Abstract:
Scientifically rigorous study of engineering design methods, a relatively new research discipline, is proving to be an impactful investment of research resources. For example, curiosity-driven exploration of material distribution topology optimization (MDTO) methods beginning over three decades ago has grown into a vibrant international research community, and has helped engineers take more full advantage of modern breakthroughs in additive manufacturing. Other impactful engineering design breakthroughs have arisen from use-inspired design methods research, where unmet needs in engineering practice are identified and analyzed, new design strategies are proposed and empirically tested, and the resulting design knowledge and methods feed back into engineering practice. Two such breakthroughs are explored here. The first research movement discussed is Control Co-Design (CCD), a new interdisciplinary research field that is helping engineers to fully-leverage the design coupling between physical and control system design. CCD has become the basis of multiple large-scale research programs (>$150M) that are reducing the cost of renewable energy, and new open-source CCD software tools being adopted by industry. CCD has also led to a technological discovery in spacecraft attitude control that is a compelling solution to reliability problems with flywheel-based attitude control systems. The second movement involves Spatial Packaging of Interconnected Systems with Physical Interactions (SPI2). Engineering systems that involve SPI2 design decisions (e.g., where to place components, how to route interconnects, all while designing to avoid thermal, electrical, structural, and other failure mechanisms) are ubiquitous across engineering domains - from 'Chips to Ships'. A recent breakthrough in mathematical representation of SPI2 design decisions (including spatial topology) has enabled the first automation of SPI2 design decisions, a task that until now has always required some level of human reasoning. SPI2 design automation is removing a key bottleneck of systems engineering, and has the potential to help engineers successfully create new systems that are more complex than what is currently possible. SPI2 design automation methods are being adopted by the automotive and aerospace industries, and other domains, such as semiconductor systems and biomedical devices, are being explored.
Bio:
James Allison is an associate professor and the Jerry S. Dobrovolny Faculty Scholar at UIUC. He is a faculty member of the ISE and Aerospace Engineering (affiliate) departments. Prof. Allison holds MS (2004, ME; 2005, IOE) and Ph.D. (2008, ME) degrees from the University of Michigan. He also holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering (2003, University of Utah) and an AAS in Automotive Technology (1998, Weber State University). He is the co-author of over 150 research publications and the recipient of several awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, ASME Design Automation Young Investigator Award, ASME papers of distinction, and several teaching and advising awards. Previous experience includes work in the automotive and engineering software industries. Current research focuses on the creation and analysis of novel quantitative design methods for engineering systems that enable the identification of non-obvious high-performance system designs. Specific topics of study include: control co-design (CCD), system architecture design, and Spatial Packaging of Interconnected Systems with Physical Interactions (SPI2). His investigations span a wide range of application domains, including power electronics, wind/water energy systems, spacecraft attitude control, intelligent structures, scramjet propulsion, automotive/aerospace/naval systems, manufacturing, and fluid systems. His work is impacting fundamental and applied research and is influencing the practice of engineering system design in industry. For example, his CCD methods are the basis of multiple DOE programs that are reducing the cost of renewable energy, and of NREL energy system design software that is now in commercial use.