STEAM for Space Leaders of Tomorrow: Human-Systems Integration as a Technique and an Art

摘要

Human–systems integration (HSI) is progressively becoming a central discipline. HSI is grounded on the coconstruction of technology, organizations, and people's activities and jobs. HSI also requires the association of physics, cognitive engineering, and arts. Physics provides necessary knowledge, rules, and constraints that an engineer needs to build a system that works. Cognitive engineering provides knowledge, rules, and constraints that are necessary to safely, efficiently, and comfortably use a system. However, neither physics nor cognitive engineering provides insights or methods that support creativity. Consequently, arts should be integrated into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to make STEAM (with an “A” for arts). In this article, integration will be presented as creativity and abduction. Visualization supports integration by making abstract constructs more tangible and facilitating effective learning. We will see how during the design of what became NASA Space Exploration Vehicle, we worked with artists and cartoonists, who helped us visualize possible scenarios. They first drew cartoons that were displayed around a room and developed animations. We used them not only as tangible visualizations of our concepts but also as mediating representations that integrated multiple participants' views. This article is also based on the experience of International Space University Space Studies Program 2012 where we carried out a project on “what space can contribute to global STEM education,” which clearly anticipated the shift from STEM to STEAM. We will advocate that space leaders of tomorrow should physically, cognitively, and creatively investigate a specific planet, that is Earth in addition to the other planets. This development is true for both governmental and commercial space activities. We will conclude on the fact that HSI is both a technique and an art, and qualifies for being a STEAM discipline.