Dr Ana Mijic

Ana is a Senior Lecturer in Water Systems Integration and a Director of the Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation. She is leading the development of novel systems tools focused on quantifying the interaction between the water cycle and sustainable development. The work has aim to inform regulatory bodies and water industry if and how we can support economic growth whilst ensuring sustainable water use and flood and water quality management under future uncertainties. 

Through NERC Innovation Fellowship funding she woked with the UK Environment Agency to apply systems thinking and systemic approaches to understanding the catchment water system complexity of the Cumbria Catchment Pioneer. She has led the UK NERC CHANSE project on systems water management and irrigation water use in India. Currently, Ana is a Systems Analysis Lead for the UK NERC CAMELLIA impact programme, where her work is focused on the development of systems water management models that can represent the integrated water infrastructure planning system, and how grey and green infrastructure solutions and housing design can be integrated to contribute to the overall quality of life in cities

Jennifer Whyte

I retain a position at Imperial College London, where I work closely with colleagues as part of the Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation led by Dr Ana Mijic (Centre Director). 

The Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation a Faculty of Engineering initiative located in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London. The Centre aims to bring systems engineering and innovation to built infrastructure. It is a Faculty of Engineering initiative, drawing together researchers from across disciplines. 

My research at Imperial has focused on systems integration in civil infrastructure. I was the Laing O'Rourke / Royal Academy of Engineering Professor of Systems Integration from 2015-2021. Research activities support the transformation to an advanced manufacturing industry with digital engineering capabilities, with decision-support tools for engineers and managers working on complex engineering projects.

I am now based in Australia, where, from July 2021, I have taken up a role as Head of School of Project Management/Director of the John Grill Institute for Project Leadership in the Faculty of Engineering at University of Sydney.  

In College I have a number of ongoing projects, and am working with a core team including Dr Luigi MoscaDr Ranjith Soman and Alexander Zhou. I am continuing to lead a strategic challenge on 'Data-Driven Engineering Design Under Uncertainty' in the Alan Turing Institute/Lloyds Register Foundation Programme on Data-Centric Engineering. I am delighted to be a co-Investigator on a new EPSRC grant that is led by Dr Ana Mijic, called Ventura, which is developing a way to visualize the interconnections between water and housing.

I am a member of Construction Leadership Council, involved in the Transforming Construction initiative, and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

My trajectory of research involved work with major infrastructure clients, project sponsors and project leaders to visualize and understand how to deliver complex product systems; identify risk and build in resilience and support collaborative working.  The work built on a trajectory of EPSRC-funded research, including the Design Innovation Research Centre (2010-2015) held at the University of Reading, which had a focus on new modes of design in the digital economy and was funded through a Challenging Engineering grant. 

Neil Carhart 

Neil Carhart is a Lecturer in Infrastructure Systems and Teaching Fellow at the University of Bristol as part of the International Centre for Infrastructure Futures (ICIF) and the Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre (QTEC).

Neil’s research includes investigating the planning and management of infrastructure interdependencies, the systemic resilience of infrastructure systems and infrastructure performance management.

This includes the exploration and use of Systems Theory and System Dynamics in organisational learning to improve safety, reliability and resilience. The University of Bristol is a member of 
UKCRIC, and his work supports achieving their missions.  

Dr Michel-Alexandre Cardin  

Michel-Alexandre is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer in the UK) in Computational Aided Engineering at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, and Director of the Strategic Engineering Laboratory.

Broadly speaking, he works on Systems Design and Optimization under Uncertainty, focusing on the development and evaluation of new computational techniques, digital processes, and algorithms to support the design of complex engineered systems, with applications in energy, transportation, and space systems. The work covers methodological topics such as concept generation and selection, decision-making under uncertainty, machine learning, stochastic optimization, uncertainty modeling, and virtual/augmented reality.

An important theme in the research is the concept of Flexibility in Engineering Design. This paradigm emerged from the theory of Real Options and seeks to design complex systems that adapt, reconfigure and change in the face of uncertainty and risks, with the goal of improving economic performance, sustainability, and resilience. Research on this emerging paradigm is highly needed, especially given ongoing threats from climate change, healthcare emergencies, geo-political tensions, and cyber-physical terrorism. Latest efforts focus on the development of a theory for Data-Driven Systems Design for Uncertainty, which explores the roles of AI and machine learning as part of this emerging paradigm.

Prior to joining Imperial College, Dr. Cardin served as a faculty member at the National University of Singapore (2011-2018), where he established the Strategic Engineering Laboratory. He worked as a Quantitative Researcher in the hedge fund industry, developing systematic strategies for derivatives trading using machine learning. He was a principal investigator for the Singapore-ETH Centre Future Resilient Systems project, and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology

Dr. Cardin holds a PhD in Engineering Systems and a Master of Science in Technology and Policy from MIT, a Master of Applied Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto, Honors BSc in Physics from McGill University in Canada, and is a graduate of the Space Science Program at the International Space University. He is currently serving as Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, served as Associate Editor for the INCOSE journalSystems Engineering (2013-2021), and on the Editorial Review Board for the journal IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (2013-2019). He is an avid ice hockey player, and proud father of three.