2014-5 Ackley: Permaculture

A Permaculture Primer: Living Systems Engineering

John Ackley, Carnegie Mellon University

Software Engineering Institute

Abstract--

Permaculture is an interdisciplinary approach and means to enable the realization of successful systems. Sound familiar? This talk will introduce Permaculture, comparing and contrasting it with Systems Engineering as a systems-oriented practice of solving complex problems. Integrating natural ecosystems with technology, a Permaculture system design seeks to achieve sustainable functionality with no waste, taking into account all aspects of the customer's needs.

Biography--

John Ackley has designed and built software-intensive systems for thirty years, the last decade as systems engineer. He is currently senior member of the technical staff at Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute. Lately, getting back to his roots in western Pennsylvania woods and farms, he has trained in permanent agriculture design and seeks to bring systems engineering practices and natural systems together to help make communities more self-reliant and resilient.

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For access to the meeting file, please send a note to nswg-info@incose.org