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Sullivan Brendan Patrick

Researcher

Sullivan Brendan Patrick

Researcher

Brendan is an Assistant Professor at Politecnico di Milano, specializing in Advanced and Smart Manufacturing with special attention to Systems Engineering and Digital Engineering. His work focuses on the development of cross-disciplinary Decision Support Systems to support value maximization and sustainability. Focus areas include: (1) the integration of model-based systems engineering and life cycle engineering, 2) the synergistic modeling of operation and engineering systems for extended value, and (3) the development of cost and economic models for the evaluation of change within engineering systems. He teaches Product Lifecycle Management, Industrial Technologies, and Design and Management of Production Systems at the MSc level. Brendan has published in international journals such as Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Acta Astronautica, Journal of Engineering Design, and International Journal of Engineering Business Management.

Career

/ITMC 2019

Research

Brendan Patrick Sullivan's research at Politecnico di Milano tackles a central challenge in modern industry: how to make superior design and management decisions for complex, long-lifecycle engineering systems. Operating at the intersection of Advanced Manufacturing, Systems Engineering, and Digital Engineering, he creates cross-disciplinary decision-support systems that prioritize both value maximization and sustainability.


His research is structured around three core pillars:

  1. Unifying Design and Lifecycle Management: Integrating Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) with life-cycle engineering to ensure designs are inherently optimized for every stage, from production and operation to decommissioning and recycling
  2. Synergistic System Modeling: Developing models that fuse engineering and operational data to unlock new value, extend system longevity, and enhance performance over time.
  3. Economic Decision-Making: Creating robust cost and economic models to quantitatively evaluate and compare changes within complex systems, providing a clear financial rationale for engineering decisions.


Combining formal modeling, data-driven analytics, and economic analysis, his work provides a foundation for strategic choices in complex manufacturing environments.

Selected Publications

Abdulhamid, F. | Sullivan B.P. | Terzi, S. (2025). "Factory in space: A review of material and manufacturing technologies", Acta Astronautica.

Georgopoulou, C.; Di Maria, C.; Di Ilio, G.; Cigolotti, V.; Minutillo, M.; Rossi, M.; Sullivan, B.P.; Bionda, A.; Rautanen, M.; Ponzini, R.; et al. (2025). On the identification of regulatory gaps for hydrogen as maritime fuel. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess.75, 104224.

Dehbozorgi, M. H., | Pirola, F., | Pozzi, R., | Contestabile, D., | Sullivan B.P. | Rossi, M., | Terzi, S. (2025). Guidelines for designing engineering education in the context of Industry 4.0 and 5.0, APMS 2025 Conference.

Cordero, S. | Sullivan, B.P. | Schmid, D. | (2024). "Digital Engineering Ecosystem for the Enhancement of Traceability: Industrial Study"

Abdulhamid, F., | Sullivan, B.P., | Monica, R., | Terzi, S. (2024). The Role of Modularity in a Factory in Space. IFIP International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management.

Francesco, E. De, | Ettorre, A., | Acerbi, F., | Sullivan, B.P. (2024). Exploring space manufacturing: designing a lunar factory for space-bound products in the new space economy. Proceedings of the Design Society, 235– 244.

Bionda, A., | Maintega, M., | Torres, O., | Sanchez, D., | Sullivan, B.P. (2023). H2-fueled passenger ship hazards: challenges in risk assessment for a front edge technology application. In: Pedro Arezes and Anne Garcia (eds) Safety Management and Human Factors. AHFE (2023) International Conference. AHFE Open Access, vol 105. AHFE International, USA.

http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003073

Sullivan, B.P. | Arias Nava, E., | Rossi, M., | Terzi, S. 2023 A systematic literature review of changeability in engineering systems along the life cycle. Journal of Engineering Design 34, 1046–1098.

Sullivan, B.P. | Rossi, M., 2023. An SE based maritime vessel development framework for changeable propulsion systems. Proceedings of the Design Society 3, 555–564.

D. Gerhard, | Cordero, S. | Vingerhoeds, R.| Sullivan, B.P. (2023). "MBSE-PLM Integration: Initiatives and Future Outlook" in IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, Product Lifecycle Management. PLM in Transition Times: The Place of Humans and Transformative Technologies, Springer Nature Switzerland, S. 165–175

Sullivan, B.P.(2022). A life cycle perspective to sustainable hydrogen powered maritime systems - functional and technical requirements. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 14(2-3), 282-301.

Napoleone, A., | Sullivan, B.P. | A rias-Nava, E., | Andersen, A.-L.: Reconfigurable manufacturing: an investigation of diagnosability requirements, enabling technologies and applications in industry. In: Towards Sustainable Customization: Bridging Smart Products and Manufacturing Systems, Aalborg, Denmark, Nov 2021, pp. 80–87

Sullivan, B.P.| Arias Nava E.| Desai S.| Sole J.| Rossi M.| Ramundo L.| Terzi S. (2021), "Defining Maritime 4.0: Reconciling principles, elements and characteristics to support maritime vessel digitalisation", IET Collaborative Intelligent Manufacturing, 3, 23-36

Arias-Nava E.H.| Sullivan B.P.| Valles-Rosales D.J. (2021), "Biopolymer degradation analysis: Accelerated life testing study to characterize polylactic acid durability", Materials, 14

Sullivan, B.P.| Desai S.| Sole J.| Rossi M.| Ramundo L.| Terzi S. (2020), "Maritime 4.0 - Opportunities in digitalization and advanced manufacturing for vessel development", Procedia Manufacturing, 42, 246-253

Sullivan, B.P.| Rossi M.| Ramundo L.| Terzi S. (2020), "Maritime Design Process Improvement Through a Lean Transformation", Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 122, 417-431

Sullivan, B.P.| Desai S.| Klein P.| Rebull J.S.| Rossi M.| Ramundo L.| Terzi S.| Dieter-Thoben K. (2019), "A Prospective Data-Oriented Framework for New Vessel Design", Proceedings - 2019 IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation, ICE/ITMC 2019

Grants, awards and Honours

Community service

  1. Ecosystemic knowledge in Standards for Hydrogen Implementation on Passenger Ship | e-SHyIPS(Project ID 101007226)
  2. Co-designing human centric pathways for future skills in manufacturing through augmented, empowered, inclusive, and symbiotic complementarities between AI, automation and human task | SKillAIbility Project ID 101177783)


Research projects

  • SKillAIbility

    Project details
  • e-SHyIPS - Define the new guidelines for an effective introduction of hydrogen in maritime passenger transport sector

    Project details

Magazine articles