This proposal is for support of research under the Foundation's Presidential Young Investigator (PYI) Awards program. Dr. Chandra's research efforts aim at developing a knowledge- based system that will rationally arrive at an integrated design of the actual manufacturing process. The ability to make rational decisions based on the synthesis of various pieces of information and to eventually arrive at an integrated design plays a very important role in everyday engineering practice. Accordingly, the proposed project aims at developing a conceptual framework for manufacturing design from a causal perspective. This framework is then used in developing a knowledge-based system that will gain insight into the process from a few detailed analyses and experiments on simplified models and will rationally arrive at an integrated design of the actual process using a hybrid axiomatic- algorithmic approach for design synthesis. The fundamental principles are quite general and may be applied to any manufacturing process such as metal cutting, metal forming, casting, welding, etc. This project on manufacturing design has three primary components: (1) establishment of a conceptual framework from a causal perspective and identification of general principles and axioms for manufacturing design, (2) identification of functional and physical hierarchies through a causal analysis, and (3) integration of manufacturing design based on the conceptual framework according to the identified hierarchies. The objectives of the PYI program are to provide support to the Nation's most outstanding and promising young science and engineering faculty. The awards are intended to improve the capability of U.S. academic institutions to respond to the demand for highly qualified scientists and engineers for academic and industrial research and teaching. In accordance with those objectives, a Presidential Young Investigator Award for Dr. Chandra is recommended. This is a five-year continuing award. Annual funding will be at the base level of $25,000 with a supplement of up to $37,500 to match industrial support obtained.
