Larry Mallak is the Academic Director of Systems Engineering and a Professor of Practice in WPI’s System Engineering programs. He has spent his career building and using innovative methods to improve organizational systems and to design processes leading to better outcomes in complex systems. His work in empathic design sits squarely at the nexus of design, customer needs, and system requirements elicitation. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including TEDx, Engineering Management Journal, WORK, and Industrial Management. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) and serves as the Director of Professional Development and Continuing Education for ASEM. He’s a member of INCOSE and IISE. Prior to his academic appointments, he worked in Charlotte, North Carolina, for Premier Healthcare as a healthcare systems engineer and has worked as a science reporter for National Public Radio.