Presidential Young Investigator Award: Engineering Design

在工程设计的初步阶段，会出现许多不同的设计概念，设计师必须同时评估这些概念的可行性和相对优点。目前，大多数计算机辅助设计(CAD)系统只有在完成这一初步阶段后才有用，此时设计的大多数方面都已确定并已知。在设计的初步阶段，当做出最关键的决定时，无法使用工具来帮助设计者评估概念或在备选方案中进行选择。将开发用于初步设计的计算机工具。这项研究将致力于创造设计工具，允许设计师在CAD环境中选择备选方案。此外，将开发分析工具，以便能够在与设计目前的复杂程度相适应的水平上对设计进行分析。

In the preliminary phase of engineering design, many different design concepts evolve, and the designer must evaluate these concepts simultaneously for feasibility and relative merit. Currently, most computer-aided design (CAD) systems are useful only after the completion of this preliminary stage when most aspects of the design have become fixed and known. In the preliminary stages of design when the most crucial decisions are made, tools are unavailable to aid the designer in evaluating concepts or choosing among alternatives. Computer tools will be developed for preliminary design. The research will be directed toward creating design tools that allow the designer to choose among alternatives within a CAD environment. Further, analytical tools will be developed so that a design can be analyzed at a level appropriate to its current level of sophistication.