Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is planning to join the existing Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) entitled "Center for e-Design" currently comprised of Virginia Tech (lead), the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and the University of Central Florida.
This proposal seeks support to establish Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) as an official site of the NSF IUCRC for e-Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems (e-Design Center). The overall center mission is the development of engineering tools that support the realization of IT-enabled design. The proposed research projects will expand the center scope into biomedical science, with emphasis on medical devices and software tools. The research utilizes CMU expertise in computer science, particularly human-computer interaction. The proposed site director has significant expertise in the target area, holding academic appointments in Computer Science and Bio-Medical Engineering at CMU as well as in the departments of Bioengineering and Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Through collaborative work with the other center research sites, this effort should increase the speed of adoption of engineering modeling and optimization in the medical field. Faculty representing a number of disciplines will be involved, and physicians will be included to provide rapid feedback to the researchers during device development.
The proposed deliverables from this proposal include development of new software tools that will both increase the competitive advantage of US companies, and increase the quality of care to patients. The technical component of the project, i.e. development and refinement of IT tools, has the potential for impact at the other I/UCRC research sites, the industry partners, and beyond. The team appears to have an excellent understanding of intellectual property management. The PI discusses the diversity plan in detail, and indicates that undergraduate and graduate students will be invited to participate in the e-Design center activities based upon their academic merits without regard to race, ethnicity, gender or origin. The plan presented in this proposal includes a highly integrated approach to research and education, particularly through Dr. Burgess, who will hold the position of Director of Clinical Translation, and currently teaches graduate and undergraduate Biomedical Engineering courses on "Surgery for Engineers."
This project supported by the NSF allowed Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to join the NSF I/UCRC for e-Design and Realization of Engineered Products and Systems (e-Design Center) as a full university member research site. The stated mission of the e-Design Center is to develop engineering technologies that support the realization of IT-enabled design. This involves development of tools for promoting collaboration throughout the design process: from the customer through the distributor. It includes communication tools that facilitate web-enabled design, simulation, and prototyping; and additional tools that encompass the entire life cycle, including the management of obsolescence. Research efforts within the e-Design Center include development of software for: conceptual design, human-factors engineering, interoperability, constraint modeling, distributed computing, virtual prototyping, human/computer interface, analysis of assembly, function-based design, data visualization, system optimization, economic and supply chain modeling, and ergonomic/cognitive analysis. The primary application areas of the existing center are in the Aerospace and Automotive Industries. The addition of Carnegie Mellon expanded the scope to incorporate the Medical Industry, with particular emphasis on medical devices. Carnegie Mellon University faculty and student investigators conducted research in areas that were synergistic with the mission and vision of the NSF I/UCRC in e-Design. These included: Ideation and Conceptual Design Tools, Human-Computer Interaction, and Industrial Design. CMU contributed to the Center by developing e-Design tools and a collaborative onlin network targeted to medical applications. The tools were conceived to build linkages between the multi-disciplinary participants in the Center: practicing physicians, product developers, regulatory officers, Carnegie Mellon’s faculty in engineering, design, robotics, and computer science, and faculty collaborators throughout the e-Design consortium. The network facilitates collaboration between key contributors throughout the medical device design and development process and can be adapted to other industries within the center (e.g. automotive). Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Activity. The establishment of CMU as a research site within the Center facilitated collaborative research between academic faculty, practicing clinicians, and medical industry partners. Accordingly, it helped create an important synergy between didactics, research, and commercial/clinical disciplines. Broader Impacts Resulting from the Proposed Activity. The most notable deliverable from this project was new collaborative online network that was launched first within the CMU intranet for beta testing and will be made available throughout the medical community. These tools will both increase the competitive advantage of US companies, and enhance the quality of care to patients throughout the world. Research activities within this project engaged both graduate and undergraduate students across several departments, and thereby contributed to their development and preparation. Integration of the Center’s activities with the educational curriculum has also enriched the students’ pragmatic learning experiences that are valued by prospective employers. As a direct result of CMU's membership in the e-Design Center, a new course was added to the Biomedical Engineering course offerings titled "Inventive Problem Solving in Biomedical Engineering". Furthermore, students associated with the e-Design Center were provided unique exposure to the diverse cultures within medicine and industry through cooperative design projects, field studies, as well as attendance of and presentations at interdisciplinary conferences and workshops.
