Jeremy J. Michalek

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering & Public Policy

Bio

Jeremy J. Michalek (me-HA-leck) is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the founding director of the Design Decisions Laboratory and an active member of the Green Design Institute. 

Michalek's research focuses on decision-making in engineering design. He is interested in the preferences and market forces that drive design decisions as well as the impact of those decisions on public and private stakeholders. Michalek pursues three primary thrust areas:

1. Systems Optimization: Develop fundamental knowledge and new methods for multidisciplinary design and complex systems optimization;  
2. Design for Market Systems: Measure and model consumer choice and firm behavior in the marketplace to optimize engineering systems for profitability; and 
3. Green Design & Environmental Policy: Study the effects of economics and public policy on design decisions and the resulting environmental impact of those decisions.

Application areas include vehicle design, particularly the economic and environmental implications of vehicle electrification and the impact of market forces and public policy on vehicle design.

Michalek also teaches courses in design, product development, economics, and optimization. His research and educational efforts have appeared in Bloomberg, CNN Money, The Pittsburgh Tribune Review and U.S. News and World Report, and he has written a policy brief for members of the United States Congress. He has earned awards including the ASME Design Automation Committee's Best Paper Award, the George Tallman Ladd Research Award for outstanding research and professional accomplishments, the ASME Design Automation Outstanding Young Investigator Award, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Michalek is involved in ASME, INFORMS, AIAA, CESUN, and the TRB.

Lab website: http://www.cmu.edu/me/ddl
Lab wiki: http://ddl.me.cmu.edu/ddwiki

Education

B.S. 1999, Carnegie Mellon University

M.S. 2001, Ph.D. 2005, University of Michigan

Selected 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.

• Shiau, C.-S. and J.J. Michalek (2008) "Should designers worry about market systems?" ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, v131 011011 p1-9.

• 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.

Last updated March 2010