The overarching goal of this Materials Use: Science, Engineering and Society, MUSES project is to produce modeling tools and methods that can be used to analyze changes in materials flows that would result from policy instruments aimed at reducing GHG emissions from passenger cars and light trucks. This goal will be achieved by building and validating a set of linked models that account for producer and consumer behavioral responses to GHG reduction policies, and integrating these forecasted market responses into a novel framework for predictive life cycle and material flow analyses (LCA/MFA). Our major tasks will be: 1) to model vehicle design options and materials use for their costs and performance; 2) to evaluate the market penetration of these options by modeling their performance in the context of market-based and regulatory policy instruments, producer objectives, and consumer preferences; and, 3) to evaluate the consequences of market responses on global materials flows and life cycle emissions. The proposed research exists at the interface between engineering design, applied economics, social research, public policy, and sustainable development. The scientific impact will derive from the formulation of techniques, methods, and models in each of these disciplines that will help us understand the relationships between technology policy, technology adoption, and unintended environmental and materials flows consequences. Scientific impact will also arise from how these tasks are holistically integrated into an interdisciplinary meta-system. The broader impact of this proposal will be derived in part from the construction of a computational environment that will allow analysts to optimize technology and policy decisions with respect to costs, market acceptance, materials flows, and environmental impacts. The educational impact of this proposal will be significant through the integration of this project with undergraduate and graduate courses and curricula at the University of Michigan and at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). We also include an educational component aimed at deaf and hard-of-hearing students through collaboration with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf located at RIT. The award is co-managed by the Division of Manufacturing Innovation (DMI) and the Division of Electrical and Communications Systems (ECS).
