2021 School Year

Outgoing Chapter Board Members Service Award

Nominated by 2020 President - Mark Evans, ASEP

Awardees:

Taras Mykytyn, ESEP
- President 2018 - 2020
Paul Martin, ESEP
- Communications Director 2019 – 2020
Treasurer - Tony Gigioli, CSEP
- Secretary 2019

Special Recognition Award -- Most Valuable Board Member in 2020

Nominated by 2020 President - Mark Evans, ASEP

Awardee:

Clinton Hilliard, CSEP, Programs Director, Special STEM advocate

CERTIFICATION CEREMONY:

AN INTERVIEW WITH MS. COURTNEY WRIGHT:

Mr. David Alldredge and Ms. Courtney Wright talked about certification challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One particular topic noted was how to proctor the SEP exams for applicant when taking the SEP exam. Prior to 2020, these tests would be proctored in a live setting in a controlled environment. Having to operate in a virtual environment risks the possibility of academic integrity and poses administration challenges for the proctoring of the exam. Ms. Wright described the different types of certifications available, and ways to utilize them, either as professional goals, or benefit for professional recognition (allowing electronic certificates to be attached to LinkedIn accounts). Ms. Wright also requested for volunteer ESEPs to support the generation of new SE questions for the SEP exams.

As this was held jointly with the Chesapeake, Washington Metropolitan Area, and Southern Maryland Chapters, each chapter and their respective levels of certification were recognized. Chesapeake Chapter welcomed 19 ASEP, 10 CSEP, and 5 ESEP. WMA welcomed 27 ASEP, 19 CSEP, and 2 ESEP. Southern Maryland welcomed 2 ASEP and 4 CSEP. Chesapeake Chapter President Mark Evans and WMA Chapter President Roneal Josephs made remarks honoring the recipients and outlining the significance of their certification achievements. Congratulations to all!

Door Prizes

Throughout the evening we gave out several $50 off certificates to our Lands’ End INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter Store for Logo Apparel! Congratulations to all the winners.