Darcy Allison "An Introduction to Digital Engineering and It's Possibilities"

10:00 am
Frdiay, January 26, 2024
270 NCB Hall
Faculty Host:   Dr. Rakesh Kapania

ABSTRACT:  Digital engineering has been referred to as "the true successor to stealth" by Dr. Will Roper, who served as the 13th Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, overseeing procurement for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. Digital engineering is a paradigm shift in culture, technology, process, and technical decision making--resulting in what seems to be a tangled web of technical turmoil. This complex problem needs solutions so our industry can obtain practical digital engineering implementations and realize the tantalizing benefits when it is done right. This talk will define digital engineering and discuss strategies for implementing this new approach to engineering in order to speed air vehicle and other product development programs. Topics that will be covered include multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization (MDAO), conceptual design, model integration, ecosystems, digital twins, federated authoritative sources of truth, digital threads, ontologies, and model based engineering among others. A review of the high-level strategies published by the various Department of Defense Services to move toward their digital engineering future will also be highlighted.

BIO:  Darcy Allison earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University. He then worked on several large commercial satellite programs at Space Systems/Loral, working all aspects of the product lifecycle. He next earned his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech. Darcy started his own company after graduation from Virginia Tech called Optimal Flight Sciences and worked on AFRL contracts and bleeding edge technology where he helped discover and develop significant innovations still shaping Air Force research programs. He joined AFRL as a Government civilian working in the Aerospace Systems Directorate leading large air vehicle design research programs. He then joined Raytheon to lead the development of the company's digital engineering approach.