Ethan Lee Copple, Ph.D.
Showcasing research, writing, and insights.
I’m a systems scientist with a background in industrial engineering and anthropology. I work on turning complex systems into clearer, more adaptable ones, applying modeling, optimization, and metric design to operations, supply chains, and industrial strategy.
At the center of my work is a commitment to counteracting entropy, the drift toward disorder that undermines performance in everything from factory floors to health systems. I build frameworks and tools that help organizations regain structure, resilience, and the ability to adapt under uncertainty.
Today I work across three arenas: building new industrial engineering capability at Boeing Defense, Space & Security, shaping U.S. manufacturing and industrial policy as Director of Strategy at IAMT Policy, and advising clients through Systems Intelligence Consulting.
Systems scientist strengthening U.S. industrial and public systems.
Translating Human & Technical Systems Research into Strategy that Fights Entropy
Consulting Portfolio
Systems Intelligence Consulting brings engineering rigor and social-science insight to complex systems. Selected areas of client work:
Mathematical optimization, complex socio-technical systems modeling, and cybernetics
Optimization models and feedback-based system design that improve decisions and keep operations stable under uncertainty.
Systems engineering for supply chains
Mathematical modeling and systems analysis of supply chain structure and vulnerability, including U.S. supply chain chokepoints.
Systems engineering for healthcare systems
Applying a supply-chain lens to health delivery for public health departments and health systems in the U.S. and internationally, building on my research in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Research portfolio leadership
Serving as hired principal investigator to oversee multi-team research portfolios, keeping scope, quality, and delivery on track.
Grant development and facilitation
Managing federal grant development across academic, policy, and institutional partners to improve proposal structure, clarity, and operational feasibility, and facilitating large multi-stakeholder workshops (40+ participants) with executive-facing recommendations for future events.
Bio
Ethan Lee Copple, Ph.D. is a systems scientist and the Principal of Systems Intelligence Consulting, where he brings industrial engineering and applied anthropology to complex operational and institutional problems. He is also the Director of Strategy at the Institute for American Manufacturing & Technology (IAMT Policy), a policy and research organization dedicated to strengthening the industrial foundations of the United States, and a founding Industrial Engineer for production control and materials management at Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Through Systems Intelligence Consulting, Copple serves as a subject matter expert in mathematical optimization, cybernetics, and supply chain modeling, including analysis of U.S. supply chain chokepoints. He provides systems engineering for healthcare delivery, works with public health departments in the United States and abroad, and serves as a hired principal investigator overseeing multi-team research portfolios. He also manages federal grant development across academic, policy, and institutional partners and facilitates large multi-stakeholder workshops.
His research examines how people, policies, and infrastructure interact to determine system performance, making complexity measurable and actionable for organizations operating in high-stakes environments. His methods integrate systems modeling, network analysis, and novel metric design to help institutions understand and counteract the structural drift that undermines long-term operational resilience. His doctoral research in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, applied a supply chain framework to healthcare delivery, producing original metrics for structural adaptability that translate directly to the coordination and infrastructure challenges shaping U.S. industrial strategy.
Copple holds a Ph.D. and dual M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering and Applied Anthropology from Oregon State University, and dual B.S. degrees in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Anthropology from Kansas State University. He is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a two-time Evans Family Humanitarian Engineering Fellow.
Key Highlights
Education
Ph.D. Industrial Engineering, Oregon State University
M.S. Applied Anthropology and Industrial Engineering, Oregon State University
B.S. Anthropology, B.S. Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Kansas State University
Research Highlights
Case Study: Healthcare Delivery in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Developed a transdisciplinary systems approach integrating engineering and anthropology to analyze complex systems and optimize decision-making.
Designed and implemented a novel metrics to quantify the changeability and complexities of systemic to guide strategic decision-making in operations, logistics, and supply chain management.
Conducted network analysis and modeling to identify key leverage points for improving system efficiency and reducing barriers to healthcare delivery.
Major Awards
2022 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
2021 & 2022 Evans Family Humanitarian Engineering Fellow
2015 American Legion National Eagle Scout of the Year
