|
|
The Design
Decisions Laboratory develops tools and methods to
understand and assist decision-making in the design process. Current thrust
areas include
1.
systems optimization,
2.
design for market systems, and
3.
green design & environmental policy.
 Research
Summary
Systems Optimization
|
|
|
The design and optimization of
complex systems pose unique challenges: Subsystems and components must be
designed such that they are compatible and consistent with one another
while delivering properties that, in combination, achieve targets for the
overall system. DDL develops mathematical tools for decomposing complex
design tasks into smaller subsystem design tasks and coordinating design
of these subsystems to achieve optimal system solutions.
|
|
|
Sample Publications:
|
|
Khajavirad, A., J.J. Michalek
(2009) “A determinstic Lagrangian-based global optimization approach
for decomposable nonconvex mixed-integer problems,” ASME Journal of Mechanical Design,
v131 051009 p1-8.
|
|
|
Khajavirad, A., J.J. Michalek
and T.W. Simpson (2008) "An efficient decomposed multi-objective
genetic algorithm for solving the joint product family selection and
design problem with generalized commonality," Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, v39
p187-201.
|
|
|
Li, Y., Z. Lu and J.J. Michalek
(2008) "Diagonal quadratic
approximation for parallelization of analytical target cascading", ASME
Journal of Mechanical Design v130 n5 p051402.
|
|
Design for Market Systems
|
|
|
Whether interested in profit or
in social welfare, designers are concerned with the preferences people
have and the choices they make. Design decisions are driven by the
preferences of various stakeholders, and the decisions made by designers
have impact on these stakeholders. DDL develops quantitative tools to
model and predict consumer behavior and competitive firm behavior to
guide product design decisions to perform well in the marketplace.
|
|
|
Sample Publications:
|
|
Shiau, C.-S. and J.J. Michalek
(2008) "Should designers worry about market systems?" ASME Journal of Mechanical Design,
v131 011011 p1-9.
|
|
|
Michalek, J.J., O. Ceryan, P.Y.
Papalambros, and Y. Koren (2006) "Balancing marketing and
manufacturing objectives in product line design" ASME Journal of Mechanical Design,
v128 n6 p1196-1204.
|
|
|
Michalek, J.J., F.M. Feinberg
and P.Y. Papalambros (2005) "Linking marketing and engineering
product design decisions via analytical target cascading," Journal of Product Innovation Management,
v22 p42-62.
|
|
Green Design and Environmental Policy
|
|
|
Environmental regulations attempt
to correct for market failures by altering incentive structures or
restricting the space of options available to designers. Such regulations
have direct impact on the decisions made by designers, and the success of
any such policy depends upon the product designs that result under
regulated market conditions. DDL builds models to understand and predict
the effects of policy on the incentives that drive design decisions and
the resulting impact on producers, users, society and the
environment.
|
|
|
Sample Publications:
|
|
Shiau, C.-S., C. Samaras, R.
Hauffe and J.J. Michalek (2009) “Impact of battery weight and charging
patterns on the economic and environmental benefits of plug-in hybrid
vehicles,” Energy
Policy, v37 p2653-2663.
|
|
|
Shiau, C.-S., J.J. Michalek,
and C.T. Hendrickson (2009) “A structural analysis of vehicle design
responses to corporate average fuel economy policy,” Transportation Research Part A:
Policy and Practice, v43 p814-828.
|
|
|
Michalek, J.J. and C. Samaras
(2009) Economic, Environmental and Security Implications of Plug-in
Vehicles, Policy Brief, Dept. of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University,
April 2009.
|
|
Information Systems for
Sustainability
|
|
|
The lack of simple, reliable,
convenient, and accessible information about the social and environmental
impact of products and their producers results in consumers ignoring such
attributes, leading to undervaluation in the marketplace and providing
economic incentive for corporations to compromise social and
environmental responsibility in pursuit of reduced cost and increased
market share. DDL aims to provide consumers with quick and simple access
to customizable information about the social and environmental
characteristics of products and their producers on demand and at the
point of purchase.
|
|
|
Additional Information:
|
|
AWARE: A Step Toward Building a
Sustainable Economy by Informing Consumer Purchasing Decisions at the
Point of Sale (2005)
|
|
Architectural Design
|
|
|
Most Computer Aided Design (CAD)
tools offer precision, but when a designer needs to quickly explore
concept options and think through design alternatives they typically
sketch with pencil and paper. DDL has used optimization in the early
conceptual stage of design to help the designer to quickly generate and
compare alternatives visually and computationally while interactively
refining design goals and constraints and visually guiding
search. This allows the designer to integrate subjective judgment
and experience with the computational power of optimization algorithms to
achieve maximum efficiency while considering aesthetic and usability
issues that are difficult to quantify.
|
|
|
Sample Publications:
|
|
Choudhary, R. and J. Michalek
(2005) "Design optimization in computer aided architectural
design," International
Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Architectural Design
Research In Asia, April 28-30, 2005, New Delhi, India.
|
|
|
Michalek, J.J., R. Choudhary
and P.Y. Papalambros (2002) "Architectural layout design
optimization," Engineering
Optimization, v34 n5 p461-484.
|
|
|
Michalek, J.J. and P.Y.
Papalambros (2002) "Interactive design optimization of
architectural layouts,"
Engineering Optimization, v34
n5 p485-501.
|
|
|
