FOR INFORMATION ON THE 2009 CONFERENCE ON SYSTEMS THINKING FOR CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES, CLICK HERE.
Project Manager
BBN Technologies
Conference Emcee, October 23, 2008
Alyson Scherer, SDM ’07, works at BBN Technologies in Cambridge, MA as a project manager within the Sensing and Control Systems Business Unit. Prior to attending SDM, she worked for Northrop Grumman as a mechanical engineer and project manager for the Antenna Group in Norwalk, CT and the Flight Test Department in Baltimore, MD.
While attending MIT, Alyson served as chairperson of the SDM Industrial Relations Committee, which focuses on creating and strengthening the relationships between SDM and industry. Her thesis research examined the decision making processes and truth telling behaviors of individuals within project teams of large high-tech organizations.
In addition to an S.M. in Engineering and Management from MIT’s System Design and Management Program, Alyson holds a B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Her professional interests include business development and strategy as well as human behavior and psychology.
Future Elements Manager
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Constellation Project Office
Conference Emcee, October 24, 2008
Shawn Quinn is presently serving as Future Elements Manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the Constellation Project Office. He is responsible for development of operations concepts and systems to support ground processing and launch of NASA’s Altair Lunar Lander and surface systems planned for the Lunar Outpost. Prior to his assignment in the Constellation Project Office, he was the Requirements and Operations Manager in the KSC Exploration Office.
Early in his career, Shawn designed computer hardware and developed real-time command, control and simulation systems in support of Space Shuttle launch operations. Over the next few years, he led several Shuttle Launch Processing System upgrade projects. He was selected as Shuttle Processing Chief for the Ground, Command and Data Systems Branch in 1999 where he was responsible for critical systems in the Shuttle Launch Control Center and at Launch Complex 39. In 2002, he served as a project manager in the Biological Sciences Office where he contributed to the development of strategic plans in the area of bio-regenerative life support systems. In 2003, he was selected as the Deputy Manager of the Orbital Space Plane Operations and Integration Office at KSC.
Shawn first joined NASA in 1985 in the Engineering Cooperative Education program at KSC while studying for his degree in electrical engineering. As an undergraduate, he also assisted in the development of computer vision systems at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1990 from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida in 1994. In 2006, he was selected for the NASA MIT/ALO fellowship and entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology System Design and Management Program. He completed the program in 2008 with a Master’s degree in Engineering and Management.
He has received numerous awards during his NASA career, including the NASA Silver Snoopy Award given by the NASA astronaut corps, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, and the Space Flight Awareness Award for Technical Leadership. Shawn is also the recipient of several Group Achievement Awards for contributions to the Space Shuttle Program, development of technology for Integrated Vehicle Health Management Systems, Lunar Architecture Studies and Lunar Lander Studies.
