The objective of this CRCD project entitled, "Research and Development of Engineering Designs Associated with Complex Continuum Systems", at the University of Utah, is to provide a research and development environment where students are trained to simultaneously apply state-of-the-art computational and laboratory research techniques as they explore complex continuum mechanical phenomena relevant to industrial research, development and design applications. A particular emphasis of the project is to provide experience in the integrated application of computational and laboratory tools that focus on optimizing their benefits in engineering design processes. The research and science to be incorporated into this project includes components from several different engineering disciplines. Recent advances in three general research areas will be the foci; (1) development of new non-intrusive optical diagnostics and molecular tagging used in physical experimentation, (2) recent advancements in simulation methodology, in particular computational steering, and (3) improved physical understanding of complex continuum systems in engineering applications. At the heart of the curriculum development will be hands-on education in the integrated use of numerical and physical experimentation tools from the conception of the research problem to completion of the research and/or design objectives. This will be accomplished through participation in original research problems. This curriculum is intended not to simply teach students about new technology, but directly involve them in the reflective application of new technologies in authentic research and design problems.
