Collaborative Research: Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for e-Design: IT Enabled Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is renewing its participation in the e-Design center, an I/UCRC center that was created in 2003. The lead institution is Virginia Tech, and the center at present includes three universities and approximately seventeen industry members. The mission and Vision of the NSF Center for e-Design is to serve as a national center of excellence in IT-enabled design and realization of manufactured products. E-Design involves conceptualizing, designing and realizing a product (or system) using methods and software tools that allow for interoperability of remote and heterogeneous systems and support collaboration among distributed, multidisciplinary stakeholders. The University of Massachusetts (UMass) will bring expertise in three of the four Center thrust areas, including: New Design Paradigms and Processes, Design Optimization, and Enabling Information Infrastructure. Researchers at UMass will be focused on the development and application of engineering ontologies related to product design to enable seamless collaboration and interoperability of engineering tools and people in a distributed web-environment. The joint research efforts of researchers at the other Center institutions (Virginia Tech and University of Central Florida) both complement and strengthen the work at UMass. The proposed Center renewal will enable UMass to continue its key research and leadership role in the Center, as well as contribute significantly to the successful development and preparation of graduate and undergraduate students. Benefits to students will include integration of resulting work into coursework and engineering curricula, as well as internship opportunities. The center will provide a unique experience to students who can interact and collaborate with industrial researchers and engineers. Research and educational findings will continue to be disseminated nationally and will have a significant impact on US industry as a whole.