Olivier L. de Weck

He/His
Associate Department Head
Apollo Program Professor
Director, Engineering Systems Lab

Contact Info

Office Phone

617.253.0255

Email

deweck@mit.edu

Office

33-207

Administrative Contact

Esther Allen
eallen@mit.edu
617.253.2727

Financial Contact

Venecia Siders
venecia@mit.edu
617.715.5258
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Affiliated Labs

I was nine months old when I watched the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and am excited for humanity to become a multi-planet species before the end of this century.

Biography

Olivier de Weck is the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he is the Associate Department Head of Aero Astro. His research is in Systems Engineering with a focus on how complex technological systems are designed and how they evolve over time. He is a Fellow of INCOSE and AIAA and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. His textbook “Technology Roadmapping and Development” received a most promising textbook of 2024 award.

Specialization and Research Interests

  • Systems Engineering
  • Technology Management
  • Astronautics and Space Logistics
  • Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
  • Remote Sensing
  • Earth Observation

Teaching Interests

  • 16.851 Satellite Engineering
  • 16.887 Technology Roadmapping and Development
  • 16.888 Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
  • 16.89 Space Mission Design
  • 6.914 Project Engineering
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Academic Degrees

Dipl. Ingenieur m.A., Industrial Engineering, 1993, ETH Zurich, Switzerland S.M., 1999, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ph.D., 2001, Aerospace Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Society Memberships

Fellow, INCOSE; Fellow, AIAA; AIAA Space Logistics Technical Committee (chair); Member ASEE, ASME, Sigma Xi, MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, MIT System Design and Management

Positions Held at MIT

Faculty Co-Director, MIT Gordon Engineering Leadership Program
Faculty Co-Director, Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program
Faculty Director, MIT-Switzerland Program

Positions Held outside MIT

Swiss Air Force Officer, 1987-2000; ETH Zurich, Research Assistant, 1987-1992; Swiss Aircraft & Systems Co., R&D Staff Engineer, 1992-1997; McDonnell Douglas, Swiss F/A-18 Engineering Program Manager, 1995-1997; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Visiting Scientist, 1998; Co-founder Intelligent Action Inc., 2007; Editor-in-Chief, journal Systems Engineering 2013-2018; Senior Vice President for Technology Planning and Roadmapping, Airbus, 2016-2018, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

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Awards & Honors

  • Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2021
  • Best Path to Flight Award, NASA Big Idea Challenge, 2021
  • Best Paper of the Year Award, Systems Engineering Journal, 2020
  • Distinguished Service Award, International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), 2018
  • Teaching with Digital Technology Award, MIT, 2017

Research & Publications

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