Engineering Research Equipment: Development of an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Based Clustered Platform for Integrated Design

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This award will provide funding for networking and computing equipment that will be dedicated to support research in engineering. Equipment includes Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) hardware (three switches along with the appropriate set of workstation network interface cards), as well as computer workstations. This hardware will enable researchers to establish an ATM-based cluster computing platform on an isolated subnet of the university network. A laboratory will be developed for the study of cluster-based computing and its application to multidisciplinary design problems. The equipment will be used for collaborative research projects that will contribute to the advancement and expansion of the knowledge and technology based in the emerging area of Integration Engineering (IE), particularly with respect to development of ATM-based cluster networking strategies for Concurrent Design. ATM is becoming the defacto standard for multimedia communications for Wide Area Networks and will be crucial for the success of the Information Superhighway. The ATM-based cluster computing platform will create an industrial microcosm in which integrated, concurrent engineering design strategies and unique networking protocols will be developed and tested. This laboratory will be used for: (1) development of an ATM-based networking framework for Integrated Design that supports Collaborative Design and Decision-making; (2) development of design strategies to reduce integrated system complexities (system reduction strategies); (3) development and testing of decomposition-based strategies that accommodate discrete as well as continuous variables for optimal system design; (4) improvement of infrastructure modularity through incorporation of embedded expert systems capabilities; (5) implementation and verification of transport and network level protocols for the IE environment; and (6) further development and testing of the design strategies and communication protocols for industry applications.