ECE-GY 5213 Introduction to System Engineering

Fall 2019
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tandon School of Engineering
New York University

Instructor: Prof. Quanyan Zhu

Office: 370 Jay St. Room 1004
Phone: (646) 997-3371
Email: quanyan.zhu@nyu.edu

Course Goal Statement: The course aims to providing students with engineering backgrounds with in-
depth knowledge and technical skills in the field of systems engineering, and prepares students for careers
within industry and government. The course addresses the needs of engineers and scientists engaged in all
aspects of analysis, design, integration, production, and operation of modern complex systems.

Course Description: Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the
realization of complex systems with desirable specifications. The course introduces fundamentals of
systems engineering process and will prepare students for a diverse career opportunity. Topics of this
course include a brief history of systems engineering, structure of complex systems, system life-cycle
modeling, systems engineering methods in system development process and design issues for operational
feasibility such as reliability, maintainability, predictability, usability, and supportability. Some basic
engineering design methods and tools will be included. Successful systems engineering cases will also be
studied.

The life cycle model is fundamental for systems engineering and it is a very important topic covered in EL-
GY 5213 Introduction to Systems Engineering. Systems of systems represent a trend of systems
engineering and one specific class of systems of systems are cyber-physical systems. Course content in EL-
GY 5213 also covers the inter-disciplinary study of systems of systems.

Prerequisites: The course is offered as a first-year graduate level course. Graduate status is needed.
Academic Integrity:
You should read the School of Engineering's code of conduct:
https://engineering.nyu.edu/academics/code-of-conduct/academic-dishonesty
and the code of conduct of the university:
http://www.nyu.edu/life/student-life/student-communitystandards/university-student-conduct-policies.html
Grading Policy:
• Homework - 40%
• Project - 60%

Required Text:
[SA] A.P. Sage and J.E. Armstrong, Introduction to Systems Engineering, Wiley-Interscience, 2000.

Supplementary Text:

[BF] B.S. Blanchard and W.J. Fabrycky, Systems Engineering and Analysis, 5th Edition, Prentice-Hall,
 2010.
[MK] G. E. Mobus and M. C. Kalton, Principles of Systems Science, Springer, 2014.
[KS] A. Kossiakoff and W.N. Sweet, Systems Engineering Principles and Practice, John Wiley & Sons,
2003.

Course Outline:
1. What is systems engineering?
2. Structure of complex systems
3. Systems engineering through system life-cycle
4. Needs analysis
5. Concept exploration
6. Concept definition
7. Advanced development
8. Engineering design
9. Integration and evaluation
10. Production
11. Operation and support
12. Systems engineering decision tools
13. New trends of systems engineering
14. Case study

Course Objectives

• To introduce fundamentals of systems engineering process to engineers and applied scientists

• To introduce the students to the ways in which systems engineering principles are applied in the kinds
of work in which they are most likely to be involved.

• To provide students with tangible, practical tools and skills that will enable effective and efficient
engineering designs of modern systems.
• To provide practical tools that will facilitate gaining desirable employment after graduation.