Author: alayton6

Invited Graduate Research Seminar at University of Michigan

alayton6 Leave a comment

Dr. Layton gave an invited seminar presentation at University of Michigan titled “How Nature’s Systems Can Guide More Resilient and Sustainable Human Network Design” Sept. 26, 2023. The talk coincided with some excellent collaborative brainstorming with Dr. Sita Syal and other new contacts.

Abstract: Inspiration from nature has produced some fascinating, novel, and life-changing solutions for the human world. Most of these bio-inspired designs however have been product-based, but taking a systems perspective when we look to nature taps inspirations that can improve the critical networks we depend on. This talk focuses on biological ecosystems, in particular, complex networks of interacting species that are able to support individual needs while maintaining system-level functions during both times of abundance and unexpected disturbances. This talk will show how these networks can offer inspiration for achieving both sustainability AND resilience. Quantitative ecosystem descriptors and analysis techniques adapted from ecology enable desirable ecosystem characteristics to be used as design guides for things like industrial resource networks, water networks, supply chains, and power grids.

Graduate Awards and Fellowships for 3 BiSSL PhD Students

alayton6 Leave a comment

Two BiSSL Ph.D. students – Hadear Hassan and Emily Payne – have been awarded 2023 J. Mike Walker ’66 Impact Awards. The award is given to two male and two female graduate students who have demonstrated academic/scholarly achievements, as well as have leadership and/or entrepreneurial focus/experience and innovative excellence. The winners each receive a $5,000 fellowship. BiSSL Ph.D. student Luis Rodriguez was awarded a Sally and Ray Bowen ’58 Fellowship for 2022/23. Congratulations Hadear, Emily, and Luis! They’ll all be recognized at the 2023 Mechanical Engineering Scholarship & Fellowship Banquet in October in the Memorial Student Center.

Luis Rodriguez (back left) and Hadear Hassan (front 2nd from left) had their awards presented at the 2023 Mechanical Engineering Scholarship & Fellowship Banquet. They are both co-advised by Dr. Cynthia Hipwell (front-center).
(L-R) Emily Payne (BiSSL), Maulik Kotecha (Product Synthesis Engineering Lab), Shantanu Vyas (Mixed-Initiative Design Lab), Wanyu Xu (Product Synthesis Engineering Lab), Qiyu Li, Luis Rodriguez (BiSSL)

Successful IDETC-CIE 2023 in Boston

alayton6 Leave a comment

Another excellent ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) IDETC-CIE conference is in the books!

BiSSL Ph.D. students Hadear Hassan and Emily Payne from the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University each presented their first-authored papers, sharing their research that will help us achieve a more sustainable and resilient world.

Hadear’s (in collaboration with Emily) was on “Quantifying the Sustainability and Robustness of Manufacturing Systems Using Energy and Ecological Network Analysis” and Emily’s (in collaboration with former undergraduate researcher Hannah Wagner) was on “Resilience & Sustainability in Certified Green Buildings: Applying Ecosystem Concepts to Aid in More Dynamic Green Communities.”

Dr. Layton also presented the work of MS student Samuel Blair (who graduated in May 2023) on “Measuring the Health of Makerspaces During Large Disruptions such as the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

We also got to hang out with Dr. Abheek Chatterjee, who graduated from our lab last December!

(L-R) Abheek Chatterjee, Astrid Layton, Emily Payne, Hadear Hassan

Dr. Layton Invited Seminar at University of Pittsburgh

alayton6 Leave a comment

Following the ASEE 2023 workshop on our makerspace modeling/analysis GUI use, Dr. Layton was invited to come give a research seminar at University of Pittsburgh to share the NSF funded makerspace work her and Dr. Julie Linsey at Georgia Tech have been doing. Her talk was titled: “From Makerspaces to Industries: How Bio-Inspired Network Models Can Alter Functioning Via Form”

The youngest attendee Renee was 10 years old and already a makerspace expert!

Joint (JMD & JMSE) Special Issue On Advances In Design And Manufacturing For Sustainability

alayton6 Leave a comment

Dr. Layton is a guest editor for an upcoming special issue on sustainability in design and manufacturing being published jointly between ASME’s journals of Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Science and Engineering. Drafts are due July 31, 2023.

This special issue is a joint effort between the ASME Manufacturing Engineering Division (MED) and the Design Engineering Division (DED) as part of a collaboration to advance design and manufacturing research in sustainability. As the need grows for methodologies and tools capable of supporting sustainable systems, this collection welcomes new scientific approaches, data-driven techniques, informatics solutions, and case studies at the intersection of sustainability, design, and manufacturing. The call focuses on the main challenges the design and manufacturing communities face regarding sustainability and seeks to identify emerging research trends as well as current industry practices for integrating sustainability principles into the design and implementation of engineered systems and processes. Recent advances and future directions along the design-manufacturing continuum are welcome, including submissions on topics such as design decisions, manufacturing process development, manufacturing systems optimization, supply chain integration, sustainable energy systems, product user interaction, and product end-of-life analysis.

Topic Areas

  • Circular Economy and Industry 5.0
  • Artificial intelligence for sustainable design and manufacturing
  • Sustainability analytics
  • Sustainable additive manufacturing and additive remanufacturing
  • Design for recycling, remanufacturing, and reuse
  • CAD integration of sustainable design methods and techniques
  • Sustainable energy systems
  • Industrial ecology in design, manufacturing, and automation
  • Environmental justice in design and eco-design approaches
  • Human-centric design and manufacturing
  • Remanufacturing and advanced recycling processes for critical materials
  • System efficiency and Decarbonization

Sandia National Lab Visit

alayton6 Leave a comment

Ph.D. student Emily Payne and Dr. Astrid Layton joined collaborators Dr. Kate Davis and her Ph.D. students Leen and Akram for a visit to Sandia National Lab in Albuquerque, NM. The trip was part of an ongoing collaborative LDRD grant with Sandia looking at cyber-physical power systems for resilience. The trip even evolved some exploring Petroglyph National Monument!

Dr. Layton Invited Seminar for the INCOSE Natural Systems Working Group (NSWG)

Imagealayton6 Leave a comment

BiSSL director Dr. Astrid Layton was invited to give a research seminar to the INCOSE Natural Systems Working Group.

Abstract: Inspiration from nature has produced some fascinating, novel, and life-changing solutions for the human world. Most of these bio-inspired designs however have been product based. Taking a systems perspective when we look to nature taps inspirations that can improve the critical networks we depend on. This talk focuses on biological ecosystems, in particular, complex networks of interacting species that are able to support individual needs while maintaining system-level functions. These networks offer inspiration for achieving both sustainability AND resilience in the design of our human-engineered networks. Quantitative ecosystem descriptors and analysis techniques adapted from ecology enable desirable ecosystem characteristics to be used as design guides for things like industrial resource networks, water networks, supply chains, and power grids.

“Biological Ecosystems as Quantitative System Design Inspiration for Resilient and Sustainable Human Networks” Dr. Astrid Layton

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image.png

BiSSL Ph.D. Student Emily Payne Chosen as a TEX-E Fellow

alayton6 Leave a comment

Texas Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy (TEX-E) is a first-of-a-kind collaboration among The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Rice University, and Prairie View A&M University—powered by Greentown Labs and MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship—to create a powerful student-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem in Texas. More information can be found here: https://greentownlabs.com/tex-e/