Center for Information & Systems Engineering The Division offers research opportunities through the Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE), an interdisciplinary home for fundamental research in systems science and applications impacting society, such as cyberphysical systems, smart lighting, medical imaging, video surveillance, modern energy systems and bioinformatics. With a proven track record of scholarship, funding and industry collaboration, CISE faculty bring vast research experience to addressing these challenges.
CAREER PLACEMENT
ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS The Division brings together faculty from across the University to pursue interdisciplinary, collaborative research in systems engineering in partnership with CISE. Acclaimed examples of such ongoing projects include:
Graduates from Boston University’s SE program are well-trained to make an impact in careers of innovation in modeling, analysis, simulation, control, optimization, and management of complex systems. Working with complex engineering systems from a broad and interdisciplinary angle, this unique program prepares students for successful careers with pioneering corporations and influential positions in academic institutions worldwide.
• A Smart Parking system that identifies and reserves optimal parking spaces for motorists through a mobile phone app and guides them to those spaces – Christos Cassandras • More effective ways of detecting computer data intrusions using clustering/pattern recognition to prevent cyber attacks – Ioannis Paschalidis • Aerial “Batcopter” that studies bats in flight to develop smarter unmanned flight control systems – John Baillieul
R E S E A R C H A N D G R A D U AT E P R O G R A M S I N
systems Engineering (SE) bu.edu/se
bu.edu/se
MAJOR RESEARCH AREAS
Systems Engineering
at Boston University
Information Sciences
Automation, Robotics & Control
Boston University’s Division of Systems Engineering is a groundbreaking graduate program that cuts across traditional engineering departments to enable design, analysis and management of a variety of sophisticated systems ranging from biological or mechanical to those involving business processes and logistics. The flexibility of the field and need for systems engineers with advanced academic training in real, cross-domain environments means ample job opportunities and a positive career outlook. Learn more at bu.edu/se.
Research in this area aims at advancing the state of the art in the control and optimization of complex dynamic systems. Application areas include multi-agent systems, sensor networks, robotics, and industrial automation. Ongoing projects are targeting biologically inspired walking robots and flying vehicles, and the development of cyberphysical infrastructures for emerging "smart cities".
Research spans a variety of topics, including signal and image processing, multidimensional detection and estimation, and image encoding/decoding. Current research topics include machine learning, medical imaging, video analytics, anomaly detection and synthetic aperture radar imagery.
Communications & Networking
Active research projects include: smart grid enabled distributed demand response and power market bidding at various time scales including day ahead, hour ahead, five minute and regulation service signal (4-8 seconds); power market reform to internalize and allocate distribution network marginal cost and congestion; enhanced multi-period power market rules that enhance participation by the load side and internalize reserve costs resulting from aggressive bids by volatile renewable generation; and transmission network dynamic topology control to reduce congestion costs in the presence of high wind generation integration.
This research area addresses systems-level issues utilizing control theory, probability and stochastic processes, optimization, and information theory. Particular topics of current activity include: performance analysis, control, and optimization of communication systems; wireless, ad-hoc, and sensor networks; information security; and visible light communications via smart-lighting systems.
Computational Biology Building on research efforts in the biological field, this research area aims at developing interdisciplinary methods to simplify biological modeling and to assist with genome modeling and drug development. Expanding research efforts include metabolic and genetic networks, protein docking, and optimization algorithms to reveal new cancer drug targets.
Production, Service & Energy Systems
GRADUATE PROGRAMS Doctor Of Philosophy (PhD) The PhD program in Systems Engineering is a cross-disciplinary program leveraging the expertise of engineering, computer science, mathematics and management faculty from several different colleges throughout Boston University. Students’ research activities focus on optimization, information theory, control theory, queuing theory, simulation, and applied probability and statistics.
Master Of Science (MS) The Master of Science (MS) degree in Systems Engineering is designed to provide advanced training for students focusing on a research-oriented career in academia or industry. The MS fosters in graduate students the quantitative and analytical theoretical foundations, methods and tools needed to enable them to model, design, analyze and optimize humanmade and physical systems within a broad array of applications.
Master Of Engineering (MEng) The non-thesis Master of Engineering program is suited for students intending to pursue careers in industry or industry professionals who wish to further their careers by acquiring deep technical knowledge, supplemented with business fundamentals and critical management skills. The degree program can be completed full-time or part-time, and students may concentrate in energy and environmental systems; computational and systems biology; control systems; network systems; financial engineering; production and service systems; or operations research.
bu.edu/se
RESEARCH AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
IN 2011 SE RECEIVED
$15.8 million IN NEW RESEARCH FUNDING, AND HAD ON-GOING RESEARCH FUNDING OF
$27.8 million
bu.edu/se