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Research in design involves systematically studying how artifacts are created and how they fit into different environments, such as virtual, physical, social, psychological, economic, and political contexts. This focus area aims to enhance the practice of design across many engineering domains and applications. Faculty in design conduct research that advances design methodologies and techniques, deepens our understanding of the roles of designers and stakeholders (e.g., users, manufacturers), and assesses the societal impacts of engineering processes, solutions, and outcomes.

Strength Areas

• Bio-Inspired Design: The process of learning from nature to inspire strategies for innovation, including principles of form, function, performance, and aesthetics.
• Computational Design and Optimization: Development and use of technology to visualize, analyze, and make decisions during design processes.
• Design Education Research: Development and analysis of epistemology, policy, and assessment of engineering education and design skill development, including K-12, higher education, and post-education.
• Design for Manufacturing: Methodologies and processes for designing parts, components, and products for efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable manufacturing and product realization.
• Design Theory and Methodology: Underlying science of processes that designers use to develop engineering solutions.
• Engineering for Sustainable Development: Development of design methods and processes to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
• Inclusive & Human-Centered Design: Methodologies and processes that place stakeholders at the heart of the design process to create solutions that understand and enable people of all backgrounds.
• Systems Engineering: Multi-disciplinary approaches for the design and operation of complex systems within their broader socio-technical environments.