reach, leadership, and citizenship in Systems Engineering. Led by Stevens Institute of Technology, and principal collaborator, the University of Southern California (USC), the SERC provides a critical mass of systems engineering researchers – a community of broad experience, deep knowledge, and diverse interests. SERC researchers have worked with a wide variety of domains and industries, and so are able to bring views and ideas from beyond the traditional defense industrial base. Establishing such a community of focused SE researchers, while difficult, promises results well beyond what any one university could accomplish.