1. Complex Engineered and Natural Systems
National Science Foundation
Directorate for Engineering
Adnan Akay and Judy Raper

3. The Urban Water Cycle P ET E RO RO RO I Stormdrains Wells Septic
Interbasin
Transfers of
Water &
Wastewater P
Impervious
Surfaces
Riparian &
Upland
Forest Patches
Stormdrains ET E RO RO RO I
Wells
Water
Table
Septic
Systems
Artificial
Channels
Rooting
Zone
Wastewater
Conduits
Water
Supply
Pipes
Local GW
Hyporheic &
Parafluvial Zones
Regional GW
Courtesy of Ken Belt, USFS

4. 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

5. The Challenge Sources of complexity:
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

6. 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”

7. NSF Activities A series of workshops on complexity
Considering complexity under three topics
Transportation Systems
Biological Systems
Healthcare Delivery

8. Infrastructure - Transportation

9. Biological Systems

10. Neuromuscular Biomechanics
analysis of dexterous manipulation; characterization of muscle and brain activity; & computational modeling of dexterity
CAREER PI: Francisco Valero-Cuevas, Cornell University

11. Healthcare Delivery

12. 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