Our research group is focused on the theories and processes of engineering design. We create new methods, discover new principles, and apply those methods and principles to test cases where we design and test products. 

Our areas of design research span from complex systems design to engineering for poverty alleviation and global development. One might ask: What do these have in common? Though on very different ends of the application spectrum, in each case pursuing a solution means design engineers have to struggle with needs-gathering, system decomposition, performance modeling, and constraint management. 

These two particular examples, complex systems design and engineering for global development, represent two extremes, where the engineering design process is not trivial and highly susceptible to failure. The principles that can be gained by working in these extremes often translate well to general non-extreme design scenarios.