Brian White has had many productive interactions with colleagues and students, and has received much positive feedback and several endorsements:

• 26 July 2020: To Allissa Auld: Very astute comments, Allissa [an experimental test pilot for our Navy (graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, MD, who is currently studying through the University of New South Wales (Australia), in particular their Australian Defence Force campus in Canberra (via distance learning)]: I think you're great in what you're doing to help improve the processes and capabilities of the military (and it's industrial complex), particularly the US Navy, the Service I admire the most. My best to you as you go forward. Brian --- On Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 5:38 AM Allissa Auld <[email protected]> wrote: Hello Brian, Yes, the Evolving Toolbox [for Complex Project Management Brian White authored Chapter 2, "Case Studies Toolset"] is the primary text for the Test & Evaluation subject within the Masters Program. It's great to hear your breadth of experience and interactions with the military. I also find it interesting that your brother was a Navy pilot too, what are the odds... As you said there seems to be an ongoing issue with military procurement and its fascinating ability to exceed budgets, schedule and fail to meet the user needs all at the same time. Since most people I know don't aim to fail, I expect the mismanagement is not due to personnel but the methods they have been using and it's great to see you have being instrumental to improved methods for the management of complex systems/projects. I like your statement "it's much more about pursuing opportunities while being informed of potential risks", it's much akin to how we conduct flight test - nothing is without risk (or we would just not fly at all), but we can still test what appears to be high risk based on appropriate risk management and still provide safe outcomes and real data to inform opportunities. Thank you very much for your [final] draft copy [of Brian White's Chapter 5, "Enterprise Opportunity and Risk" of Enterprise Systems Engineering --- Advances in the Theory and Practice, edited by G. Rebovich and B. E. White], I'm honoured to be offered a copy and while I'm still reading it I find it refreshing to see the encouragement of appropriate risk acceptance rather than total risk elimination. Kind regards, Allissa
• 27 April 2019: From Mikhail Belov: Brian, many thanks again :-)) Mikhail. Brian: Please, see my thoughts about nesting of classes of systems. 26 April: Hello Brian, Hope you are doing well with this very unpleasant environment ... I've amended the text following your notes and our discussion. Would you so kind [as] to look it through ? All amendments are highlighted in green, these are: pages 5-8, 10-11, 31, 60-64, 67-68. Many thanks in advance. M. Reply: Here are my relatively few comments, Mikhail: Thank you for letting me try to help. Brian. 15 April: Brian, many thanks, Your notes and advice are very valuable for me. And it's my pleasure to interact with you. Regards. Mikhail. Reply: You're quite welcome, Mikhail: It's fun for me, too. Brian.
  2 April: Hello Brian, this is Mikhail Belov, I contributed a chapter in your project - book “Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering” and we met in Adelaide at SOSE2012 conference. How are you doing with the virus? … this virus overwhelms the whole globe. The ResearchGate site reported that you were interested in one of my papers in Russian (Теория комплексной деятельности. Часть I.). Now I’m finalizing (with my coauthor) a book which is devoted to further research of complex activity and an enterprise as a complex actor of complex activity. The tentative title is “Optimal Enterprise. Structures, Processes and Mathematics of Knowledge and Human Capital” (I list the contents below). We’re going to publish the book in English. The Russian text has been completed and we have also translated some chapters. If you like I will send you “Foreword” and Chapter 1 “Enterprise and Complex Activity. Qualitative models” in English and I’ll be very pleased if you read it. Best regards Mikhail. 3 April: Reply: Yes, of course, I remember, Mikhail: Please send your book drafts, including your list of references, if you will: I'd be glad to look them over and provide you some feedback. I'm trying to adjust to the virus shut-downs here in Massachusetts, and pretty much stay at home, walking around my driveway for exercise; I used to swim laps almost every day but the pool is now closed. :-( I only go out to do errands about once a week, and I wear a mask and latex gloves when I do. This crisis will clearly last many months, and our routine lives will be changed by these "complex" events, permanently, I believe. I hope you and yours are surviving all this! Regards, Brian
• 25 April 2019: From Mohammad Reza Aref Manesh: Hi Brian: Can you please send me softcopy of case study Toolset? I really enjoyed your part [Chapter 2, "Case Studies Toolset" in Evolving Toolbox for Complex Project Management, Alex Gorod, Leonie Hallo, Vernon Ireland, and Indra Gunawan, editors, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020, pp. 13-41; see Books on this website]. Thanks. Mohammad Arefmanes. Reply: Thank you for your interest and comment, Mohammad: Brian
• 2 August 2019: "Dear Brian, It's time to ride off into the sunset. Today is my last day at CRC, and in the workforce. I've been working officially for 53 years (over 22 yers with CRC Press, and 40 in publishing). Within hours, I'll be officially retired. Thank you letting us publish your work. It's been an honor and privilege to know and work with you. Without the help and support of authors like [you], I wouldn't have been able to do what I've done. I am grateful." My response: "Oh, Rich: How nice of you to write me with such a gracious message. I will cherish this as I contemplate my own retirement someday. Although I just turned 80, I still enjoy satisfying an intellectual need, trying to write meaningful papers and books. I currently have three invited book chapters in the works, a couple of which you know about, of course. Also, I want to finish writing my own book someday about my life both technical and personal; that's been a back-burner effort for several years now for which I have drafted a fair amount of material. We've had quite a nice and fairly long relationship, and I am grateful for our past interactions which started maybe 25 [15?] years ago with the proposal for our book series. Regarding quality of life, I'm attaching my latest published paper which I presented at the IEEE SoS conference in Anchorage this May; hope you find it intersting. My best wishes to you and yours. Brian"
• 4 July 2019: From Nathan Mah, someone Brian White met on a Princess cruise ship to Anchorage to give his paper on quality of life at the 2019 IEEE System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) Conference: "I met you briefly on the cruise to Alaska in May. It was a pleasure to talk to you. From your business card, I was able to find your website and have begun to look at your presentation entitled 'Engineering One's Quality of Life.' All the best." My reply: "What a nice surprise that you contacted me, Nathen: I'm attaching the latest versions of my paper, presentation, and a complete version of my personal spreadsheet. FYI. Thanks so much for your interest and following up on our chance meeting Please feel free to continue interacting on this subject or any other. Brian"
• 1 June 2017: Hello, Jamie: I returned from England on Fri, 26 May after participating in another interesting Complex Systems (2017) conference. I read your dissertation topic proposal this afternoon and was quite flattered that you included much of my work and explained it so well. Although I am not familiar with the work of the other authors you discussed, I think your proposal is quite appropriate and certainly challenging. I think your main (and somewhat daunting) task will be to actually apply these ideas to the Navy's Distributed Lethality application. When you do, I think you will find that the CASE methodology may need expansion as opposed to simplification but that would be a good thing in my opinion. Case studies like this can be quite illuminating. And keep in mind the law of requisite variety where your methods must be at least as complex as the problem you're addressing. :-) I would like to learn more about Gillespie's so-called shape. Perhaps you can teach me about that if you come to visit. When might you have in mind as some possible dates? I have a number of scheduling constraints but we should be able to arrange a mutually convenient time. I hope your professor also liked your proposal. Brian 27  April 2017: My reply: O.K., Jamie: I suggest we speak sometime during the morning of Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday next week, perhaps around 9:30 a.m. or 10:00 a.m. If that is suitable to you, please pick a day and time. My home phone is: (978) 443-3660; my cell is: (617) 893-9542. Thanks. Brian Jamie Gumina: I'm elated to see you responded! I would love to physically come visit, but we should talk via phone first. I am pursuing my degree online (an added challenge for sure), and have a weekly telecom with my advisor. He suggested I read more of your papers and specifically look at the future work sections and also pick something specific within the field of CSE to focus on/narrow down.  So, I will do that over this weekend and in the meantime maybe we can set up a day/time to talk next week. I have full availability except Wednesday afternoon or Friday. Awesome! Oh, please "reply all" so my personal email is cc'd (it goes to my cell phone and I'll get it right away). Jamie [with her cell phone number] 21 April 2017: [My reply:] I'm flattered, Jamie: You're on to something! I'd be more than glad to interact with you. I'll be more available later next week. [How] do you suggest we begin? Brian [From Jamie Gumina:] Dr. White, I am a current PhD student at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in the Systems Engineering Department and am trying to determine an acceptable topic for my dissertation. I came across several of your papers as I was researching the difference between Complex Systems and Systems of Systems and realized that you have a wealth of knowledge and experience through which you might have some ideas of how I can contribute and advance the state of the art. My general interest was predicting or quantifying emergence through architecture, so perhaps there is something I can do that relates CS and architecture; or maybe you know of other dominant gaps. I find the area of complex systems engineering (as I have been introduced to it through my course at NPS with readings such as Bar-Yam, Miller and Page, Strogatz, Mitchell, and Axelrod and Cohen) to be very intriguing and much more applicable to the types of systems we deal with in the DoD. I would also be open to coming up for a visit to discuss your views on the subject! Hope to hear from you soon, Thanks! Jamie
• 14 April 2017: [interactions with someone (Phyllis Sonnenschein) I met at Harvard's Institute for Learning in Retirement (HILR) regarding my robotics paper] Thank you for your feedback and continued encouragement, Phyllis: I wish you well on your trip! Brian --- This is absolutely fascinating though I must admit I skipped the tables and didn't really do the article justice as I'm getting ready to go on a trip for two weeks, but the five big ideas /questions with which you begin and elaborate on – the idea that robots could actually one day collaborate with each other plus all the other speculation is really interesting – and I must say scary in part. Could I imagine marrying a robot? I wouldn't go that far but I could imagine having a robot companion if one could respond to feelings and let's say – be a companion in the car on a long ride – discuss the news, tell stories etc. there is so much here that's interesting. I definitely think you should create a study group. [I did that and facilitated an HILR course in the spring of 2018] This article certainly deserves a second reading which I look forward to doing. Thanks very much for sending. It's fascinating to speculate about this stuff that is getting far too real! Phyllis 11 April 2017: [Brian:] Enjoyed speaking with you today, Phyllis: And thank you for relating your lunch discussions on robotics and AI [Artificial Intelligence] with the other two women and man. You certainly stimulated me to go forward with a short course proposal for HILR next year. The attached is the paper I will be presenting at the Complex Systems 2017 conference in Brockenhurst, The New Forest, UK during 23-35 May. This version will also be published in one of the Wessex Institute's (WIT) journals later in the year. I'll be interested in any comments you may have. See you next time you're in class. Thanks again. Brian [Phyllis:] Love to see your article and I think the topic of AI/robotics would make a fascinating SG……I will be away the next two weeks, but see you in May. Phyllis Sonnenschein
• 18 March 2017:[here is a dialog with a Simon Dodds, a UK Health Care Systems Engineer and Improvement Science Coach; we interacted regarding complex systems and robotics papers I wrote] Hi Brian, Thank you. I thought that you would see the CASE structure in this … most would not. And thank you for sharing. Very happy to attempt an “intersection” when you are passing [near me in Birmingham, UK] in May … I’m sure we can coordinate something  … we are complex adaptive system engineers J. [not sure what this J means :-)] BW [Best Wishes] Simon  --- Hello, Simon: I just finished reading what you all were able to accomplish in your CASE [Complex Adaptive Systems Engineering] work. A very impressive and highly important effort! It's truly an application of the best in complex systems engineering. I hope what you did is continuing to get its due and that this and similar efforts and their positive effects will continue to amplify. For her information, also, I'm copying my friend, ... , a career nurse, Ph.D., and Professor at Salem State University who taught graduate nurses for many years, recently retired. Perhaps we will be able to find time to meet you when we're driving near Birmingham, circa 21 or 30 May. We're still working out our travel arrangements. Thanks again for sharing. Brian --- Many thanks Brian, good luck with your new paper and I look forward to hearing your reflections on our CASE work in healthcare, and perhaps saying “hello” in person. --- [Brian wrote:] Thanks for such quick and insightful feedback, Simon: Yes, I was greatly inspired by the Meadows' book. I have cited it often in my unlimited material growth and overpopulation papers, tutorial/workshops, and the online course on system of systems which I'm teaching. Now that I've got my latest paper submission in, I will be getting around to reading your offering. I will keep in touch and hope that we might be able to meet in person, however briefly when we're in England. We do have a pretty ambitious sightseeing schedule though. I really admire and applaud what you're doing to improve healthcare! Brian --- Hi Brian, Thank you for asking me to comment. I confess this is rather outside my sphere of experience and as I read it I kept getting flashes of “Wargames”, “Terminator”, “Robocop”, “Star Trek”, “Star Wars”, “iRobot” and many other films of dystopian man-versus-machine flavour. I came to the conclusion that if the silicon-based robots got that smart they’d probably work out if (or not) a symbiotic relationship with the DNA-based lifeforms was a realistic long-term survival strategy. I don’t think they’d have to be much smarter than the average human-chimp to work out that consuming the Earth’s resources faster than they can be re-cycled is a poor long term survival tactic. The “smart” bit would be influencing the “collective chimp” in such a way that it was not obvious … and that of course could already be happening and we are not aware. I’m sure you are aware of Donella Meadows … http://donellameadows.org/archives/a-synopsis-limits-to-growth-the-30-year-update/ … it scared the **** out of me that I was bringing children into the world that will face that (potential) future. So my focus is on health care because … some of the most “intelligent” people are working in that challenge … and let’s face it … health care is a mess. This week I’ve been having fun … showing super-clever doctors how to solve some of their most intractable system flow challenges with squared paper and a few coloured pens … they were VERY surprised. I think I may have slaughtered a whole herd of Scared Cows. So, good luck with the paper … and finger’s crossed we have an opportunity to talk/meet sometime soon. BW Simon --- Hello [Simon]: FYI, I just submitted the attached [robotics] paper to Complex Systems 2017, a conference to be held in The New Forest near Southhampton, 21-23 May. I'd be interested in any comments you may have, especially if that can help me with the next revision, if the paper is accepted. Thank you. Brian 13 March 2017: Hi Brian, Many thanks for your kind words. Yes, I am based near Birmingham in middle of England. Over the last year I have been exploring options for developing a pathway to an accredited health care systems engineer (HCSE) along the same lines as in other “hard” engineering domains such as civil, electrical, etc. The INCOSE framework looks promising though, because of its roots in aerospace and defence, it fits better with the medical device domain than the care delivery which is where the “value” is added. And through the course of doing it (i.e. experimenting in the user environ[ment]) I had started using the term “complex adaptive systems engineering” so was delighted to discover that I was not the first! A case of convergent evolution perhaps? The period 21-23^rd May clashes with some of my fixed clinical commitments … but I’m sure we can engineer a way to meet and chat, if only virtually. Many thanks again and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the essay … it is causing a bit of a “stir” in NHS circles … we seem to have demonstrated the “wicked problem can be tamed” J. BW Simon --- Simon: Thank you for looking at my paper and for contacting me. Sounds like we have similar ideas about how to help the world become a better place. I really admire you for trying to make the happen, apparently with considerable success, in healthcare! Give me a few days to look over your attachment and I will get back to you again. I assume you practice in the Birmingham area perhaps? I'm planning a personal trip to Scotland and England in mid-May. FYI, I'm also on the Complex Systems 2017 conference committee and will be submitting a paper soon. This conference will be held 21-23 May at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in The New Forest, near Lyndhurst, I believe, and I hope to participate if my paper is accepted. Thanks again for reaching out to me. Brian 12 March 2017: Dear Brian, I was reading your excellent “CASE 10 year update” paper this morning and found myself highlighting these two paragraphs … so I thought I could write … [the following quoted paragraphs are from my CASE paper:] "Work to improve healthcare by reinforcing the benefits of healthy lifestyles including better diets and more exercise; encouraging preventative medicine and health insurance coverage, particularly for more serious ailments; and working with hospitals and doctors to change the incentive structure that in part relies on expensive and unnecessary tests for those nearing the end of life, and instead rewarding doctors for keeping people healthy. ... Join forces with online educators by volunteering in and contributing to hybrid classrooms through lecturing, teaching, helping with assignments and/or grading; especially devising ways to increase the credibility of online accomplishments so that potential employers will trust the education of online participants to the same level as those with college degrees; and working with local colleges to reduce the cost of higher education, perhaps by volunteering academic services, e.g. teaching, consulting, and /or offering free workshops." --- A bit about me might help provide some context. I am an unusual animal in that I was originally trained as a systems engineer (IT systems) and then studied medicine and surgery. I still practice as a surgeon in the UK NHS [National Health Service?] for part of the week. My other passion is translating systems engineering and CASE into the health care domain (as you might imagine, I use CASE almost by second nature), verifying that it works, and then building a system for disseminating that learning … mainly through hybrid classrooms (i.e. a blend on of online, virtual meeting, hands-on practical skills, and remote coaching). And so far it seems to work to as judged by the results that the “apprentices” have delivered for themselves. I have attached a recently publish case study to give a flavour. As you will see we experienced an “emergent surprise” J. There is currently no formal training programme for “embedded” health care systems engineers in the UK, nor in the US from what I can gather. And my experience to date leads me to the conclusion that a CASE-like approach to HCSE is more fruitful than a TSE [Traditional Systems Engineering], particularly at the front-line delivery. So, given our common interests, I wonder if there is some scope for a two-way sharing of “memes”? With many thanks, Simon Dodds
• 16 March 2017: Thanks, Mike: Yes, I thought this was a step in the right direction, and I still use View in my work but now I call the Mindset dimension Mindsight instead. Brian --- [from Mike Norman:] Nice reference :-) White, B.E., "On Interpreting Scale (Or View) and Emergence in Complex Systems Engineering," in 1st Annual IEEE Systems Conference, 2007, pp. 1-7.
• 14 February 2017: From Chad Walker: "The course, from my end, is an important addition to the SE [Systems Engineering] curriculum. I am surprised by how recent all of these ideas are. In fact, several of our professors including Dr. White have made key contributions to SoS [System of Systems] and ES [Enterprise System] engineering. What I do like about the lectures is the breadth and coverage of topics. Dr. White clearly knows his tuff and is an expert on the topic. My reading list increases in size each time I listen to one of his lectures." From Vic Puktas: "As far as the course goes, I have enjoyed the subject matter. I have enjoyed the discussions that we are having and i [sic] think it is really fascinating to be on the cutting edge of the systems engineering field. Id [sic] also like to echo what Chad has said  about understanding ore about the nature of SoS engineering."
• 13 February 2017: [here is a dialog with a student] Sounds good, Chad: yes, I would try to keep to one page (that makes it cleaner and easier for the handlers) by greatly shortening or just listing your older items from page 2. Some of your more recent descriptions are somewhat repetitive, too, so they might be shortened somewhat, as well, to get to one page. Employers tend to be mainly interested in what you can do for them now and your more recent experiences. On the other hand, I would also keep a full two-page resume handy with all the details, as well, in case they ask for that after you let them know it exists. Thanks. Brian --- Hi Brian, thanks for the elegant writing. This explains well what I bring to the corporation. I will drop the statement in at the start of my resume. Do you think I should take out some of the experience on the second page to consolidate it to one page? For the cover letter I will also develop on this intro statement by including examples. Here's my cell as well: ... Looking forward to meeting up at the career fair! --- Hi, Chad: I spent some time reading your wonderful resume couple of times; it's great, and I wouldn't change a word! However, perhaps it's a little long for most personnel professionals to plow through. Anyway, If you're using two pages, I have something I suggest you add up front in an attempt to grad their attention even further. I've even drafted it for you. ;-) What do you think? Brian P.S. I'm now planning to show up at Thursday's career fair so making we can meet their in person! My cell number is 617-893-9542 is you need it. 11 February 2017: Thanks, Chad: I'll get back to you. Brian --- Hi Brian, thanks for the conversation. Attached is my resume. It would be helpful to have your perspective on it. Also, the career fair I mentioned is this week, Thursday, February 16th at the WPI Sports & Recreation Center from 12-4pm. Let me know if you can make it and we'll coordinate a meet up. Cheers Chad ---Hi, Chad: I'd be more than glad to interact with you (not sure how much help I'll be though), and I'm available the rest of today and this evening; anytime now would be good. I believe my Skype number just expired so please call me on my home phone, (978) 443-3660; if I don't answer for some reason, leave a message, and I'll call you back. Thanks. Brian --- [from student in my Worcester Polytechnic Institute Masters level systems engineering class on System of Systems] Hello Dr. White, Quick email to request a few minutes of your time. I'd like chat briefly (in person or by skype) about orienting my professional profile towards an SOSE angle. I'm curious specifically how corporations/organizations perspective of SOSE is evolving. Please advise a suitable time from your end. With regards, Chad Walker
• 8 April 2016: From Andy Moysenko: Hi Brian – I too enjoyed our lunch.  Thank you for the papers.  ... And, just to give you a heads up, the Merrimack Valley Section of the ASQ (American Society for Quality) meets at 6 PM on the first Thursday of the month at the Holiday Inn in Tewksbury, MA. I’ll be looking for speakers for September through December of this year, so if you have a preferred month [Brian volunteered for November 2016 but this invitation never materialized], please let me know and I’ll save the slot for you. Again, thank you for the great conversation and for lunch. I’d like to stay in touch and compare notes on applying Systems Thinking, System Dynamics, and Systems Engineering concepts at time goes on. 29 March 2016: Hello Brian, thank you for sending this material so quickly.  As I told you yesterday, I did enjoy the presentation.  ... . I’m convinced that unless there is a resurgence in the capacity for systems thinking and the appreciation for the implications of complexity, the skill of critical thinking is headed for extinction. The concepts go well beyond Engineering, as you made abundantly clear. If you have the opportunity and are so moved, I’d enjoy getting together for a chat (coffee, lunch, whatever is most convenient for you) when you are available. I understand that you live in the New England area, and, where I’m located in Chelmsford, MA, I could certainly meet up with you. Thank you again, and best wishes in your efforts…
• 9 April 2016 - From L Keith McCaughin: Thank you for your patience and expertise in getting this work [L. Keith McCaughin and Brian E. White, “An Architecture for Stewarding Enterprises,” IEEE SoSE Conference, Kongsberg, Norway, 12-16 June 2016] finalized and published. I think it is timely and important. I would love to have a video of your presentation in Norway. 4 April 2016: Brian, you're certainly earning your co-authorship! I will read over the paper in detail this week ... . 23 January 2016: Brian, I think you nailed it. It reads very well and I know you know the audience much better than I do. As the presenter of  the paper, it should be in your language as much as possible. ... Great job! It's a pleasure working with you.
• 4 April 2016: From Sally C. Muscarella to Mo Mansouri (both of Stevens Institute of Technology): Mo, Dr. Brian White visited Stevens last week as part of the INCOSE Northeast tour.  Brian delivered an excellent lecture called, “Complex Systems:  How to Recognize Them and Engineer Them”.  Brian expressed interest in lecturing on complexity for Stevens.  By copy of this note, in your role as Program Director for Systems Engineering, it’s my pleasure to refer Brian to you.  I think that your paths have crossed in the past.  Brian, formerly of MITRE, has authored a book on complexity and is a sessions chair at the the June meeting in Norway of the IEEE SoSE.
• 11 October 2015: From Ken Sexe: Brian: Thank you very much for sending the presentation to me. I will browse through it and see if I would like anything else. I truly enjoyed listening to your thought-provoking show and will keep you in mind if I have any questions. If I can ever repay your kindness please let me know.
• 9 October 2015: From Diane VanScoter: Brian, thank you for sharing. I found your presentation very interesting.
• 9 October 2015: From Amy Cox: Thank you much. I appreciate the slides and will spend some time looking at them.
• 9 October 2015: From Beth-Anne Schuelke-Leech: thank you so much. I really enjoyed your workshop today.
• 8 October 2015: From Patricia Anzalone: Thank you, Brian! I really enjoyed the workshop.
• 8 October 2015: From: Max Innocent: Thank you very much, Brian. I am very grateful for your help and feedback. I will be sure to talk to my advisor about looking at opportunity as well as risk. Thank you.
• 2 June 2015: Hi Brian, Thank you very much for prompt reply and for information. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your staying [sic] in England. Thanks again Daniel --- I'm very glad to, Daniel: Thank you for your kind feedback. For best viewing of the presentation, use the Slide Show mode of PowerPoint. I'm attaching the paper, as well, which has a minor typo fix. I thought it was a very good [Complex Systems] conference, held at the elegant Balmer Lawn in the beautiful venue of New Forest, and I really enjoyed driving around the countrside of southwestern England. Regards, Brian --- Dear Dr White, I hope this email finds you well. It was a great interest to [sic] listening your presentation. I would appreciate it very much if you can share with [sic] your powerpoint presentation. Kind regards Daniel Santos
• 8 January 2015: [on Linked In website; regarding the supposed 38 year anniversary of working at The MITRE Corporation] Anne Drissel: Is it really 38 years! That's im[p]ressive! It was a pleasure and inspiration working with you at MITRE. Brian White: Thank you, but its really just 29 years, Anne: I was at Signatron for 5 years, '81-'86, and I retired from MITRE in July, 2010, so LinkedIn got it wrong basing this just on my starting date at MITRE, 3 Jan '77. 16 June 2014: [on Linked In website] Richard Hodge [partner at Brooke Institute] has recommended your work as a Principal at CAU<--SES. Dear Brian, I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "Brian lives the concept of "mind-sight" - the mental state of knowing how to bring foresight into action. A rare individual. And an inspiration to those who follow."
• 12 April 2014: Thank you Brian for your eloquent rebuttal. Ram, the term "Australian Department of Defence" is a proper name warranting capitalisation and spelling as the Australian Government intended for one of its departments of state. Prof Cook and I have otherwise gone against our natural tendency to UK/Australian spelling in deference to US spelling when referring more generically to defense matters. There should be no confusion. Systems engineers have a natural appreciation for divergent viewpoints. And then we listen to Brian. Thanks and regards, Richard Hodge [co-author of Chapter 17]  --- [Brian White:] Ram I do not concur with your suggestion. I would prefer to leave the spellings as they are. The authors of Chapter 17 address this issue in the footnote on page 508, and quite satisfactorily, I believe. In the title of Chapter 17, the first use (Defence) is associated with the Australian (or British English) spelling, quite properly, for that is how the Australian's spell the name of their own "defence" organization. the second use in the title (Defense), (although capitalized) is meant generically, I believe. If nothing else, it seems to me that this is an "attention-getter" for the reader which may entice them to find out why the different spellings are used; they may be [sic] then peruse this chapter, even if they haven't planned to already, and discover the aforementioned footnote. Our book is meant for an international audience. Some authors have used the Australian (or British English) spellings, and some the American English (or U.S.) spellings. I have tried to be consistent in respecting the authors' native spellings in my own editorial excursions. I think it is rather silly to insist on one spelling style over the other because this may please no one other than the T&F [Taylor & Francis publishers] rulemakers. Sorry, Ram: Clearly, these are my opinions, and I have no authority to change your rules. But thank you for asking. Brian --- Dear Dr. White I would like to check with you on the following point: In this book [Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering, regarding it's editing] the term "defense" is spelled both the ways "defence" and "defense." As we are following US spelling for this book we are supposed to use "defense" consistently. Could you please confirm if we can proceed with applying this even in case of proper nouns? For instance: Chapter 17, Title: Australian National Security and the Australian Department of Defence: Framework to Enhance Strategic Planning and Capability Development in Defense Acquisition Organizations. Best regards Ram Pradap Narendran [Project Manager SPI Technologies India Private Limited]
• 6 December 2013: Thank you, Mike (you flatter me): Looks like the makings of a great talk/facilitation. Yes, I was the Project Leader on HAVE QUICK and HAVE SYNC at MITRE from 1986 to about 1990. I am attaching updates of the relationship charts; see the Notes Pages for explanations of the four types of SoSs. Brian --- [to his classmates] Gentlemen, Enclosed please find the presentation for this mornings class discussion. I enjoyed and valued the research involved in putting together these ideas from Dr. White and topics from recent events to capture Emergence and Complexity of Systems. Many Thanks Dr White for your work in this field and help with this brief.  On a personal note I have used freq hopping radios in OEF flying F/A-18's.  Thanks for that system from a user.  You made my life a lot easier in combat. VR, Mike Overson 5 December 2013: Thanks for these added remarks, Mike: Yes, I saw Money Ball and liked it very much; I'm partial to Brad Pitt in any event, and this movie and other sports venues it would make fertile fodder for good examples of complexity. Not just sure what you're asking about the papers behind my 2012 NDIA presentation; you see that many citations were given on the charts using the format (White, 2010a), etc. So to bury you with some of my older works, I'm sending you a bunch of references that are cited in my latest tutorial/workshop presentation. (This may take more than one transmission because of the volume.) Some of them may be of interest to you as you pursue these ideas further.
  You're test piloting drones, I presume. Someday I'd love to meet you in person and discuss your "mindsight" in doing this. I served almost 3 years in the AF ('62-'65) as a Lieutenant but had a desk job in technical intelligence focused on Soviet technology, etc. I will plan to try and contact you up next time I'm in the San Diego area. Thanks again very much for contacting me, and best wishes with all your endeavors. Brian 4 December 2013: Dr. White, Many thanks for your thoughts and quick turnaround. My initial interest was the Oct 2012 brief on complex systems made simple. As we move forward with a basic understanding of emergence I was preparing on my approach to speak to the younger generation in our class. I am afraid my approach may be too simplistic but would like to simplify with a concept that can be related to a mainstream discussion. Embracing complexity and interoperab[i]lity between Complex systems and people can be thought of using a professional sport's organization. Major league baseball and the "system" in the movie "Money Ball" maybe a way to describe outcome probability, economies of scale, diminishing returns and synergy over time. Emergence good or bad is clearly organized in your 2007 paper and maybe captured in those terms. I'm hoping everyone can either relate to sports or the movie. For the 2012 NDIA [National Defense Industrial Association] enclosed presentation can I obtain the paper written that this brief was derived from? I believe it would be worthwhile to invest in the perspective used in complex systems (slide 12, 15 & 16) and the Lego discussion. Thanks again for your help, I appreciate your support and will send you a copy of the PPT presentation that I develop crediting your slides for these concepts.  We are in the crawl, walk, run phases of emergence in our class. If you are in the Palmdale Ca. or San Diego area please drop me a note.  I am a senior test pilot flying USAF Global Hawk, USN Triton, and Euro Hawk supporting our developmental efforts and envelope expansion.  I would be happy to discuss the system of systems with you and the challenges of enterprise approach within the National Airspace System. VR, Mike Overson December 2013: Hello, Mike: As promised earlier today, I am sending you some things. Since the 2012 NDIA conference, I have updated my tutorial and given it three more times, once at the Israeli INCOSE conference near Tel Aviv this past March, the INCOSE Symposium in Philadelphia this past June, and the Complex Adaptive Systems conference in Baltimore in November. Tentatively, I am scheduled to give a workshop based on my tutorial in Adelaide, Australia this coming June. The first attachment contains some updated charts beyond what I presented at the NDIA conference. If you would like a copy of my latest draft tutorial I would be glad to send it to you. Please let me know. There is some new references in the first attachment. Also, I have bolded certain references in which you may be interested. My 2007 paper which was presented at the first IEEE systems conference in Hawaii is the second attachment; I believe this is something you wanted. This paper deals primarily with the emergence. A somewhat broader paper that I co-authored with Gay McCarter appeared as Chapter 3 in Mo Jamshidi's book on system of systems. The last attachment is a copy of the paper by Doug Norman and myself on the LEGO block concept.
   If there is anything else among my papers and presentations of which you would like a copy, just ask.
   I just read the paper by Felder which you sent to me and wholly agree with the vast majority of his statements.
   Thank you so much for contacting me, Mike. It made my day that someone is paying attention to my efforts to shine a light on complex systems! Let me know how you did in leading the class discussion, and please stay in touch. Regards. Brian --- Thanks for the detail. Mike: I'll try to put something together for you tonight. Brian --- Sir Thanks for quick response. I found a copy on the IEEE website and will sign up as a student.
  I wasn't successful earlier because I searched your the [sic] bibliography. Sorry for the interruption. When you have a moment, are there any top level updates on your thoughts about emergence since 2007? My class is this Fri/ Sat. The assignment is to read and lead a class discussion on the subject of emergence and complexity in systems. My thoughts to date are about your conclusions in your 2012 NDIA conference presentation.
  * Interoperability begins with people not tools.
  * Determine the Fundamental Unique Value to achieve mission capability.
  * Lego block analogy - Developer reward after Lego block is used in the field.
  I appreciate your insight and help. Happy Holidays, Mike Overson --- Be glad to help, Mike; Rather busy today. By when do you need it? Brian --- Dr. White, I am researching emergence in Complex Systems Engineering for a class discussion. Your bibliography discussing emergence is of interest. Our course is being taught by Dr. Wilson Felder, Stevens Institute of Technology. His discussion on interaction with complex systems and your  Oct 2012 NDIA presentation insightful. If possible, I would like to request a copy of the 2007 brief on emergence and provide discussion to our group. Thanks for your help, VR, Mike Overson
• 17 November 2013: Thank you again and for sharing, Tom: I recommend you peruse the references at the end of the presentation in delving deeper. If you wish to have any of my own work (under White), feel free to ask, and I will send you soft copies. Brian --- Thank you, Sir. I anticipate spending several hours on studying and researching along the lines you've laid out. My wife has been eager to see it also. Her work is approaching the same type problems from the community organization aspect as she attempts to knit together corporations such as Peabody Coal, Monsanto, etc and social justice organizations into mutual dialogue. You can imagine some of the forces at work there! Thank you again. ...tom --- Gladly, Tom: Thank you for participating. Brian 16 November 2013: Sir, If you would, please send me a soft copy of the tutorial you presented at the CAS [Complex Adaptive Systems] conference in Baltimore on Friday. Tom Sandidge
• 6 October 2013 - Prof. Vernon Ireland (University of Adelaide) [regarding our new book Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering:] I think you have done a great job as organizing editor.
• 15 September 2013 - From S. Jimmy Gandhi (Asst. Prof., Cal State Univ --- Northridge) [regarding our new book Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering:] Thank you for being a great friend and for teaching me so much from your rich experiences in your life and your career.
• 9 September 2013 - From Prof. Vernon Ireland (University of Adelaide) [regarding the Preface he authored for our new book Case Studies in System of Systems, Enterprise Systems, and Complex Systems Engineering:] By the way, after doing my initial draft of this, I asked my wife to go through it, [and] we both agonised over a few paragraphs. Both she and I think all your changes are improvements while not changing the basic content of any of the paragraphs. So I really appreciate your role.
• 25 July 2013 and 27 August 2013 From Ken Hartlaub [regarding helping him get a job teaching at the college/university level.] I got the gig! I’m pretty excited about this new adventure. Thank you once again for your resume proof-reading, suggestions, and of course your willingness to write a letter of recommendation. ... I really appreciate your help. I thought WPI recruited excellent professors (most of which had PhDs). You and another professor really made me think about teaching ...
• 26 June 2013 - Dear Dr. Brian White: Thanks very much for sharing the [tutorial] content. It was a very interesting course and the best lecture that I heard in INCOSE this year. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge. I will keep in touch with you with my progress in complex system design. Best regards Anand
• 24 April 2013 - Haitam: I was really pleased to meet you and attend your course [tutorial]. You have a quite a comprehensive tutorial; I enjoyed looking through it. I look forward to future conversations with you.
• 23 April 2013 - Hello Brian: Thank you very much for the interesting presentation [on case studies] and Tutorial material! I am very interested in buying the [case studies] book you are now finishing. ... A... P... Project Manager Finnish Defence Forces
• 22 April 2013 - Thank you for the tutorial charts. May I also thank you for the very interesting tutorial and sharing with us your view of the world :-)
• 21 April 2013: Dear Prof Brian White, I arrived late on 15th evening at Orlando and could not attend your lecture. I wanted to meet you as well. I delivered my presentation on 17th morning and left for India in the afternoon. I missed an opportunity to learn from your lecture on complexity issues in systems. Hope to meet you at some other conference in Australia or elsewhere. Best regards, Rai Sachindra Prasad
• 20 April 2013 - Thanks a lot for the presentation [Tutorial at IEEE SysCon 2013 (15 April 2013)] and I did enjoy all presentations [including case study paper and special session on case studies (16 April)] you gave.
• 19 April 2013 - Thanks for this -- and for an excellent tutorial [Tutorial at IEEE SysCon 2013 (15 April 2013)] Thanks also for coming to my presentation.
• 17 April 2013 - Brian: Hope everything went well yesterday. [presented their paper for them because they could not attend IEEE SysCon 2013 and the special session on case studies] Just want to thank you again for all your efforts and hope to see you at another SysCon event.
• 5 March 2013 - Dear, Brian: Thank you very much for the presentation you sent. As I told you after the lecture [Tutorial at INCOSE_IL (5 March 2013), Tel Aviv, Israel] I really enjoyed it. You gave me a very nice picture and understanding of how to deal with complex systems. At the entrance to your lecture I expected to hear a lot of WHAT TO DO but fortunately you gave me a very good understanding of HOW TO DO things. Thanks a lot and have a safe flight back home.
• 5 December 2012 - Good morning, Brian: Your tutorial On Principles of Complex Systems Engineering has been accepted to be conducted for IEEE SysCon2013. This will be on the Monday. I will send you the presentation time later. Really liked the quality of the slides you provided.
• 17 November 2012 - To: Michael Ramlocan: Thank you for following up with me, Michael: This is the kind of positive feedback I live for! I will probably overwhelm you with stuff I think is most relevant to complexity (peruse the attachments) but take your time and feel free to ask for additional clarification or guidance. Good luck! Brian
• 27 February 2012: How delightful to hear from you Brian – I will participate [in the decision making survey], and I wish you Godspeed in your endeavors! You are sorely missed! J v/r,Paul [Colman (The MITRE Corporation)]
• 29 November 2011: Wow, quite a [complex systems tutorial] slide deck. I'll need to skim through it in more detail after exams are grading in a few weeks. Great to stay in touch. I mention our meeting on the T that one day as an example of personal networking, btw! Take care and congrats on your new life. I may be interested in picking your brain on some of the tutorial stuff. Steve Klostermann, Gordon Engineering.
• 30 September 2011: Congratulations on the strong review your new book [Beverly Gay McCarter and Brian E. White, Leadership in Chaordic Organizations. Boca Raton, FL:  CRC Press. 2013] has been receiving! - Rich Plasse
• 18 September 2009: My sincerest condolences to your and your family on the recent loss of your wife. I know it must have been very hard, yet through it all you managed at the same time to lead --- among others --- the Second Life/Virtual world effort, which ultimately proved a success. We could not have done it without you. You made it seem easy under the circumstances. Your expertise, dedication and patience through it all is amazing and inspirational to me. Warm regards, Mark McDade