Thesis title: Parametric Design within an Atomic Design Process (ADP) applied to Spacecraft Design

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Iowa State University, Mechanical Engineering Dept.
Website: http://web.me.iastate.edu/erinmacd/team_members.html#tahira_reid
tahirareid at gmail dot com
Thesis title: Quantifying Perception-Based Attributes in Design: A Case Study on the Perceived Environmental Friendliness of Vehicle Silhouettes
Thesis abstract: Design optimization problems have traditionally used engineering functionality attributes to inform the design of products and systems. However, the quantification and inclusion of subjective attributes has become a necessary part of the product design process. Previous research has assessed the aesthetics, emotional appeal, and expressiveness of "concept-based" product attributes (such as luxury or sportiness) in products. Environmental friendliness is a new product attribute that has emerged in prominence as consumers and manufacturers become more concerned with issues of sustainability and the "footprint" on the environment. In the automotive industry, there is an increased interest not only in making more fuel efficient vehicles, but also in making them visually appealing in a way that conveys environmental consciousness. Present day trends already show an increase in the number of fuel efficient and alternative powertrain vehicles being introduced in the market; it is expected that in the next few years there will be a large number of different hybrid powertrain vehicles on the market. Depending on market trends and government regulations, fuel economy may not be the only driver for the purchase of fuel efficient vehicles when the price premium paid for the new technology does not result in a timely payback in fuel cost savings. Previous research has shown that people used subjective reasoning, including styling, as a determining factor for purchasing hybrid vehicles. Using methods from psychology and engineering, this dissertation presents a methodology to quantify subjective attributes for inclusion in design optimization models. A demonstration case study addresses the quantification of a perceptual design attribute named perceived environmental friendliness (PEF). A modeling framework that consists of stimuli development using design of experiments, survey design, and statistical analysis of data is presented. The model derived is included in a design optimization framework that considers how variables that influence PEF tradeoff with those that impact fuel economy. Results indicate that under certain conditions, there is a tradeoff between PEF and fuel economy; as PEF increases, the fuel economy decreases.

Thesis title: Influence of Product Complexity and Customers Demographics on Co-Design

Current Position: Senior Program Officer, National Academy of Engineering
Website: http://designscience.umich.edu/students/kwhitefoot.html
Email address: kwhitefoot at nae.edu

Current position: Assistant Professor of Industrial Design, Iowa State University
Website http://solard.iastate.edu/industrialdesign/faculty.php
seda at iastate dot edu
Thesis title: Design Heuristics
Thesis abstract: This thesis describes research carried to investigate the evidence of design heuristics and their role in the design ideation process. Design heuristics are guidelines that help the designer to consider areas of possible designs that may not otherwise come to mind during the idea generation stage. The research is cross-disciplinary bringing findings, methods, and perspectives from cognitive psychology to product design domain. The exploratory research work undertaken has produced a list of design heuristics that are commonly used by designers in generating diverse concepts, inspiring design ideas that in turn affect the design outputs produced through the creative design process.
By combining content analysis of real-world examples of expert designs and investigation of expert and novice designers’ decision processes through case studies using designers’ sketching processes, a set of design heuristics was constructed as an aid for designers. A short list of heuristics was selected and validated through experimental studies with novices. It was shown that designers employed cognitive heuristics in order to enhance the variety, quality, and creativity of potential designs they generate during the ideation stage. Specific design heuristics helped the designer to explore the problem space of potential designs, leading to the generation of creative solutions. The effectiveness of instruction on design heuristics in solving design problems was also shown since, even for novice designers, a few minutes of text and illustration on heuristics led to designs reliably judged as more creative and diverse. The evidence suggested that research on design heuristics used in design problem solving can contribute to our understanding of cognitive processes in design and the assessment of design ability, help identify more effective instructional and computational tools to support designers at any level of expertise, and improve pedagogical approaches to teaching design.