Looking back: 2020-The Year-In-Review: ….Looking forward:….2021-things WILL get better!
There have been a lot of year-end reviews in 2020; seemingly more than usual. The one comment that seems to be universal is this: whatever you say about it, however you analyze it, 2020 is a year no-one will forget.
And so, it is with Chesapeake and the Systems Engineering community. And as bad as 2020 has been in some respects, there are a lot of things to reflect upon and celebrate inside of the INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter.
The chapter started out with another outstanding year in 2020, keeping up with our core objectives to serve the professional community by encouraging, promoting, and advancing the systems engineering discipline. We wanted to reach out and support STEM activities in the local area; and nurture the future generation of scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Chapter had to creatively adjust to new ways of engaging individuals and addressing the limitations of no in-person meetings, no monthly dinners and some initially awkwardly staged presentations. Gone was the direct support at science fairs, and the ability to bring together SE professionals to present and discuss key topics and areas of interest for the SE and STEM communities. The Chapter had to reassess all our activities (including the twice a year events to recognize SE professionals and the volunteers, sponsors, and support organization), and had to perform trade-off and alternative solutions to continue our core objectives for this Chapter (Sort of like Systems Engineering?). Technology and creativity allowed the Chapter to continue our support to our membership, the SE professionals, and the rising STEM community.
Our chapter pivoted our efforts from in-person activities to virtual activities using ZOOM, YouTube, streaming technology, and quickly adapted to be very proactive in working with the STEM community on multiple levels. We included monthly newsletters; monthly professional presentations; job fair involvement and SE mentoring; student STEM activities; academic scholarships, education, and training; a consolidated awards & recognition ceremony; support to INCOSE International events (IS and IW); book reports, and two new book projects and blog posts on engineering topics. COVID-19 forced the Chapter to become creative and more focused on engaging with SE and STEM communities in a virtual world. It also turned out to teach us new ways to be successful with new adapted ways of doing business in this pandemic era. (Necessity IS the mother of invention!) We’ve learned some new things along the way; and we’ll be introducing new ways to share ideas, network, and interact that might continue to show that more people will interact and participate if you make it easy and fun for them to do so.
In no particular order, I’d liked to highlight some of the important accomplishments by the Board and by the Chapter:
Key activities and links are noted below as representative of the work accomplished. The artifacts submitted for the Chapter Circle Awards provide more in-depth information and documentation. And a word about the Circle Awards—every Chesapeake member enjoys the notoriety of being in a Chapter that is Platinum Awarded for the past 5 years, but every year it is like “pulling-teeth” to find material and these things don’t “just write themselves”…. So a very special thanks to seven superstars that answered the data call with achievements that allow us to win Platinum awards for the chapter: Dr. Keith Willet, Dr. David Flanigan, Zane Scott, Michael Pafford, Don York, Howard Lysick, and James Armstrong…everyone owes you a special thank-you!
Special thanks also to the Communications and Programs Directors and each of the Board of Directors for the INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter. And a big thanks to all of our partners, volunteers, and sponsors for making this another rewarding year for the SE and STEM communities that the Chapter supports.
Monthly Newsletters – INCOSE-CC publishes a monthly newsletter distributed to Chapter members and made available on-line to INCOSE members at large. The key objective of the newsletter is to capture current and planned INCOSE-CC events including guest presentations; planned INCOSE International meetings or events; link to our current and past presentations on YouTube and associated after-action reports; INCOSE-CC President’s Point of View article on relevant topics; any book reports or musings; advertisement for INCOSE-CC sponsors, training opportunities, job postings; summary of our Chapter Membership, including SEP membership; and general Chapter information on the Board of Directors, volunteering, and other administrative data.
Monthly Professional Presentations – INCOSE-CC hosts and sponsors a monthly dinner and presentation from SE and Other Professionals on topics of interest for its members and extended SE and STEM communities. After February 2020, all events were held virtually due to COVID, with excellent presentations via ZOOM from the guest speakers. Topics vary from SE-related technical presentations to how the SE discipline can be applied to everyday business and personal activities, as well as related topics of interest on bettering the SE and STEM communities with broader topics of interest. Presentations can be viewed at the our YouTube Channel.
Our Technical Contributions and Engineering performance were extremely significant, and the BIG accomplishments were led by some of the Chapter’s stand-outs: Dr. Keith Willet, Dr. David Flanigan, Zane Scott, Michael Pafford, Don York, Howard Lysick, and James Armstrong, there were engineering presentations, seven papers at the INCOSE IS, a 3rd major Edition of Alexander Kosiakoff’s SE bible, two other books, and key pamphlets…… and an SE presentation, that was turned into a road-show on the timeliest of topics…. The Resiliency of Hospitals and the Public Health Care system. Chesapeake Chapter members did not break stride in continuing their technical contributions.
2020 INCOSE-CC Annual Awards & Recognition Ceremony – This event was the brain-child of 1st-year Programs Director Clinton Hilliard, and although he was already awarded Most Valuable Director of 2020, expect more good things next year! 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. Details on the event and behind the scenes information are available at our website.
INCOSE International Events (IS and IW) – Chesapeake-CC actively participated in both of the major two events
Book reports and Blogs and General Musings
A special note of thanks to Paul Martin, our Communications Director, for his innovation in managing the information engine that is the chapter’s best way of accomplishing our mission of advocacy and promotion. Paul and his team continued improving the INCOSE-CC Web site to present more relevant content, provide access to more resources and technical information, and provide a more user-friendly interface to all of our content. Chesapeake Chapter’s website provides a wealth of current and archived information related to Systems Engineering.
Overall, the INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter has enjoyed working with the community at large; engaging with various key partners and stakeholders to bring tools, technology, and processes to our membership; providing SE professional services and information by hosting monthly presentations, publishing papers, and providing SE training; sharing our SE knowledge and expertise to a broad audience including students and other professionals. The INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter is very grateful to all of our supporters and partners, and we believe that we will be able to continue the level of SE services for the upcoming year.
It has been an interesting year, it has been a tough year, but above all, it’s been a pleasure serving the SE community with the Chesapeake Chapter.
It was my privilege and my honor to serve as your President,
~~Mark Evans