CCMD Overview
Since 2005, the Center for Computational Materials Design (CCMD) has accelerated the transfer of research results in computational materials design into applied technology. As a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC), this collaborative effort between The Pennsylvania State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology was established to catalyze long-term partnerships between industry, government and academia in the emerging field of materials design. Says Professor Zi-Kui Liu, Center Co-Director, “Computational modeling and simulation are becoming key technologies to support materials research and development in both academia and industry. The CCMD will extend the interface between engineering systems design, information technology and physics-based simulations, and integrate materials research as part of component and device design. The Center strives to improve the intellectual capacity of the workforce, conduct high quality research projects and develop academic curriculum in computational materials and systems design.”
The CCMD receives research guidance from its Member Advisory Board (MAB) consisting of small and large industrial representatives, as well as DOE and DOD laboratories. Based on needs indentified by the MAB, researchers from Penn State and Georgia Tech execute projects to address these needs, often bringing together researchers from materials science, engineering systems design, computer science and applied mathematics. CCMD Co-Director Professor David McDowell of Georgia Tech, views interdisciplinary research as key enabler for the Center’s progress. He notes “The CCMD offers a unique opportunity to conduct research that merges the essential elements of databases, information technology, decision theory, and first principles to continuum modeling of process-structure-property-performance relationship.”
The mission of the Center is well served by the complimentary expertise of Penn State and Georgia Tech. For example, the Penn State group has developed the MatCASE suite of multi-scale modeling tools and database through a previous NSF Information Technology Research project. Georgia Tech has focused on the integration of heterogeneous, multi-scale material models into system-based robust design of materials, including the development of a virtual design studio concept. Working together in the CCMD, these concepts will be applied to allow the MatCASE materials modeling components to be integrated along with a suite of decision-based robust design tools, configured differently for each materials design problem.
As leaders in materials science and engineering education, Penn State and Georgia Tech will carry out a key mission of the Center: to educate the next generation of scientists and engineers with an industrially-relevant perspective on engineering research and practice. In this regard, the member organization will realize benefits not only from the results of the research projects directly, but also indirectly from the availability of trained prospective employees, who will be well suited to implement computational materials design tools in practice.
