Innovative Problem Solving through System Dynamics:
MIT Alumni Leading Change

System Dynamics in Industry

MIT IAP 2026
January 9, 2026
8:30-11:30 AM EST

ABOUT

SYSTEM DYNAMICS,
AI,
AND
THE
HUMAN
FACTOR

This workshop blends keynote talks and interactive exploration to examine how System Dynamics, artificial intelligence, and human-centered design intersect in addressing today’s most pressing challenges—from corporate growth to aviation safety to human–robot interaction. Participants will engage with real-world applications that reveal how systems thinking helps us understand—and shape—the evolving relationship between technology, organizations, and society.

The agenda features dynamic modeling for strategic decision-making with Ventana Systems, an exploration of aviation and human error as coupled systems, and a deep dive into robotics and human factors with Boston Dynamics. You’ll also hear how initiatives like MIT Orbit AI are reframing AI as a cognitive partner in early-stage problem solving. Whether you work in tech, policy, health, or engineering, this session invites you to rethink how we design systems that are adaptive, ethical, and deeply human-aware.

This event features presentations by MIT alum Steve Smith'19, Director of Flight Systems from Blue Origins, David W. Peterson '68, '72, '75, Chairman at Ventana Systems, Inc, David Robert '11, Director of HRI at Boston Dynamics, Michal Delkowski '25, Cynthia Garde '14 CTO/CIO, and MIT Trust Center CTO, Doug Williams.

When Safety Systems Backfire: The System Dynamics Behind Aviation Safety by Steve Smith '19

Human pilots and modern aircraft each represent extraordinarily complex systems. When these two systems interact, they form a tightly coupled system of systems, one which can exhibit unexpected behaviors, nonlinear dynamics, and instability. Despite rigorous safety systems, extensive pilot training, and strict regulation, human error continues to be the leading cause of fatal airplane accidents. Steve will apply System Dynamics and Systems Thinking to explore the feedback structures and behavioral patterns emerging in the cockpit, revealing how well-intentioned safety mechanisms sometimes contribute to tragic outcomes.

Knowledge in Action

Participation is encouraged across all levels of experience. Whether you are new to System Dynamics or have an extensive background in the field, the event offers industry perspectives and diverse applications. Engaging in these sessions will enable participants to network with MIT alumni, gain insights into complex system challenges, and apply these learnings to their projects and initiatives.

Extended Model Predictive Control for Corporate Growth by David W. Peterson '68, '72, '75, Chairman at Ventana Systems

Organizations today operate in environments of rapid change and AI-driven competition—often leading to costly or unrealized initiatives. Strategic plans built once a year are outdated within months. Extended Model Predictive Control (MPC) offers a way to embed continuous adaptation into management itself—using predictive simulation to anticipate the downstream impact of today’s decisions on tomorrow’s performance. With causal insight and MPC, leaders can move beyond guesswork and reactive mode; instead, take measured, data-driven actions that evolve with changing conditions.

Join Us as a Sponsor of MIT Alumni's System Dynamics Hub

As we expand our impact through events, workshops, and upcoming System Dynamics challenges, we invite sponsors to partner with us in advancing systems thinking, innovation, and education. Your support helps fund hands-on learning experiences, student-led initiatives, and cutting-edge explorations at the intersection of AI, modeling, and complex problem-solving. Join us in shaping the future of the MIT system dynamics group.

If you’re interested in sponsoring or learning more, contact: info@mit-alumni-systemdynamics.org.

Robotics, Human Factors, and Social Systems
by David Robert '11, Director of HRI, from Boston Dynamics and MIT Alumni System Dynamics

A dynamic session exploring how robotic systems and human-factor design intersect in modern society. The session begins with an System Dynamics Edge segment by the MIT Alumni System Dynamics Group—“Human–Robot Integration as a Socio-Technical System: Feedback Dynamics among Trust, Ethics, and Policy.” The brief model presentation frames robotics not merely as a technological challenge but as a systemic one.

As humanoid and autonomous robots move beyond industrial settings into social, domestic, and public environments, society faces the challenge of integrating these systems in ways that maintain trust, uphold ethical expectations, and ensure safety. Public impressions of robotics are shaped long before real-world contact occurs—through childhood media portrayals, science fiction, and cultural narratives that frame robots as threatening, hyper-intelligent, or emotionally detached. These early imprints interact with design characteristics such as morphology, perceived friendliness, movement smoothness, and emerging features like personality assimilation, each influencing how people interpret a robot’s intent, emotional capacity, and trustworthiness. Negative or malfunction-driven encounters heighten perceived risk and amplify demands for accountability, while repeated positive, predictable, and socially responsive interactions help reduce fear, narrow the expectation gap, and strengthen familiarity over time. Together, these forces form an evolving socio-technical environment in which human learning, design decisions, liability pressure, and ethical expectations continually shape one another.

MIT Orbit AI and Ed Roberts’ Legacy: AI, Entrepreneurship, and System Dynamics

Introduction to MIT Orbit AI—a Trust Center initiative inspired by Bill Aulet’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework—followed by discussion of how Ed Roberts’ pioneered entrepreneurial education and systems.

An introduction to AI as a cognitive tool to begin the System Dynamics journey.