Professor of the Practice of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems
Co-Director, Lean Advancement Initiative

Professor Deborah Nightingale has over 35 years of broad-based experience with academia, the private sector and the government. Professor Nightingale joined the MIT faculty in 1997 and holds a dual appointment in the Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Engineering Systems Division. At MIT she serves as the Co-Director of the Lean Advancement Initiative, a joint industry, government, and MIT consortium. Her research interests are focused on lean enterprise integration, enterprise architecting, and organizational transformation. She has led several executive lean transformation engagements in both industry and government.

Prior to joining MIT, Professor Nightingale headed up Strategic Planning and Global Business Development for AlliedSignal Engines. While at AlliedSignal she also held a number of executive leadership positions in operations, engineering, and program management, participating in enterprise-wide operations from concept development to customer support. Prior to joining AlliedSignal, she worked at Wright-Patterson AFB where she served as program manager for computer simulation modeling research, design, and development in support of advanced man-machine design concepts.

Professor Nightingale has a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Industrial and Systems Engineering. In addition, she holds MS and BS degrees in Computer and Information Science from The Ohio State and University of Dayton, respectively. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Past-President and Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. She is a co-author of the book “Lean Enterprise Value: Insights from MIT’s Lean Aerospace Initiative”. Prof. Nightingale serves on a number of boards and national committees, where she interacts extensively with industry, government and academic leaders.

News and announcements:

Books Published by Deborah Nightingale

Prof. Nightgale is lead speaker at Lean symposium in Ireland (March 21, 2007)

Rhodes, Frey Honored at INCOSE Symposium ESD plays major role in event (July 22, 2005)

LAI Book Receives IAA Award (November 7, 2003)

Professor Deborah Nightingale on Real World Learning (June 2001)