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Olivier de WeckÌý
Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems, MIT
Friday, Nov. 1 | 10:40 a.m. | AERO 111

Abstract: In this seminar I will discuss what I have learned from studying the evolution of technology over longer periods of time. This includes how to quantify technological progress correctly (generalized Moore's Law, S-Curves and Pareto fronts) and how to plan for its future improvement through technology roadmapping and focused R&D investment.Ìý

Case studies presented will include civil aviation which connects humans and cargo across our planet, as well as the Deep Space Network (DSN) that is used to communicate with our interplanetary probes. I will conclude by speculating about the existence of a future technological singularity and what I see as the major challenges and opportunities for technology in general and aerospace in particular in the 21st century.Ìý

This seminar is based on the recent book published by Springer Nature.

Bio: Olivier de Weck is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His main research is in Systems Engineering with a focus on how complex technological systems, such as satellites and launch vehicles, are designed and optimized and how they evolve over time.Ìý

He is a Fellow of INCOSE and Fellow of AIAA and a former chair of its Space Logistics Technical Committee. He helped develop the first integrated model of the Next Generation Space Telescope (now JWST) and the concept of interplanetary supply chains together with colleagues at NASA and JPL. Prof. de Weck previously served as Senior Vice President of Technology Planning and Roadmapping at Airbus and he is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, as well as the Associate Department Head of MIT | Aero Astro.Ìý

His passion is to improve life on our home planet Earth, while paving the way for humanity’s future off-world settlements.