Design
Using synthesis and analysis methods, faculty and students involved in Design research are investigating and developing better products for the high-tech industrial world.
Emphasizing student education and involvement, faculty members focus on the development of conceptual, mathematical, and computational tools for synthesis, optimization, and analysis of mechanical and electromechanical artifacts. Application areas include automotive systems, machine tools, and the aerospace industry.


MAJOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Studies of:

  • topological design and optimization of structures based on the homogenization method, with numerous applications in the automotive, aerospace, and medical fields;
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  • design of smart structures, including novel piezo-ceramic actuators for vibration controlin machines and helicopter rotor blades;
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  • design of reconfigurable machines;
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  • geometric modeling, including fundamentals of CAD/CAM algorithms, automated process planning, and free-form fabrication;
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  • computational methods for synthesis of complex mechanical systems and mechanisms;
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  • design of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), including microsensors, acceleratometers, and phase-change actuators;
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  • synthesis of compliant mechanisms, with application to MEMS, aerospace, automotive and biomedical applications, and product design for no-assembly products.


    • FACILITIES
    MEAM's state-of-the-art design laboratory facilities include a Computational Design Lab, which is furnished with a broad array of high-tech workstations. The Design Prototyping Lab features work benches, machine and hand tools, many table-top CNC lathes and milling machines, electronic testing station, mechanical-device breadboarding, and other equipment to support student design projects. The CAD Lab has many high-end workstations and a Stratasys 3D modeler layered manufacturing machine to produce a variety of plastic and wax parts. Other research facilities include the Research Prototyping Lab and Smart Structures Lab.


    FACULTY
    Diann E. Brei
    Debasish Dutta
    Rida T. Farouki
    Sridhar Kota
    Liwei Lin
    Panos Y. Papalambros
    Kazuhiro Saitou

    RESEARCH FACULTY
    Nestor F. Michelena

    LECTURER
    Donald E. Geister


    Research Activities


    Research Introduction | Biomechanics | Design | Dynamics | Vibrations
    Computational Mechanics | Fluid Mechanics | Heat Transfer | Combustion | Thermodynamics
    Manufacturing | Materials | Solid Mechanics | Systems and Control

    CONTENTS OF 1997-98 MEAM GRADUATE HANDBOOK

    Text-only version

    Letter from the President | Letter from the Graduate Programs Chair |Introduction
    Admissions | Financial Assistance | Media Union | College of Engineering |University of Michigan
    Ann Arbor Community |Degree Programs | MEAM Research | CoE Research |MEAM Faculty
    MEAM Courses| CoE Courses

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    This page was last updated: 25 July, 1998. Please direct questions or comments about administration of this Web Site to meam-www@umich.edu. Academic questions or requests should be addressed to the contacts provided at the beginning of this Web Site.