Dr. Nils Wagenknecht and Andreas Mertens, German administrative and engineering professional exchange officers at the Air Force Institute of Technology co-authored a paper with Dr. Adedeji Badiru, dean of AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management on systems integration. The team presented their paper at the Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences Symposium in Dayton on 8 March. (U.S. Air Force Photo by K. Scott)

Dr. Adedeji Badiru, dean of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management, collaborated on a research paper with Dr. Nils Wagenknecht and Andreas Mertens, two German exchange officers at AFIT. The paper titled “Mathematical and Graphical Representation of Systems Integration in DEJI Systems Model” was also co-presented at the 47th Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences Symposium on 8 March at the Sinclair Ponitz Conference Center in Dayton.

“In these days of global collaboration, it is essential to incorporate the diverse technical opinions of our international colleagues,” said Badiru. “I am delighted to have our German colleagues, Dr. Wagenknecht and Mr. Mertens, collaborating with AFIT on this important topic.”

The paper addresses the use of the design, evaluation, justification, and integration systems model as an avenue through which systems modeling research can be conducted to develop quantitative metrics for assessing the existence or value of systems integration beyond qualitative rhetoric.

“It was very exciting to contribute an input to the paper and to participate in this project which is not only international but also interdisciplinary,” said Wagenknecht.

Badiru is the developer of the trademarked DEJI Systems Model and is an expert in the areas of mathematical modeling, project modeling and analysis, economic analysis, systems engineering models, and efficiency/productivity analysis and improvement. Mertens brought an extensive expertise of cost benefit analysis to the project while Wagenknecht addressed legal norms and merits of systems integration.

“I am grateful having had the opportunity to be involved in the creation as well as the co-presentation of the research paper. The fascinating variety and applicability of the integrative approach of the DEJI Systems Model on multi-faceted platforms and domains allows to apply this tool in new system development initiatives,” said Mertens. “It was a unique, honorable and fantastic experience to incorporate techniques from different perspectives into the structured framework of the model within a collaborative endeavor.”

Wagenknecht and Mertens joined the AFIT team for a one year assignment as part of the administrative and engineering professional exchange programs with the German government. Wagenknecht is a contracts lawyer for the Federal Ministry of Defense in Germany. While at AFIT, he serves as an executive staff member working to identify education exchange opportunities between AFIT and German universities. Mertens is an assistant project manager for the German Federal Ministry of Defense working efficiency analysis of a follow-on solution for clothing management. During his time at AFIT, he serves an engineering executive staff member researching international collaboration using a systems approach with Badiru. Wagenknecht and Mertens are collaborating on additional joint journal papers as well as providing administrative process support for a handbook of Graduate School technical journal publications.

Dr. Adedeji Badiru, dean of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management, collaborated on a research paper with Dr. Nils Wagenknecht and Andreas Mertens, two German exchange officers at AFIT. The team presented their paper at the Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences Symposium in Dayton on 8 March. (U.S. Air Force Photo by K. Scott)