Department of Complex Systems Engineering - DISC

The Complex Systems Engineering Department (DISC) of ISAE-SUPAERO develops knowledge in mathematics and computer science for the aerospace industry.
In education as in research, it is interested in models, methods and tools to control the behavior and the performances of complex systems. This complexity may come from the multiphysics or multiscale nature of the systems, their dynamic behavior or their connected and distributed structure.

Missions of education

The department is highly involved in ISAE-SUPAERO’s curricula:

• In the SUPAERO engineering program, it is in charge of Mathematics and Computer Science courses in the core scientific curriculum, as well as Systems Engineering and Project Management. DISC professors are also involved in 3rd year focused courses for “sector courses” Complex Systems & Simulation and Autonomous systems and “expertise courses” Decision Sciences, Computer Science Telecom & Networks and Signals and Systems.
• In the Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering, department DISC is in charge of the Aerospace Systems track and the Systems Engineering major.
• The department also leads “advanced masters”: Embedded Systems (with INP-ENSEEIHT), Systems Engineering, Aerospace Project Management (with ENAC and Ecole de l’Air), Management of Large-Scale Projects (in French, with HEC Paris).
• The DISC is involved in two Masters of Science of the University of Toulouse focused on research: Mathematics & Applications and Networks & Telecom.
• Finally, the DISC organizes a program dedicated to students of engineering and master programs, for the preparation of INCOSE Certification in Systems Engineering. The DISC represents ISAE-SUPAERO at the Academic Council of INCOSE.

Numerous student projects and internships are performed within the department, for research or engineering duties.

Research groups

The DISC is composed of 29 teacher-researchers and researchers, about fifty doctoral and post-doctoral students, a technical team of 12 people, an assistant director and a management assistant. It is organized in four research groups that cover the scientific domains of the department. These groups run several of their own or joint research topics that contribute to ISAE-SUPAERO’s research strategy.

Applied Mathematics - MA

This group explores diverse areas including stochastic processes (in particular Markov processes), numerical optimization (in particular nonlinear programming and multidisciplinary optimization) and high performance computing, stabilization, numerical solution and control of partial differential equations, and finally financial engineering. One focus area, which covers nearly all the latter themes, is the theoretical and numerical study of problems related to fluid-structure interactions.

Research topics:

• Fluid-structure interactions
• Multidisciplinary optimization

Connected Systems (SysCo)

RESCOM communication network group mainly focuses on networking problems in the field of space and aeronautical communications: satellite communications, delay tolerant networks and embedded networks. These activities can also be extended to more general systems: Internet, wireless networks or distributed storage.

The two research topics carried out by the group are:

• Spatial and aeronautical communication networks
• Connected systems

Critical Systems Analysis and Design (CASC)

IpSC focuses on methods, process and tools for the design and implementation of software-intensive critical systems. It covers the whole engineering cycle: systems engineering, model-based system/software engineering, system synthesis and distributed real time simulations. Its contributions mainly address the space and aeronautics domain, in addition to embedded of cyber-physical systems.

Research topics:

• Systems engineering: processes and models
• Simulation of cyber-physical systems

Learning, Decision and Optimization (LDO)

The SD group is interested in decision problems for autonomous systems (planning, learning, supervision) as for industrial applications (design, development, operations). The research addresses decision support, based on data from collection to interpretation. To this aim, the group uses and develops knowledge on artificial intelligence, operations research, systems engineering and project management.

Research topics:

• Systems engineering: processes and models
• Industrial engineering
• Decision, optimization, and machine learning

Scientific areas

• Fluid structure interactions
  Multidisciplinary optimization
• Aerospace communication networks
  Connected systems
• System engineering: processes and models
  Simulation of cyber physical systems
• Industrial engineering
  Decision, optimization, learning