PERSONAL BACKGROUND
My career is as a systems engineer in the field of maritime security for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). I specialize in the design of port security systems for government agencies, domestic and international. The technology involved in this work typically includes a surveillance sensor package of cameras, radar, and vessel tracking hardware. This information is sent back to a command and control station over a data network connected by wire, fiber or sent wireless. The data is consolidated by a situational awareness software package and provides the customer with a multi-dimensional view of their area of interest. This allows the customer several methods for maintaining safety and the ability to respond quickly to emergencies.
Each project involves the management of various groups and organizations. To complete the project successfully, management must include customer expectations, the performance of subcontractors, the morale of fellow employees, and most importantly risk. The majority of my projects have been in foreign countries. This includes US Navy security in South Korea, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, and maritime security for the Panama Canal. There are many unexpected challenges to face when your customer speaks a different language, follows different customs and their site is located in a different continent. I seek a Masters degree in Systems Engineering to help turn a situation, which at times appears to be mass chaos, into a well defined set of requirements to meet nto a well defined set of requirements to meet my objectives.
