The Center for Engineering Design (CED) is a world leading center of excellence in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering that improves the engineering design process through education, training, research, and consultancy.
Mission
The Center for Engineering Design (CED) continuously improves the practice of Engineering Design by anchoring industry-academia partnerships to student design experiences, leading to improved design education and the development of cutting-edge design methods and tools.
Strategic Themes
1. Education and Training
Our work aims to improve the academic training of design engineers, focused on building a future workforce that can bridge the theoretical versus the practical, the manual versus the automated, and the incremental versus the giant leaps in innovation. We train Engineering Managers, Mechanical Design Engineers, and Design Technicians through workshops and training courses.
2. Research
Hand in hand with industry, we seek to improve the mechanical engineering design process, and develop novel tools for use across the USA and worldwide. The center’s design research develops design theory and methods to improve the design process, with primary focus areas in design education, computational design and artificial intelligence, and design for “X”.
In addition, we complete the loop by transforming research into practical methods and tools for design practice in industry. We disseminate knowledge to industry via traditional publications as well as new media digital content and software tools. We promote the value of good engineering design and design thinking to a wide audience including K-12 students and the public at large. This is achieved via facility tours, outreach events, workshops and productions for mass media.
3. Consultancy
Our faculty brings a wealth of design experience across major industries. We offer consulting services to industry in the areas of design process improvement, design audits, new innovation projects and difficult design problems. We connect industry with relevant design entities within the College and across the University for design and product development.