Florida Tech, Northrop Grumman Collaborate on New Degree Program

– In another example of the strengthening bond between Florida Tech and the Central Florida business community, the university has started a new master’s
degree program in Systems Engineering at the Northrop Grumman Corporation. The program, which presently enrolls nearly 30 students, is designed for
employees who have earned degrees in the fields of engineering, physical science, computing or mathematics.

The degree is being taught on site at Northrop Grumman’s Melbourne facility. An on-campus version of the program will start soon.
Florida Tech Professor Muzaffar Shaikh, the program’s director, said the new degree is designed to help employees improve key work integration skills.

“An engineer or scientist who joins the high-tech workforce faces the challenge of integrating design and development work,” he said. “Courses taught in
this program will prepare the student to meet this challenge, because we emphasize technical as well as cost and schedule requirements.”
Dr. Ron Bailey, dean of the College of Engineering said the new degree program is an important part of Florida Tech’s
mission to the community.

“We hope that this program will give enrolled students the knowledge and skills that they need to extend their productivity and provide a competitive
advantage for Northrop Grumman,” said Bailey.

Frank Milordi, director of engineering, logistics, and technology for Northrop Grumman, said the new program would provide a competitive edge for Grumman
employees.

“Systems engineering is of growing importance to our industry. Being able to establish a curriculum with a preeminent university like Florida Tech
emphasizes the importance of this educational opportunity to our workforce,” Milordi said.

The new program will prepare graduates in key subject areas, including modeling and analysis, systems engineering principles, computer networks, digital
communications, decision and risk analysis, human-machine interface, and operations research.