Tom McDermott is the Deputy Director of the Systems Engineering Research Center at

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely de ...

, a position he has held since March 2018.

Early life and education

McDermott attended the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

in 1982, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1984. While at Georgia Tech, he played drums in the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band The Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band is the official marching band of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Founded in 1908 by a group of 14 students, the Georgia Tech Band is one of the school's oldest student organizations. The ...

Career

Lockheed Martin

On graduation, McDermott joined the nearby

Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Mary ...

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

where he would eventually be

chief engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

and

program manager Program Manager is the shell of Windows 3.x and Windows NT 3.x operating systems. This shell exposed a task-oriented graphical user interface (GUI), consisting of ''icons'' ( shortcuts for programs) arranged into ''program groups''. It replaced ...

for Lockheed Martin's

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...

Avionics Team. McDermott worked for Lockheed Martin from 1984 to 2002.

Georgia Tech

In 2002, McDermott joined the

Georgia Tech Research Institute The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. GTRI employs around 3,000 people, and was involved in nearly $1 ...

's Electronic Systems Laboratory, where he assumed control of their largest contract, the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP). In 2006, McDermott was promoted to Director of the Electronic Systems Laboratory. While at Georgia Tech, McDermott was involved in the creation of a new professional master's degree program in

systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their Enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering uti ...

, a collaboration between GTRI and the

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education ( Dip.Eng.)and (B.Eng.) or ( M.Eng.), and any advanced education and specializations tha ...

. He taught short courses on topics including electronic warfare principles, systems engineering team leadership, and earned value principles. In September 2007, McDermott was named Deputy Director and Director of Research of GTRI, where he oversaw GTRI's research agenda, its seven research labs, field offices, and new operations in

Athlone, Ireland Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of 2 ...

. He held both positions through August 2013, during which time he was Interim Director of GTRI between

Stephen E. Cross Stephen Edward Cross is the executive vice president for research (EVPR) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), a position to which he was appointed in 2010. As EVPR, Cross coordinates research efforts among Georgia Tech's college ...

's start as Executive Vice President for Research on May 1, 2010, and the placement of former GTRI director Robert McGrath on February 1, 2011.

Stevens Institute of Technology

McDermott is currently the Deputy Director of the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) at

. He works in multiple technology fields but focuses both his research and teachings in systems engineering areas, including the importance of leadership in engineering. His current research includes "innovation models, strategic foresight techniques, system data analytics, and modeling and simulation of policy implications in current and future complex systems," and he aims to continue his research by looking into developing technology to aid in more rapid systems development and learning.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Tom Living people Georgia Tech alumni Georgia Tech Research Institute people People from Atlanta Year of birth missing (living people)