Doctoral Industrial Engineering Student Recognized with International Best Paper Award

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Nick Shallcross

Each year, the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) selects papers from among all those published in the Systems Engineering journal over the previous year and publishes them in a special Best Paper Virtual Issue.

The editorial board considers the papers in this virtual issue to be among the best from those published and includes insight into the latest research and developments in systems engineering.

Industrial engineering doctoral student Nick Shallcross was included in those selected as the best in the 2020 virtual issue for his contribution, "Set-Based Design: The state-of-practice and research opportunities."

"This paper provided a state-of-the-art literature review for Set-Based Design, a new approach to complex system design with teams. The paper identified research opportunities for Nick's dissertation research on Set-Based Design. Nick has had three additional Set-Based Design papers accepted in leading systems engineering journals," said Greg Parnell, Shallcross' adviser and director of the Master of Science in Operations Management and Master of Science in Engineering Management programs.

Department Head Ed Pohl commented, "Nick has made significant contributions in the area of 'Set-Based Design' during his Ph.D. program. Having his paper selected as a Best Paper for 2020 in the Systems Journal recognizes the impact his work is currently having on the field."

Shallcross has been an outstanding student during his career at the U of A, achieving numerous recognitions. He was selected recently as the Outstanding Graduate Student for 2021. He was the recipient of the industrial engineering 2020 Graduate Research Award. Selected by faculty members, the award recognizes students who made valuable contributions to departmental research efforts.

In his time at the U of A, Shallcross has received the General Omar N. Bradley Research Fellowship three times. He has used these scholarships, along with a scholarship presented by the Seth Bonder Foundation, to fund his research. Shallcross has provided significant contributions across several disciplines focusing on the use of information theory, Set-Based Design and Model-Based engineering to inform complex system design decisions.