SERC UPDATES – February 2025
Welcome
Dear Colleagues,
We hope 2025 is off to a productive start. Throughout the SERC and AIRC network, we are eager for another year of vigorous research, workshops, conference presentations, and engagement with the broader systems and acquisition communities. We remain dedicated to producing high-value research for our sponsors across the Department of Defense.
This newsletter includes a report on how AIRC is guiding the Defense Civilian Training Corps pilot program, a recap of a webinar Dr. Laura Freeman hosted on generative AI, and a welcome to Dr. Jose Ramirez-Marquez as AIRC’s first Director of Acquisition Analytics.
Sincerely,
Dinesh Verma
Executive Director
News
Freeman of the SERC Research Council Leads Generative AI Webinar
Dr. Laura Freeman of Virginia Tech moderated a panel with representatives from government and academia that discussed the potential for generative AI to influence the DoD acquisition process.
AIRC Adds First Director of Acquisition Analytics
Dr. Jose Ramirez-Marquez of Stevens Institute of Technology will track the dynamic convergence of defense acquisition, data, and analytics.
AI4SE & SE4AI Workshop Early Interest Form
Get updates for this fall’s workshop co-hosted with the U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center, with a theme of “Systems Engineering AI That Works: Assuring Transformative Capabilities and Enabling a Digital Transformation.”
Research Highlights
Research in Support of DCTC Development, Piloting and Instrumentation
This full-length report details AIRC efforts to pilot the Defense Civilian Training Corps at four universities and shows its potential for scale to prepare larger numbers of talented students for civilian DoD careers.
Implementing a Digital Data Strategy for Acquisition and Sustainment
AIRC Chief Scientist Dr. Philip Antón partnered with Virginia Tech researchers to develop frameworks, models, and practical next steps for transforming the DoD A&S community into a next-generation data-driven organization.
Systemic Factors Influencing Risk Aversion
Dr. Amanda Girth of the SERC Research Council and Dr. Laura Maguire and Dr. Mike Rayo of Ohio State collaborated with the Air Force Installation Contracting Center to study systemic pressures that impede innovation.
Bot Automation Using Large Language Models and Plugins
Dr. Naren Ramakrishnan and colleagues from Virginia Tech developed tools that automate information extraction pipelines to support business processes in contract and procurement management.
Test and Evaluation Methods for Middle-Tier Acquisition
Mr. Geoff Kerr of Virginia Tech and Dr. Laura Freeman led seven organizations collaborating on research for the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation’s Strategic Initiatives, Policy, and Emerging Technologies Directorate.
Transforming T&E for AI/ML, Autonomous, and Evolving Systems
Kerr and Freeman also produced this report regarding ongoing research for DOT&E to develop concepts and best practices to address new capabilities and methods for T&E.
Development of an Artificial Intelligence Test Harness for the DoD
A large team from Virginia Tech designed a framework for an AI test harness that could be applied to multiple types of AI models, including for use cases involving radio frequency machine learning and large language models.
Events
- NDIA Pacific Operational Science and Technology (POST) Conference | March 3-7, 2025 | Honolulu, HI
- Conference on Systems Engineering Research (CSER) | March 18-21, 2025 | Long Beach, CA
- IEEE SysCon | April 7-10, 2025 | Montreal, Canada
- Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Symposium | May 7-8, 2025 | Monterey, CA
- CESUN International Engineering Systems Symposium | June 9-11, 2025 | Arlington, VA
- INCOSE International Symposium | July 26-31, 2025 | Ottawa, Canada | Hybrid
Collaborators' Corner
We invite collaborators to submit research news to be included in future releases of the SERC Updates.
Resources:
Opportunities
If an opportunity exists at your institution that you would like us to share, please submit a collaborators’ update.
SERC & AIRC
DoD College Acquisition Internship Program