Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Chief of Staff Selected as INCOSE Fellow

The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) has selected Ron Luman, the Chief of Staff of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, as an INCOSE Fellow. Formally accepting the honor at the 27th Annual INCOSE International Symposium in Adelaide, Australia, Luman and three others joined 86 individuals who have previously been recognized as INCOSE Fellows.

INCOSE Fellows are individuals with significant, verifiable contributions to the art and practice of systems engineering in industry, government or academia. This award recognizes practitioners from government and industry applying knowledge and contributing to the practice of systems engineering in designing and acquiring systems; researchers developing new knowledge and pushing the theory forward; and teachers disseminating knowledge and developing the next generation of successful systems engineers.

Luman was cited for “significant contributions to [the] advancement of systems thinking in fields ranging from homeland security to major military development programs, providing guidance to the U.S. government, the military services, the intelligence community, and academia.”

He arrived at APL in 1978 as an associate staff mathematician, conducting modeling and analysis of submarine navigation systems in what is now the Strategic Deterrence Mission Area. Prior to being named Chief of Staff in 2013, he served in a variety of leadership positions at APL, including Assistant Laboratory Director for Strategy, and head of the National Security Analysis Department.

His focus on systems engineering has led to critical APL contributions to a variety of national security challenges facing the Navy, Missile Defense Agency, National Security Agency, and National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Luman also brought his experience to bear to improve systems engineering education and elevate its role within engineering education, principally as the systems engineering program chair in the JHU Engineering for Professionals graduate program, a long-running partnership between APL and the Whiting School of Engineering. The JHU systems engineering master’s degree program is one of the largest of its kind and in 2013 became the first civilian systems engineering master’s program to achieve certification by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

Luman is nationally known and respected as a strong supporter, educator, and practitioner of systems thinking, systems engineering, and systems analysis. He has led the reshaping of the systems engineering processes within a major intelligence organization by applying systems principles to the organization itself, and also led reengineering of processes of APL.

“I have encountered many systems engineers and systems researchers in my 42-year career across the international systems engineering community and consider Ron to have the broadest experience and to have made key contributions to the methodology and education of systems engineering,” wrote APL Chief Technology Officer Jerry Krill.

Luman has been an active member of INCOSE since 1994, serves on the INCOSE Corporate Advisory Board, and is a member of the Naval Studies Board, National Research Council, National Academies.

“APL’s systems engineering approach has been critical to our ability to provide solutions in all of our mission areas, spanning naval force projection, air and missile defense, asymmetric operations and space exploration” Luman said. “It is an honor to be recognized by an organization that champions the art, science, discipline and practice of systems engineering.”

Luman is the second INCOSE Fellow from APL after Alexander Kossiakoff (2004), a former APL director, and also follows his dissertation advisor from The George Washington University, Howard Eisner (2006).