Dr Anna McGowan will be visiting Chalmers. After 33 years at NASA, most recently as the agency’s senior technical lead for complex systems design, she will be sharing her experience of developing people-centred solutions to complex challenges in the aerospace industry.
Overview
Dr McGowan will give a lecture and a short course ( see separate calender post) during her visit to Chalmers.
Operating in the unknown – navigating the complexities of the space industry
Open lecture
Monday 19 October, 11.00–12.00
Venue: SB-L216
Open to all. No prior registration required.
About the lecture
Engineering for technical performance, cost, and risk are crucial in engineering systems – yet more considerations are needed for engineering complex systems. Complex engineering systems such as civil infrastructures, aerospace systems, etc., can have vast, long-term impacts at local and global levels. Engineering such systems also places significant challenges on the organizations that create them.
Drawing on systems engineering, design science, organizational science, and other fields, we explore how we can proactively design the how of engineering, not just the what. Taking a design perspective, we can design the internal policies, processes, incentives, and teaming structures that govern cross-functional engineering teams and invest in more rigorous upfront problem formulation to reduce unintended operational consequences. While traditional design focuses on specifications and functionality, "designing the how" augments this by attending to the context, methodologies, and processes of engineering complex systems.
This combined approach builds organizational foundations that lead to better complex systems. Together, designing both the what and the how creates the conditions for engineering complex systems with greater positive impacts on society — and leave the people and institutions who create them better equipped for the challenges ahead.
Dr Anna-Maria Rivas McGowan is a leader in the aerospace sector, an interdisciplinary design strategist and an innovator in complex systems. Her roles have included researcher, test engineer, trainer, spokesperson, project manager and senior executive.
As a strategic adviser to senior management at King’s Queue Design LLC (KQD), a global consultancy specialising in the strategic design of solutions to complex problems, she advises senior executives and boards of directors, leads extensive inter-organisational collaborations, and delivers leadership workshops and masterclasses in the aerospace sector, the defence sector and other advanced technology fields.
Dr McGowan retired from NASA in early 2026 after a 33-year career. There, she served as the agency’s senior technical lead for complex systems design. Read her full biography below.
Ola Isaksson
- Full Professor, Product Development, Mechanical Engineering
Ola Isaksson
- Full Professor, Product Development, Mechanical Engineering
