Complex Engineered and Natural
Systems
National Science Foundation
Directorate for Engineering
Adnan Akay and Judy Raper
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The Urban Water Cycle
Interbasin
Transfers of
Water &
Wastewater
P
Impervious
Surfaces
Stormdrains
RO
ET
Riparian &
Upland
Forest Patches
E
RO
RO
I
Wells
Water
Table
Septic
Systems
Water
Supply
Pipes
Wastewater
Conduits
Artificial
Channels
Local GW
Regional GW
Courtesy of Ken Belt, USFS
Rooting
Zone
Hyporheic &
Parafluvial Zones
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Complex Engineered and Natural Systems
• Definition: Complex, Complexity (adj., n)
– Consisting of interconnected or interwoven parts;
– Involved or intricate, as in structure; complicated.
– Difficult to understand because of intricacy:
– A whole composed of interconnected or interwoven parts
– Engineering Complexity -- the condition of being difficult to
explain and predict systems behaviors, robust operation of the
same.
• Complexity in
– Engineered systems
– Natural systems
– Interface of engineered and natural systems
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The Challenge
– Creation of common principles, unified theories, and methods to
design, operate, and protect complex engineered systems.
• Sources of complexity:
– Too much information, too many components, too many
constraints, too many parameters for consideration to accomplish a
particular task
– Not enough information about essential elements or components of
a system or about their interfaces
– Not enough information about how elements or components will
behave under known or unknown conditions that may lead to
unintended consequences
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NSF Role
– To encourage the community to think about
• What is complex system science
• Fundamental questions related science of
complexity
• Questions related to design, control and
management of complexz systems
– To invest in the development of “science of the
complex”
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NSF Activities
• A series of workshops on complexity
• Considering complexity under three topics
– Transportation Systems
– Biological Systems
– Healthcare Delivery
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Infrastructure - Transportation
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Biological Systems
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Neuromuscular Biomechanics
analysis of dexterous
manipulation;
characterization of
muscle and brain
activity; &
computational modeling
of dexterity
CAREER PI: Francisco Valero-Cuevas, Cornell University
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Healthcare Delivery
Mobile Gateway
Hospital
Terminal
Secure Internet
and/or
telephone
Sensors: at home and wearable
Mobile Phone
Fall Detector
with Bluetooth
Integrated
Camera
Berkeley Motes
Sensors with
Bluetooth
WLAN
Berkeley
Mote
Sensors
Bluetooth
Home Health
System
Ad hoc
Zigbee
network
Zigbee
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Functional Neuroimaging of Information Flows within the Brain:
Mechanisms of cognitive processes and brain functions
ITR: High-Resolution Cortical Imaging of Brain
Electrical Activity. Bin He, U Minnesota
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