Media Release
September 9 2008
Systems save the world from collapsing into chaos
Technological advances in transport, computers and telecommunications
have enabled us to build powerful and very complex global systems. Our
society is now utterly dependent on technological systems to feed our
planet’s population, move goods and services, and to underpin our
banking and legal systems.
UniSA’s Director of the Defence
and Systems Institute and Centre of Expertise in Systems
Integration,
Professor Stephen Cook says that the study of these systems is
important not only because systems are becoming more prevalent in
Australia but because the complex nature of these systems can lead to
unexpected consequences.
Prof Cook will share his expertise on what is at the heart of systems
engineering at the seminar
Defence or sustainability: you can’t beat the system today,
Tuesday evening, September 9, as part of the University’s free lecture
series, Gift
of Knowledge 2008.
“In areas such as infrastructure, investment decisions are often made by
individual operators for commercial reasons that together may impact on
the robustness of the system as a whole. Such highly interconnected
systems can be mind-bogglingly complex and their behaviour in the face
of unexpected events can be counter-intuitive and, like the weather,
hard to predict with accuracy,” Prof Cook said.
“Unlike the industrial age when it was understood that projects such as
the introduction of iron ships, railways, and huge dams were risky
projects, the information age society expects engineering endeavours to
go well and there is very poor tolerance of project failure.”
Prof Cook will outline the differences between well-known high
technology projects in Australia and those overseas, and outline the
systems engineering approach that is employed to succeed in large,
complex, engineering endeavours. “It will then become apparent why what
many think of as technological systems are better thought of as
socio-technical systems, because people are a key component of many
complex engineered systems.”
In his lecture Prof Cook will illustrate how systems engineering works
through two case studies, one a conventional project and the other on
how to uncover new insights about climate change.
The lecture will conclude with some new findings on how to identify
people who can direct systems work and how best to accelerate their
formation to meet the insatiable need for more systems engineers.
Members of the public are invited to register
online to attend the seminar today, Tuesday September 9, at the
Mawson Centre, SA Water Lecture Theatre, Mawson Lakes campus from 6pm –
7pm.
Contacts for interview
- Prof Stephen Cook office (08) 8302 3818 office 0418 829 946 email stephen.cook@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
- Geraldine Hinter office (08) 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861832 email geraldine.hinter@unisa.edu.au