<p>The Systems Realization Laboratory at Georgia Tech </p><p>Janet K. Allen, Bert Bras, Farrokh Mistree, Christiaan Paredis, and David Rosen</p><p>Our Vision Strategic design is a comprehensive approach for safeguarding the economic viability of a company. It necessitates the design of products and processes that efficiently and effectively accommodate changing markets and technological innovations. Accordingly, our vision involves identifying, developing and understanding principles, tools, and technologies to establish and preserve strategic, sustainable development – for products, processes, industries and careers. Our core activities include: . conceiving and verifying foundational theories for the realization of engineered products, processes, systems, and services; . promoting scholarship in the form of discovery, analysis, synthesis and education; . developing technologies that enable companies to conceive and produce customized products that service various market segments; . promoting technology transfer; and . fostering growth of intellectual capital among all stakeholders, including industrial partners, faculty, and students.</p><p>Research Thrusts We have worked on many different projects, but our current research thrusts are related to strategic design in the following engineering domains:</p><p>. Information Modeling and Simulations for Collaborative Distributed Design To meet demands of a global marketplace, product innovation and time-to-market are crucial. Thus we focus on methods and the theoretical underpinnings of collaborative, distributed design. Consistent capture and storage of information and knowledge about the design and manufacturing process can save significant resources by enabling reuse and sharing of information and data and possibly by automated computer processing. Within the Systems Realization Laboratory, we are developing information models for both products and processes. For modeling design concepts, our focus currently is on behavioral modeling: How should simulation models of components be represented so that they can be used for automated generation of system-level models? We are developing semantically rich information models to support and automate module composition operations. We are also developing information models for capturing the design process. We consider the design process to be a sequence of information transformations; this makes it convenient to focus both on the transformations and the interfaces between them. </p><p>. Design of Next Generation Product Realization Technologies of Multifunctional Materials Our vision of the future includes a world where layer-based, additive fabrication technologies (e.g., rapid prototyping) are recognized as production manufacturing technologies. We want to leverage the unique capabilities of these additive fabrication technologies to produce unique geometries and material structures. Our current focus includes understanding and improving stereolithography processes, design methods for multi-material and multi-functional devices, and methods for rapid manufacturing.</p><p>Not only do we see the potential for designing and manufacturing new material structures, we also are developing the capabilities to design the materials themselves. </p><p>- Page 1 - . Design for Sustainable Development Our work is anchored in the notion of Sustainable Development, i.e., development that does not compromise the needs of future generations. In this context, we pursue the design and realization of (sustainable) technologies that not only increase industrial competitiveness, but also reduce the impact of our actions on the environment and enhance quality of life. In the Systems Realization Laboratory, we are researching new ways to assess design performance in terms of economic, environmental and social impact. We work with visionary companies to see how principles of sustainability can be cascaded downward from upper management to design engineers, and incorporated in company practices and tools. For strategic environmental and social impact assessments, we envision an integration of industrial models with ecological and social models and foresee an increased teaming with researchers in ecology and regional planning.</p><p>Our application areas are diverse and include: additive fabrication (stereolithography, laser chemical vapor deposition); aircraft design (general aviation aircraft, High Speed Civil Transport and the Boeing 727); design education; maintenance management (gas turbines); manufacturing and re-manufacturing; materials design; mechanical systems (aircraft and automobile engines); product families (consumer goods, automobiles); spacecraft (orbits, trajectories); ships (frigates and container ships); structural systems (ships and truss towers); sustainable development; and thermal systems (thermal powered spacecraft, solar irrigation systems, air chillers).</p><p>The principal technologies we have developed which enable applications are anchored in: augmented and virtual reality; decision-based design and design synthesis; IT frameworks for distributed, collaborative design; and simulation and modeling, model validation and testbeds.</p><p>Foundation for Success The Systems Realization Laboratory was founded in 1992 by Janet Allen, Bert Bras, Farrokh Mistree, and David Rosen; Farrokh Mistree was the Founding Director. Chris Paredis joined us 10 years later. Over the years we have had a series of remarkable students – people who choose to think outside the proverbial box – and who want to make a difference. We have graduated 15 PhD’s and more than 50 MS students; a third of the PhD students have pursued careers in academia. Together with our students we have published over 300 papers, half of them being refereed. </p><p>The Systems Realization Laboratory is part of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and is housed in Georgia Tech’s Manufacturing Research Center. As part of an educational institution, our mission is to help everyone – students, faculty, staff and industrial colleagues to rise to their full potentials. </p><p>In the belief that the combination of theory and application is more effective than either alone, we have sought extended partnerships with clients such as Ford, GM, Kvaerner, Lockheed-Martin, Carrier, Kodak, B.F. Goodrich, Interface, and Black and Decker. We are committed to technology transfer; we work with Georgia Tech’s Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute and also with the Georgia Research Alliance to strengthen industry within the State of Georgia. We also build capability and scholarship with funding from national and international agencies and the military; in the last dozen years, we have received about $15,000,000 for research.</p><p>We seek collaborators who have a dream and a passion to change the world – those who wish to be the thought leaders of tomorrow and have a passion to make a significant difference. For more information, see our website at http://www.srl.gatech.edu.</p><p>Contact Janet K. Allen, PhD., Director Systems Realization Laboratory. [email protected]</p><p>- Page 2 - Core Publications</p><p>Chen W, Allen JK, Mistree F, (1997) The Robust Concept Exploration Method for Enhancing Concurrent Systems Design in Concurrent Engineering: Research and Applications, 5(3): 203-217 Emblemsvåg J, Bras BA (2000) Activity-Based Cost and Environmental Management - A Different Approach to the ISO 14000 Compliance, ISBN 0-7923-7247-6, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Mistree F, Smith WF, Bras B, Allen JK, Muster D (1990) Decision-Based Design: A Contemporary Paradigm for Ship Design in Transactions, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 98: 565-597 Mistree F, Bras BA, Smith WF, Allen JK (1996) Modeling Design Processes: A Conceptual, Decision-Based Approach in International Journal of Engineering Design and Automation, 1(4): 209-221 Newcomb PJ, Bras BA, Rosen DW (1998) Implications of Modularity on Product Design for the Life- Cycle in ASME Journal of Mechanical Design 120: 483-490 Siddique Z , Rosen DW (2001) On Discrete Design Spaces for the Configuration Design of Product Families in Artificial Intelligence in Engineering, Design, Automation, and Manufacturing 15:1- 18</p><p>- Page 3 -</p>