Research

Environmentally Conscious Product Definition: Guidelines for material and energy efficiency

Summary:
Increased emphasis on the well-being of the environment for sustained health, quality of living, and wealth of resources is challenging corporations to innovate products which meet customer needs while using fewer and cleaner, energy and materials. We are developing a set of guiding principles to minimize and eliminate environmental impact at all life cycle stages through efficient product function and architecture. Our focus is on the concept stages of product design because these stages set a large number of product properties and processes and therefore hold the greatest benefit to providing an inherently environmentally friendly product.

Collaborator:
Dr. Michael Webber

Students:
Ben Gully

Nathan Putnam

Cassandra Telenko

 

Sponsor:

UT Advanced Manufacturing Center, McCombs School of Business, Center for Electromechanics, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, DOD SMART Fellowship

Related Publications:

Gully, B.H., M.E. Webber, C.C. Seepersad, R.C. Thompson, 2009, "Energy Storage Analysis to Increase Large Ship Fuel Efficiency," 2009 ASME Energy Sustainability Conference, San Francisco, CA, Paper Number: ES2009-90440.

Putnam, N. H., D. D. Jensen, K. L. Wood and C. C. Seepersad, 2009, "A Function-Based Strategy for Analysis of Energy Systems in Transportation Vehicles," ASME IDETC Advances in Design Automation Conference, San Diego, CA, Paper Number: DETC2009-87474.

Telenko, C., C. C. Seepersad and M. E. Webber, 2009, "A Method for Developing Design for Environment Guidelines for Future Product Design," ASME IDETC Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference, San Diego, CA, Paper Number: DETC2009-87389.

Telenko, C., C. C. Seepersad and M. E. Weber, 2008, "A Compilation of Design for Environment Principles and Guidelines," ASME IDETC/CIE, Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference, New York, NY, Paper Number: DETC2008/49651.