faculty:

When asked about the primary goal of his research, Dr. Winer responded, “I love being told it can’t be done; it’s a challenge.” Thus, it should come as no surprise that he primarily deals with the design of complex systems. According to Dr. Winer, “we will continue to gather more data than we know what to do with.” As a result, he is motivated to design systems that render complex data in such a way that insights can be drawn. Dr. Winer believes that the better we can describe and represent complex systems the better designed products and processes will become.

Dr. Winer’s research team is currently working on a project that will allow physicians to view 3-D images of patients’ complex internal systems. The images could be delivered over the internet or could be rendered in real-time while the patient undergoes surgery, thus providing more complete and timely information. Essentially, Dr. Winer believes that complex systems will eventually become data centric, a term he coined to describe a system that addresses multiple fidelities. In short, “all the data has to come together so everyone can access the data simultaneously and collaborate more effectively.”