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Keynote Speakers
Nancy L. Johnson Diann Brei
Lab Group Manager and Technical Fellow Program Director, Design Science
General Motors Research & Development Chair & Professor, Integrative Systems + Design
Department
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
SMART MATERIALS AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS SMART DESIGN
IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 TEXAS D, 4TH FLOOR 8:00 AM - 9:20 AM
TEXAS D, 4TH FLOOR 8:00 AM - 9:20 AM
Abstract Abstract
Automobile designers and engineers have traditionally taken While technologies based upon smart materials hold many benefits for
mechanically-oriented approaches to solving problems or enhancing the industry, it has been a long journey to transition these into real products.
performance and functionality of the automobile. Unfortunately, this way of The field of smart materials and structures is viewed as “enabling” or
looking at problems limits the options available and in some cases has “emerging” spanning either a) new markets where the products are first
restricted solutions to those more bulky, massive, inflexible and expensive generation without a clear application and there is an absence of design
than would otherwise be desired. Expanding the solution domain beyond models present so empirical developmental methods must be employed,
the purview of traditional approaches can enhance the realization of more or b) developing markets where there are a few guiding models/methods
optimal solutions. This presentation provides an overview of how smart but the products are not optimized and not reaching their full commercial
materials and structures and multifunctional systems can provide new potential. Even though the fundamental science is present for many smart
functionality in vehicles and benefit customers. The integration of materials such as shape memory alloys or piezoelectrics, the technology
mechanical systems, smart materials and electronics offers new degrees- and industrial infrastructure is limited. Specifically, there are little workable
of-freedom for achieving this goal. design models and tools, engineering data related to material uniformity/
reliability and the effect of environmental factors, and use history. Most
The use of smart materials is gradually evolving from high-end, one of kind importantly, the workforce is unfamiliar with the field and how to
products for medical, military and aerospace applications to the point of incorporate and utilize the distinct responses of smart materials to provide
viability for mainstream, high yield/low cost products for automotive competitive products with unique properties. There needs to be a clearer
applications. For the automotive industry, there are significant potential path to transition all the progress made during the past twenty years of
benefits to be realized including reduction in vehicle mass, added design research into fruitful commercial products, especially within high-volume,
flexibility and reduction in component size and cost. This presentation will low-cost markets. This presentation covers the strides that our lab has
provide a historical overview of the use of smart materials in the taken to address these design and development issues for transition of
automotive industry, describe some of GM’s smart materials based smart material technology to production including 1) targeted material
applications, and discuss future directions for multifunctional systems. research necessary to mature it for productization, 2) design of disruptive
Implementation challenges and strategies including collaborative technologies providing a commercial competitive edge, and 3), supporting
partnerships and needed supplier developments will be reviewed design methods and tools for faster transition into technology. All of these
are necessary for a successful business case. This talk will discuss these
Biography efforts from a technological design and development perspective with
application examples from several industries such as Google Liftware,
Nancy Johnson is a Lab Group Manager and Technical Fellow at General General Motors and FDA fast track MEND technology. The importance of
Motors Research & Development. She is a Fellow of both ASME (American collaborative, synergistic relationships spanning from basic research to
Society of Mechanical Engineers) and the ASC (American Society for device design into system integration will be highlighted as crucial for
Composites). As part of her role with ASME she has served as chair of the successful transition from emerging smart material research of today to
Aerospace Division, was General Chair of the Smart Materials, Adaptive competitive commercial products of tomorrow.
Structures, and Intelligent Systems 2013 conference and continues to be an
active member of the ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems
Branch. Her current responsibilities include managing, defining, planning,
and executing technical projects in the areas of automotive applications of
smart materials and multifunctional systems, which she initiated. She has
over 250 US patents with over 100 more in progress.
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