STEM+Design and Process Science (Business, Technology, Arts, & Science) Society for Design and Process Science - Next Generation of Engineers and Scientists - Systems Designers

Location

The moment two bubbles
are united, they both vanish.
A lotus blooms.

--Murakami, Kijo (1865-1938)

The questions of recent natural and unnatural disasters rising from the earthquake affecting Japan and the world are rooted in both design choices and our collective perspective that technology is outside of us--an external force, beyond our control, like Mother Nature (and even God).

Fractal Lotus by Sya

At the 2010, Society for Design and Process Science and its sister the Software Engineering Society (SDPS/SES)[1] meeting in Dallas, TX, discussions throughout the week flowed from questions about the relationship between humanity, technology, art, business, science, and engineering. Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg (Physics) gave the opening address and inspired conference-long discussions about the “civilizing effect” of science. The week’s discussions were guided by a constant re-asking of questions about how we can harvest “the collective wisdom of humanity”—to make design choices about human expression of technology for the good of humanity.

After listening to SDPS/SES leaders, participants lead by me (Jim Brazell), collectively identified the following themes of reflection for a workshop titled the “Next Generation.” The task I was given was to lead the group in expressing what is next for SDPS/SES. The topics of reflection for the next generation of SDPS/SES include:

(1) the civilizing effect of science,

(2) concentration,

(3) creativity,

(4) compassion, and

(5) one.

The workshop was designed to facilitate the expression of what is next for SDPS 2.0—the transition of the mantle of responsibility and leadership in this academic and professional society dedicated to the practice of transdiscipline (innovation, integrated systems design, and process science).

Civilizing Effect

Social thought generates

ideas and connectivity

to change the world now.

Education and

knowledge have a power when

transdisciplinary.[4]

Love is

commitment to

each other. Beauty

is adaptation to

the world.

Concentration

Listen to people,

promote communication,

be more tolerant.

Understand people

Embrace other perspectives

Help bring awareness

Preserve your culture

Understand other cultures

Cheer diversity

Creativity

Compassion, help, lover,

listen and respond to act,

respect shall follow.

Obstacles appear.

United we stand the way,

fruitful the result.

Leap into vision,

reaching out to form beauty--

invigorate them.

Compassion

Be compassionate.

Add more diversity now.

Look inside your self.

Cross cultural bounds

can be achieved through sharing

thoughts, ideas and scars.

Listen to my thoughts.

We can sympathize as one.

Let’s immerse together.

One

Trust is mine to give

to collaborate in truth--

permission I give.

To err is human.

We all must communicate

what moves our minds most.

Simplify your thoughts,

our friendship depends on this--

a common language.

SDPS is similar to the IEEE Computer Society (founded 1963); however, SDPS recognizes the expansive role of integrated software and hardware as the platform for innovation and design. Like IEEE, SDPS is a professional scientific and engineering society. IEEE is an acronym for the "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers." It is a society formed by merging the American Institute for Electrical Engineers (AIEE, 1884) and the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE, founded 1912). (Wikiedia, IEEE, Accessed July 10, 2011).

SDPS focuses on the development and application of a fundamental process science to expand scientific knowledge, computational design, engineering methods, mathematics, business innovation and art. Specifically, SDPS innovation diffuses across the many domains within and among academia, industry, and government to face the grand challenges of the future.

SDPS is based on transformational design embracing a systems approach to science, engineering, art and business. The common thread is a “process-oriented view” as "synthetic thought and unifying philosophy" to knowledge integration and systems innovation. Members are from all walks of life and are unified by a kind of thinking that is outside the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines--or technical societies. International student and faculty scientists and engineers work at the intersection of computing (cyber) and virtually all fields of academic and human life—from Man in Space (1960's)-to-computational neuro biology-to-computer virus and malware identification for cyber security.[3]

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[1] During 1995 Dr. George Kozmetsky in collaboration with Dr. Murat M. Tanik (who was at University of Texas Austin), Dr. David Gibson, Dr. Raymond T. Yeh, Dr. C. V. Ramamoorty, and Dr. Herbert Simon, spearheaded the establishment of the Society for Design and Process Science and the Transactions, “Journal of Integrated Design & Process Science: Transactions, “for the society, as an archival journal, covering issues “transcending disciplinary boundaries.” Herbert Simon gave his seminal speech on software and man-machine interfaces indicating the universality of software during SDPS 2000 in Dallas. In response to this speech, with the support of software engineering pioneers R.T. Yeh and C.V. Ramamoorthy, SES was formed as a function of SDPS to embrace the full breadth of knowledge of software engineering and to seek the future of this largest and youngest of all engineering disciplines. SES remains an integral part of SDPS and holds the key to new vistas in science and engineering. During SDPS/SES 2011 in Jeju Island, Korea and SDPS 2012 Berlin, Germany there will be major initiatives to expand SES worldwide. Anyone who feels any closeness to software or its engineering are welcome to participate and communicate with us.

[2] Haiku is a Japanese poem with three lines, the first line is made up of five syllables, the second has seven, and the third line has five syllables. Together they usually express a seasonal change. A Cinquain is a five-line stanza with two syllables in the first line, four syllables in the second, six in the third, eight in the fourth, and two syllables in the last line. While these forms are defined in this way, approximations expressing ideas and sentiments are perfectly acceptable. Sample Haiku, learning declarations, and art works from different audiences ranging from three-year-old children to 85-year-old scientists are sprinkled throughout this book.

[3] In 1975, Herbert Simon and Allen Newell were awarded the Association of Computing Machinery’s Turing Award for methods of detecting viruses and other forms of malware. Learn more about transdisciplinary thinking by example in Herb Simon’s book, about Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), The Sciences of the Artificial (1996).

[4] The notion of transdiscipline was probably first used by Jean Piaget. Among his so many wonderful contributions it is forgotten. Thomas Kuhn claimed that he was influenced by Piaget's work in his development of the ideas of “paradigm shift” and "normal science." More importantly, Edward Wilson in his seminal book, CONSILIENCE: The Unity of Knowledge, just like Piaget, indirectly talks about the notion of transdiscipline. Herb Simon is another person who indirectly promoted transdisciplinary activity by expressing that unstructured problems cannot be tackled by disciplinary means. All science was transdisciplinary until recently. Disciplinarity is a relatively new phenomenon, essentially started with Galelio around 1640s. Transdiscipline is an expansive term. It implies the process in which disciplinary people work together by genuinely trying to understand the methods, techniques, and strategies of other disciplines to tackle complex phenomena in a collective fashion. This is different than interdiscipline or multidiscipline. In those paradigms the disciplinary people offer their disciplinary expertise to tackle some aspect of the problem. They keep each other at arm’s length. They are not interested in understanding the complex phenomenon itself nor interested in other disciplines. They are only interested in understanding their part of the problem to solve, using their disciplinary tools and strategies.