Engineering Management & Systems Engineering | School of Engineering & Applied Science

An interdisciplinary, problem-solving department

"We are at the forefront of addressing complex societal challenges through systems thinking. Addressing major issues such as climate change, public health, trustworthiness in artificial intelligence, critical infrastructure systems, innovation, privacy, and connectivity requires a systems approach. Working alongside policymakers and technology leaders, we are dedicated to creating and implementing complex adaptive solutions that improve decision-making and shape the world around us."

Ekundayo Shittu
Department Chair

Explore our cutting-edge interdisciplinary educational and research programs

Prospective Students

Developing skills for impact: We are one of the oldest and largest programs of our kind in the United States, offering undergraduate and graduate programs that combine engineering, management, business analytics and technology. We give you the skills necessary to deploy technology for impact.

Faculty and Research

The world is our lab: Faculty and students in the department work with partners throughout GW, across DC, and around the globe to conduct research that covers a wide array of sectors and topics. Meet our faculty and learn about our focus research areas.

News

A woman writing at a desk alongside computer

How Alumna Nokwanda Shabalala Transitioned from Electrical Engineering to Sales Leadership

August 14, 2025

In a Q&A, Nokwanda Shabalala, a GW Engineering alumna, shares her journey from electrical engineering to sales leadership, highlighting transferable skills and inspiration.

Professor Helveston and Grady discussing with fellow panelists

Professors Grady and Helveston Highlight Urgency in U.S. Clean Energy Investments

July 31, 2025

In April 2025, EMSE Prof. Caitlin Grady led Prof. John Helveston and other panelists in a discussion exploring how policy tools like tax incentives and tariffs could bolster America's clean energy sector.

Systems engineering student Amna Maqsood presenting her research

GW Engineer Transforms Campus Parks into Greenspace

July 7, 2025

Through her sustainability capstone project, systems engineering student Amna Maqsood redesigns two GW parks into greenspaces, using native plants to reduce runoff and lower long-term costs.

GW to Co-Lead a New $20 million NSF AI Institute

The George Washington University is co-leading a multi-institutional effort supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will develop new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies designed to promote trust and mitigate risks, while simultaneously empowering and educating the public. The NSF Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS) unites specialists in AI and machine learning with systems engineers, social scientists, legal scholars, educators, and public policy experts. The multidisciplinary team will work with impacted communities, private industry, and the federal government to determine how to evaluate trust in AI, how to develop technical solutions and processes for AI that can be trusted, and which policy models best create and sustain trust. David Broniatowski, an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering at GW, is the lead principal investigator of TRAILS at GW.

The new institute is expected to transform the practice of AI by encouraging new innovations that foreground ethics, human rights, and input and feedback from communities whose voices have previously been marginalized. The NSF, in collaboration with government agencies and private sector leaders, has now invested close to half a billion dollars in the AI institutes ecosystem—an investment that expands a collaborative AI research network into almost every U.S. state.

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Upcoming Events

Alumna Anngienetta Johnson's Distinguished Career

After decades of pioneering work at NASA, Anngienetta Johnson, M.S. ‘92, D.Sc ’03, didn’t want to stop making her mark on the world. As she neared retirement, her drive to take on new challenges and help others led her to GW’s School of Engineering & Applied Science (GW Engineering), where she earned her doctorate in engineering management and laid the foundation for her next mission: leading large-scale humanitarian efforts across the U.S.

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GW to Co-Lead a New $20 million NSF AI Institute

Alumna Anngienetta Johnson's Distinguished Career