Systems Engineering Staffs Up

The LSST Systems Engineering team at the project office has tripled in size recently, as Systems Engineering Manager George Angeli and Senior Systems Engineer Brian Selvy join LSST Systems Scientist Chuck Claver to define, integrate, and validate the incredibly complex subsystems and elements of LSST into a cohesive operational observing facility.

For over 5 years, Chuck Claver has been the LSST Systems Engineer and alone has accomplished much, deserving credit for many aspects of the project’s success over the years. Chuck will continue his work with the LSST Systems Engineering team as the LSST Systems Scientist.

In December 2012, Brian Selvy joined the Systems Engineering team. Brian is a Senior Systems Engineer with experience using the many tools and processes required to manage the technical aspects of the LSST systems development, integration, and verification. Brian’s previous experience is in aerospace; he spent 10 years at several companies including Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and Paragon Space Development Corporation working on the development of launch vehicles, rocket engines, and environmental control and life support systems.

In January 2013, LSST welcomed George Angeli to the Systems Engineering team. George is the LSST Systems Engineering Manager and joins Chuck Claver and Brian Selvy in leading the Systems Engineering effort for the LSST Project. George has a strong technical background with his most recent experience as the Head of Systems Engineering for the TMT Project. Formerly he led AURA’s integrated modeling team supporting the development of a 30-meter class telescope concept. At WYKO he was the project manager of a team developing real time, phase shifting interferometers for optical testing.

The Systems Engineering challenge is to manage the complexity of the LSST system by properly defining it as well-specified building blocks and then assembling the pieces in a way that will achieve the objectives of the science community. Taken individually, the camera, telescope, data management, and observatory control systems are very complex projects on their own. That makes ensuring the overall observatory meets all of its requirements very challenging, putting additional importance from a Systems Engineering perspective on interface management and verification planning. Complex systems have a tendency to develop “emergent behavior” – system performance or operational characteristics that are not apparent when just evaluating the parts individually or in small groups. Fully understanding all of the interfaces and conducting realistic simulations are critical to helping minimize the unintended emergent behaviors within LSST.

LSST is more than just the next “big machine” exploring the Universe; it is going to be one of the most important scientific experiments of our time. Leading the technical development of such an experiment is a challenge for which this Systems Engineering team is well suited.

Article written by S. Jacoby and the Systems Engineering Team