Carolyn C. Seepersad

Carolyn Conner Seepersad received her PhD in mechanical engineering in 2004 from the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a graduate student, she was a Hertz Fellow and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University in 1996, a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1998, and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2001. She is currently an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Seepersad’s research involves the development of methods and computational tools for engineering design, with an emphasis on multiscale design for solid freeform fabrication. One aspect of this work is the development of methods for collaborative design exploration of multiscale products and systems. Specifically, Dr. Seepersad is investigating the application of set-based models for organizing the generation and exchange of preliminary solutions among designers collaborating across scales and disciplines. This research promises to provide a new foundation for coordinating distributed design exploration and enhance our understanding of how designers approach coupled design problems. Another aspect of this work is the development of computational tools for designing for solid freeform fabrication (also known as rapid prototyping), with an emphasis on products with customized mesostructure (including honeycomb and lattice materials). Next-generation topology design methods are being developed, and applications include the design of functionally graded structures, structural heat exchangers, acoustic and vibration absorbing structures, and deployable structures, all of which are designed for solid freeform fabrication. This work provides computational design foundations for strategically leveraging the freeform capabilities of rapid prototyping technologies for fabricating functional products. Dr. Seepersad is also actively involved in developing fundamental principles and metrics for product flexibility and green design as well as techniques and testbeds for predictive process control, with an emphasis on welding applications.

Research Interests:

• Multiscale and multidisciplinary product and materials design
• Design for solid freeform fabrication
• Cellular (honeycomb) materials design
• Product flexibility and mass customization
• Green design
• Predictive process control