CPSI | Bio-Robotics | CMECS | VEG
Center for Product Strategy & Innovation
Director: Jonathan Cagan, George Tallman and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor in Engineering
Director: Peter Boatwright, Associate Professor of Marketing
It takes more than luck to conceptualize, design, manufacture and successfully market great products than consumers want. Yet people often don’t realize that innovation, which encompasses product development and business strategy, can be examined in a formalized manner—and it should be. Innovation not only provides future revenue streams for companies, but it defines a company’s future direction.
As important as innovation is to the bottom line, many companies struggle as they try to incorporate the concept into their business plans. Evidence shows that there is often a gap between R&D and market penetration. An effective innovation process should entail the creation of a value proposal that maintains a company’s uniqueness, uncover and fulfill customer needs, allocate resources, connect corporate strategies to product strategies, define and promote brands, transfer emerging technologies to practice and execute the creation of breakthrough products.
In the Center for Product Strategy and Innovation, projects are underway that will help companies address the challenges inherent with innovation and develop practical processes to meet their needs. Research within the center is quantitative and qualitative and explores a variety of topics, ranging from the exploration of the cognitive mechanisms of creative design to the development of industry trend models. The result is a scientific and practical understanding and implementation of innovation strategies. Faculty and students in the center work with corporate partners and this ensures that research efforts address real-world challenges.
Center for Bio-Robotics
Director: Metin Sitti, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
This interdisciplinary center will bridge robotics efforts within the Department of Mechanical Engineering and with other departments and institutes at Carnegie Mellon, such as Robotics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering, as well as with similar centers within the U.S. and abroad.
Center for the Mechanics and Engineering of Cellular Systems
Director: Philip LeDuc, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Living systems interact with their environment in a tremendous diversity of ways. Mechanical signals are now recognized as a major mechanism of communication, which can influence cell migration, growth, and differentiation. The vision of the Center for the Mechanics and Engineering of Cellular Systems is that a comprehensive understanding of the input and output of mechanical signals inside living cells, and between cells and the environment is essential in numerous areas. Significant improvements in the prevention and treatment of cancer, birth defects, and aging, as well as novel applications such as engineered tissues, nutrition and biological nanomachines, may be achieved by manipulating mechanical interactions in integrated biological systems at the molecular, cellular, and multi-cellular scales. Through leveraging the long-standing transdisciplinary culture of Carnegie Mellon University, the Center is built upon strengths in engineering, physics, life sciences, and computation across multiple departments and colleges.
Vehicle Electrification Group
Director: Jeremy Michalek, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
The Carnegie Mellon Vehicle Electrification Group was founded by Professors Jeremy Michalek and Jay Whitacre in 2009 to study electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles. Research thrust areas include: life-cycle economic, environmental, and security implications of electrified vehicles; battery technology development, design, and evaluation; vehicle systems assessment, optimization, and integration with the electrical grid; and public policy evaluation.