Systems Connect & Mini Conference brings online, on-campus community together

Colorado State University’s Systems Engineering community gathered April 22–23 for the first ever Systems Engineering Connect & Mini Conference, a two-day event centered on the theme “Engineering Transformations.”

The event brought together roughly 50 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests for research presentations, networking, keynote talks, and recognition of outstanding student work. The conference was designed to connect systems engineering students both attending online and on campus while sharing research and networking.

More than 90% of systems engineering students attend online while working industry engineering jobs. For many attending, this was their first time on campus.

Attendees heard from keynote speakers, participated in alumni discussions, working sessions, poster presentations, and community-building activities.

Ron Sega, former program director and a retired U.S. astronaut, opened the event with a keynote on recent developments and future trends in systems engineering. Terry Ruhl, a globally recognized leader in civil and transportation infrastructure, delivered the lunch keynote on the second day.

CSU Systems Engineering alumni Art Villanueva, Sarah Shaw, and Brian Johnston spoke with students and the broader community. Their discussion focused largely on model-based systems engineering, career pathways, and the value of their systems engineering education. Villanueva also shared and promoted his new book, The Gardener and the Machine: Designing Systems that Thrive on Disruption.

Conference attendees broke out into working groups to assess and contribute feedback on several key pages of the Guide to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK). Dixie Poteet, a CSU systems engineering graduate student and a new editor at SEBoK, helped coordinate the activity to encourage greater involvement and input from working professionals within the field.

A highlight of the event was the recognition of award winners across graduate and undergraduate work. For the Graduate Student Best Project award, Christopher Wendland was recognized for his research poster presentation on space systems command and control, and Maria DiValentin was recognized for her research on systems security in tractors and agricultural equipment.

The event was held alongside CSU’s E-Days where undergraduate students presented their senior projects. Systems Engineering graduate students selected the winner of the Systems Thinking Excellence award, which went to the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant Sustainability Upgrade team. The team was selected for its strong attention to stakeholders, clear vision of the total system, and emphasis on sustainability. Congrats to teammates Sonja Williams, Abigail Beauregard and Annie Macabobby!

Attendees enjoyed countless other social activities, including tours of Old Town Fort Collins, the main campus brewery tour, and hikes near Horsetooth Reservoir.

The conference closed with a strong sense of connection and momentum, laying the groundwork for future gatherings aimed at strengthening the CSU Systems Engineering community.

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