Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, May, 2020 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 98-115). / The business of selling fresh food to individual customers on an ecommerce platform is expected to be $40 billion USD sales generating industry by 2023¹. The online marketplace faces various challenges - a) low profit margins, b) changing consumer habits, c) the onerous task of managing customer experience on the site, and customer delivery experience in logistics, and d) massive scale of operations required to accomplish selling groceries online². What can emerging or even established fresh food ecommerce platforms learn from Walmarts, Amazons, Alibabas and JDs of the world? What are some of the challenges both existing and new players must address in a competitive market to delight customers, and win? The goal of the thesis is to introduce and assess Online Grocery space in the US and China, and understand and evaluate them on platform thinking, and growth strategies for the business. We conclude by looking at emergent trends in the space, especially as it relates to Covid-19, that has been a black swan event for the industry in general. Please note much of the document was written before the pandemic emerged. / by Sarabjeet (Sabby) Singh. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, May, 2020 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages [101]-106). / The law of demand is the simplest and the most important concept in microeconomics. It describes the relationship between the demand of a good and its price and the slope of the curve is defined as the price elasticity. The revenue -- the product of price and demand -- is the imperative attribute to define the company value. The valuation considers not only the actual revenue, but the year-to-year revenue growth rate. It is known that innovative companies have a high revenue growth rate, because they offer products and services that meet the consumer needs. However, microeconomics theory models lack to unify the demand, price and utility of technologically enabled goods and services. This work proposes a new approach to add the technology component in the law of demand as a function of price and utility. The utility of goods or services is described as Multi-Attribute Utility (MAU) and applied to an aviation case study. The MAU considers not only the technical aircraft performance attributes but also the social aspects of regional aircraft - twin-turboprops and jets - into the market. The data analysis shows that price and MAU have a positive correlation of 0.92 for regional jets. Similarly, the twin-turboprop airplanes have a correlation of 0.86. The price and demand are mildly positively correlated with demand. In other words, higher priced aircraft have higher demand. Conversely, lower prices correlate with lower demand. This contradicts the law of demand that states that demand varies inversely with price. These inconsistencies are explained by the concept of Technology Elasticity. In this new approach a good can have multiple levels of demand at the same price, and those levels are graded by MAU iso-utility contour lines. This approach is explained with the tea market case that the economist Alfred Marshall proposed his original theory in 1890. The actual regional jet and twin-turboprop aircraft market data is used to validate the new approach. This thesis ends with a reflection about the regional aircraft landscape and it suggests the application of technology elasticity to other markets. / by Tiago Murbach Koga. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February, 2021 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 145-152). / This thesis addresses the topic of data utilization and data analytics in research and development (R&D) functions of the manufacturing sector. Many companies in the manufacturing sector have generated significant quantities of data in their histories, but only a tiny part of these data is utilized. With the significant progress in big data analytics and machine learning, the companies in the manufacturing sector are able to upgrade their R&D capability by establishing a system to better collect and analyze their data. Using machine learning can tremendously enhance R&D's capability in interpreting data and giving recommendations regarding solutions. The data system could also help improve an R&D organization's productivity by significantly reducing repeated work. This thesis designs an R&D system that collects R&D data by lab automation, analyzes data by built-in machine learning algorithms, and provides recommendations by gathering inputs for development targets. This thesis also covers aspects of knowledge management within the corporation when implementing such a data system. The organizational capability to implement this data system is also discussed. / by Xuedong Li. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, May, 2020 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. Page 106 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 100-105). / Automotive industry is at the cusp of a revolutionary change. Technologies such as autonomous driving, connected vehicles, electrification of the powertrain and shared mobility (commonly referred to as ACES - autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicles) are not only disrupting the industry but are also uncovering new business models that were non-existent a few years ago (Modi et al., 2018, p. 31). As a result of this disruption, Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and their suppliers face several new challenges and are transforming themselves to adapt to these changes. Although many studies in the recent past have investigated the impact of ACES on OEMs, not many have studied the impact of this disruption on suppliers to OEMs. Automotive suppliers are an important stakeholder contributing extensively to the success of OEMs through close collaboration and partnerships. Using literature reviews and knowledge gathered from stakeholder interviews, this thesis uses the architecting innovative enterprise strategy (ARIES) framework (Nightingale & Rhodes, 2015, p. 15) to uncover the challenges involved when an automotive supplier embarks on a transformational path necessitated by the ACES revolution. The thesis proposes several architectures and evaluation criteria that could be used to determine the preferred architecture for a global automotive supplier to adopt in their quest to successfully transform and adopt a more agile culture in the face of challenges brought about by the ACES disruption. / by Badrul Bilal. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, May, 2020 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 145-149). / Currently, intercontinental flights are long-haul flights, and commercial aircraft are not refueled during the flight. As a result, the fuel consumption of intercontinental flights increases exponentially with the distance travelled, because these long-haul flights consume extra fuel due to their weight gain. Intercontinental aviation already accounts for a significant portion of global carbon emissions and this is expected to grow rapidly in the foreseeable future. Therefore, aircraft emissions from transcontinental flights have become a global challenge both socially and technologically. In this study, we propose a floating air refueling system (FARS) to reduce fuel costs on intercontinental flights. In this system, we launch a tanker to refuel incoming intercontinental aircraft. Through the refueling process, intercontinental flights avoid the exponential fuel consumption caused by the additional fuel required, and can potentially reduce aircraft emissions. This thesis presents the design of a floating aerial refueling system, including stakeholder analysis, system architecture design and economic feasibility analysis. In addition, we propose a method for mathematical simulation and optimization of FARS using different techniques. Finally we analyze FARS's feasibility and sensitivity based on case studies. The case study of Singapore Airlines SQ21 shows that our optimized design can save up to 39,415 tons of jet fuel annually over a 25-year life cycle, with a net present value of USD 266 million. / by Ir. Keran Rong. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, September, 2020 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 54-58). / Complex and highly interdependent socio-technical systems are necessary for sustaining, governing, entertaining and nourishing human society. Such systems fulfill their objectives by incorporating ever-improving technologies. A systematic understanding of technology and the pace of technical change is thus critical for policymakers and stakeholders to make well-informed decisions and avoid costly mistakes and omissions. This work reviews past work on technological forecasting and decision making and builds on new research to introduce a systematic approach to technological decision-making. This document describes why information about technology improvement rates matters to technological decision-making, the theoretical framework for doing so, a repeatable methodology and an online system making available this capability to stakeholders. Despite and somewhat because of the complexity of the "whole" socio-technical system, the regularity of constant annual performance improvement is a very strong empirical fact with substantial theoretical underpinning. This regularity lies at the heart of integrating objective data into overall decision processes concerning items affected by the timing of technological change. The methodology uses a broad, easy to use, database of the rates of technological change that covers almost all technologies. We do this by using prior work (accomplished as part of the effort that enabled this thesis) establishing a correspondence of 97.14% of all patents within the entire US patent system to a set of 1757 technology domains and estimating their rates of improvements. We describe the development of a new web-based technology search tool and apply the methodology to a case study of the automotive industry. We believe these results herald a new era of data-driven technological decision-making. Using this new framework and the tool, stakeholders can make timely and "good enough" technology forecasts available without requiring extensive modelling initiatives. / by Anuraag Singh. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February, 2021 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-189). / This thesis is about the design and evolution of large scientific facilities that are used to probe the unknown mysteries of science and create a better future for humanity. These include globally distributed systems for quantum physics, confined fusion and imaging the earliest galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, among others. At the beginning of large scientific project's lifecycle there is often not a clear path to the final use case, a lot of uncertainty with immature technology and budgetary constraints. This thesis aims to gain key insights on how large scale research and development facilities can be optimally designed to take a "long sighted" approach in scientific research. In addition, the research presented has found in looking at a variety of existing, large scale scientific projects and talking with experienced project leaders, tools and techniques that can be leveraged to provide a balanced, system engineering approach to effectively build systems for upgrades and future use cases. Further to the classical system engineering and project management tools, this thesis presents an additional framework, utilizing Technology Roadmapping and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization, MDO, to aid in the foresight and success of large, R&D type projects and their evolution. / by Jonathan Fry. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February, 2021 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. "February 2021." / Includes bibliographical references (pages 77-79). / A Blockchain is a distributed database or ledger of validated and verified records of transactions and exchanges executed between shared parties participating in the chain. Blockchain is intrinsically the technology that enables decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Recently, Public Cloud providers like Microsoft (Azure), Amazon (AWS) and IBM have moved to provide service platforms to enable enterprises, governments and consumers to build and deploy secure Blockchain networks. From common themes like: cost, performance, scalability, identity, privacy and security, this thesis aims to qualitatively evaluate the effect of block chain technology on public cloud offerings, and vice-versa. A Cloud environment is not necessarily needed to participate in a blockchain. However, the use of cloud computing makes participation much easier and seamless than conventional, on-premise solutions. A blockchain networks a large number of nodes, and is only as strong as its weakest link. Cloud computing helps to address potential issues of scalability, security consistency and performance. In evaluating the role of the Cloud in the ease of blockchain integration, this thesis would also address areas where concerns like cost could help drive more dynamic cloud offerings, and where the Cloud could play a part in driving blockchain adoption. / by Tochi Nwachukwu. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-89). / Substituting non-renewable energy for renewable energy plays an important role for our sustainability, which is the common goal for human beings. However, several strategies by governments and companies exist to make this shift, because the priority of each strategy mainly depends on the relative costs and their regulations, which makes this shift complicated. This paper describes a model of the common causal loop diagram and applies it to three cases. Additionally, by building stock and flow model, the future dynamics are simulated by System Dynamics. Based on the casual loop diagram analysis, the renewable shift makes three phases. The first phase is making an ecosystem of renewables initiated by political support or guideline such establishing a low generation cost and making the power grid system flexible enough to accept renewables. The second phase is pushing the energy mix by private investment to capture the economic benefit including reducing electric bills with low-cost renewable energy, the merit of reputation and sustainability of business. The third phase aims at meeting the political target of the energy mix by political strategies, such as tax exemptions, subsidies and obligations for companies. Stock and flow model of System Dynamics is applied for the future of the Japanese renewable shift cases to illustrate which compositions of the casual loop are the key causes for dynamics. At first, the relative cost triggers the renewable shift not only for companies but also for utilities. After that, the difference of the energy mix of a company and its target decides how much the energy mix increases each year. These two factors decide the intensiveness of investment of a company, even though the relative cost is not an internal factor. Also, the capacity mix of a utility deals with the speed of the renewable shift. / by Masahiro Yamada. / S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, May, 2020 / Cataloged from the official version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-59). / With the advent of machine learning, organizations today collect and process data at an unprecedented scale. This has led to rapid growth in innovation across industries, but also poses numerous challenges around maintaining user privacy. Specifically, in the field of healthcare and genomics where data is highly sensitive. Unlike credit cards or passwords, one's genomic information cannot be modified at will and has the ability to uniquely identify the individual. The objective of this thesis is to develop an easily configurable framework that would allow organizations to collaborate and advance genomic research without directly sharing user data with each other. This thesis includes the development of a privacy preserving framework for federated learning on genomic datasets that are distributed across organizational silos. PAGe (Privacy Aware Genomics) has been open-sourced and has a low barrier to entry. A packaged runtime environment is available that includes popular bioinformatics tools and machine learning libraries. Experimental setup is controlled through configuration files, allowing users to easily terminate, restart or reproduce results. Finally, there is an in depth evaluation of the framework using Type 2 Diabetes disease risk prediction as a case study with the 1000 genomes dataset as input. / by Yashashree Kokje. / S.M. in Engineering and Management / S.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program