Olivier ("Oli") de Weck is a tenured professor of Engineering at MIT and holds degrees in industrial engineering from ETH Zurich (1993) in Switzerland and aerospace systems engineering from MIT (1999, 2001). Before joining MIT he was a liaison engineer and later engineering program manager on the Swiss F/A-18 fighter aircraft program at McDonnell Douglas (1993-1997).
His research interests, teaching emphasis and professional experience is mainly in two areas: Systems Engineering for Changeability and Commonality – referred to as "Strategic Engineering" – and Space Exploration Logistics. Prof. de Weck is an Associate Fellow of AIAA, winner of the 2007 Best Paper Award for the journal Systems Engineering, the 2006 Frank E. Perkins award for excellence in graduate advising and recipient of the 2007 AIAA MDO TC outstanding service award. He won two best paper awards at the 2004 INCOSE Systems Engineering Conference, held the Robert Noyce Career Development Professorship from 2002-2005, and co-advised the best MIT System Design and Management thesis in 2005.
He has published two books and over 150 papers in the area of systems engineering and space systems design for exploration and communications. His research has been funded by GM, NASA, BP, JPL, Pratt & Whitney, ArvinMeritor, DARPA, AFRL and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Prof. de Weck serves as Associate Editor for the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (JSR) and Chair of the AIAA Space Logistics Technical Committee.
Since July 2008 he serves as associate director for MIT's Engineering Systems Division (ESD). ESD studies complex socio-technical systems and currently has 52 faculty members and research staff and 440 graduate students. In his most recent assignment he serves as executive director for the MIT Production in the Innovation Economy (PIE) study.
Hauser D., de Weck O.L., “Flexibility in component manufacturing systems: evaluation framework and case study”, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 18 (3), 421-432, June 2007
Suh E.S., de Weck O.L., and Chang D., “Flexible product platforms: framework and case study”, Research in Engineering Design, 18 (2), 67-89, 2007
Ferreira I., de Weck O., Saraiva P., Cabral J., “Multidisciplinary Optimization of Injection Molding Systems", Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 41 (4), 621-635, April 2010