Research Overview
My doctoral research involves design theory for sustainable product development and developing an expert system tool for predicting adoption rate of sustainable products.
I am focusing on the macro- and micro- decisions that members of residential, industrial, academic, and governmental communities make concerning sustainability and renewable energy technologies.
The outcome of my research will be an expert system tool that can predict end users willingness to adopt sustainability best practices and renewable energy technologies.
The tool uses weighted metrics gathered and technology evaluations from end groups estimate the probability of technology adoption. My work with CARES allows me to connect with end user groups.
I envision that tool will be utilized by engineers, scientists, and public policy makers to better design sustainability and renewable energy policies and technologies to meet the needs of targeted end user groups.
I have also developed a New Product Development (NPD) methodology call Co-Design (CoD). The principal tenet of Co-Design is that the end user has expertise in the domain of their needs and therefore should have share control of the entire NPD process with the designer (s).
It is my belief that the adoption rates of sustainability and renewable energy technologies can be increased by co-designing technology with end users to meet the needs of users instead of designing technology to meet technical/regulatory requirements and then trying to influence/ coax end users to adopt the technology or policy.
I am focusing on the macro- and micro- decisions that members of residential, industrial, academic, and governmental communities make concerning sustainability and renewable energy technologies.
The outcome of my research will be an expert system tool that can predict end users willingness to adopt sustainability best practices and renewable energy technologies.
The tool uses weighted metrics gathered and technology evaluations from end groups estimate the probability of technology adoption. My work with CARES allows me to connect with end user groups.
I envision that tool will be utilized by engineers, scientists, and public policy makers to better design sustainability and renewable energy policies and technologies to meet the needs of targeted end user groups.
I have also developed a New Product Development (NPD) methodology call Co-Design (CoD). The principal tenet of Co-Design is that the end user has expertise in the domain of their needs and therefore should have share control of the entire NPD process with the designer (s).
It is my belief that the adoption rates of sustainability and renewable energy technologies can be increased by co-designing technology with end users to meet the needs of users instead of designing technology to meet technical/regulatory requirements and then trying to influence/ coax end users to adopt the technology or policy.