Faculty Profile

• Overview
• Academics
• Research
• Publications
• Honors

Education

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2008
• MSE, Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, 2005
• MSE, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2004
• BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, 2003
• AAS, Automotive Technology, Weber State University, 1998

Biography

James T. Allison is the director of the Engineering System Design Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Allison's research interests include design methods for active dynamic systems, system architecture and topology optimization, multidisciplinary design optimization, design-driven model development, indirect design representations, knowledge extraction from design optimization data, and design for additive manufacturing. Application interests include sustainable energy systems (wind and wave energy), electric and hybrid electric powertrains, suspension and vibration control systems, electro-thermal systems, intelligent structures, robotics, spacecraft design, structural and material system design, fluid systems, and advanced design of scientific instruments. Selected current research projects include strain-actuated solar arrays for precision space telescope pointing (including upcoming CubeSat mission, NASA SBIR award, and NSF CAREER award), wind energy grid integration and small-scale wind energy harvesting, power inverter design, fluid mixer and hydraulic power system design, circuit topology design, aircraft power system architecture design, active automotive and rail suspension design, vibration isolation, and generative design in topology optimization and additive manufacturing.

Academic Positions

• Jerry S. Dobrovolny Faculty Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019 - Present
• Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aerospace Engineering, 2018 - Present
• Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, 2018 - Present
• Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, 2011 - 2018
• Lecturer, Tufts University, Mechanical Engineering, 2010-2011
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan, Mechanical Engineering, 2008

For more information

• Engineering System Design Lab

Other Professional Employment

• Senior Engineer, MathWorks, Inc., Natick MA, 2008-2011
• Consulting Engineer, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn MI, 2008

Professional Highlights

• Selected as the 2013 ASME Design Automation Young Investigator Award Winner.
• PI of several related projects focused on a new technology for precision spacecraft attitude control, including a NASA USIP CubeSat mission for LEO test, a NASA SBIR award, NSF funding, and multiple collaborative funding awards from JPL.
• One of the founding faculty members of the NSF Engineering Research Center "Power Optimization of Electro-thermal Systems" (POETS), an $18M research center (start date: August 2015).
• Prof. Allison received the NSF CAREER award "Integrated Design of Intelligent Structures with Tailored Distributed Damping" in 2017.
• Prof. Allison was named the Jerry S. Dobrovolny Faculty Scholar in 2019.

Resident Instruction

• SE 413: Engineering Design Optimization
• SE 410: Component Design
• SE 598: Dynamic System Design
• SE 598: Engineering Design Science

Graduate Research Opportunities

For information on current graduate student research opportunities, required background, and other information pertinent to joining the ESDL, please refer to this document.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Several undergraduate students are involved in research projects at the Engineering System Design Lab, and we are often looking for bright and ambitious students to join our group. Please read through this document for information on opportunities and steps you can take to get involved with ESDL research.

Research Interests

• Spacecraft Design and Control
• Intelligent Structure Design and Vibration Control
• Automotive Design (Hybrid Powertrains, Active Suspension Systems)
• Design for Additive Manufacturing
• Electro-Thermal System Design Optimization
• Robotics and Automation
• Sustainable Energy Systems (Wind and Wave Energy Systems)
• Topology Optimization and System Architecture Design
• Dynamic System Modeling and Simulation
• Generative Design
• Integrated Physical and Control System Design
• Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
• Design Optimization
• Engineering System Design

Selected Articles in Journals

• Albert Patterson, Tais Rocha Pereira, James T. Allison, Sherri L. Messimer. 'IZOD Impact Properties of Full-density FDM Polymer Materials with Respect to Raster Angle and Print Orientation.' Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, to appear.
• Satya R T Peddada, Daniel R Herber, Herschel Pangborn, Andrew G Alleyne, James T Allison. 'Optimal Flow Control and Single Split Architecture Exploration for Fluid-based Thermal Management.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, to appear.
• Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'A Problem Class with Combined Architecture, Plant, and Control Design Applied to Vehicle Suspensions.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, to appear.
• Pamela J Tannous, Satya R T Peddada, James T Allison, Thomas Foulkes, Robert P Pilawa, Andrew G Alleyne. 'Model-based Temperature Estimation of Power Electronics Systems.' IFAC Control Engineering Practice, 85, p. 206-215, April 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.conengprac.2019.01.006
• Yong Hoon Lee, Jonathon K. Schuh, Randy H. Ewoldt, James T. Allison. 'Simultaneous Design of Non-newtonian Lubricant and Surface Texture Using Surrogate-based Multiobjective Optimization.' Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, published online, to appear in print. DOI: 10.1007/s00158-019-02201-1
• Yashwanth Kumar Nakka, Soon-Jo Chung, James T. Allison, Jack B. Aldrich, and Oscar S. Alvarez-Salazar. 'Nonlinear ODE-PDE Attitude Control of a Spacecraft with Strain-Actuated Solar Arrays.' AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 42(3), p. 458-475, March 2019. DOI: 10.2514/1.G003478
• Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Nested and Simultaneous Solution Strategies for General Combined Plant and Control Design Problems.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 141(1), p. 011402, Jan 2019. DOI: 10.1115/1.4040705
• Bozun Wang, Yefei Si, Charul Chadha, James T. Allison, Albert E. Patterson. 'Nominal Stiffness Evaluation and Regression Analysis of GT-2 Rubber-Fiberglass Timing Belts.' Robotics, special issue on Kinematics and Robot Design, 7(4), December 2018. DOI: 10.3390/robotics7040075
• Tinghao Guo, Jiarui Xu, Yilin Dong, Neal E. Davis, James T. Allison. 'Network Analysis of Design Automation Literature.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 140(10), p. 101403-101403-13. DOI: 10.1115/1.4040787.
• William Crossley, Siyao Luan, James T. Allison, Deborah Thurston. 'Optimization Problem Formulation Framework with Application to Engineering Systems.' Systems Engineering 20(6), p. 512-528, November 2017. Invited contribution to CESUN special issue. DOI: 10.1002/sys.21418
• Anand Deshmukh, James T. Allison. 'Design of Nonlinear Dynamic Systems using Surrogate Models of Derivative Functions.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 139(10), p. 101402-101402-12, August 2017. DOI: 10.1115/1.4037407
• Christian M. Chilan, Daniel R. Herber, Yashwanth Kumar Nakka, Soon-Jo Chung, James T. Allison, Jack B. Aldrich, Oscar S. Alvarez-Salazar. 'Co-Design of Strain-Actuated Solar Arrays for Spacecraft Precision Pointing and Jitter Reduction.' AIAA Journal, 55(9), pp. 3180-3195, Sep 2017. DOI: 10.2514/1.J055748
• Jonathon K. Schuh, Yong Hoon Lee, James T. Allison, Randy H. Ewoldt. 'Design-driven modeling of surface-textured full-film lubricated sliding: validation and rationale of non-standard thrust observations.' Tribology Letters, 65(2), p. 35, Jun 2017. DOI: 10.1007/s11249-017-0818-8
• Daniel R Herber, Tinghao Guo, James T. Allison. 'Enumeration of Architectures with Perfect Matchings.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 139(5), p. 051403, May 2017. DOI: 10.1115/1.4036132
• Yong Hoon Lee, Jonathon Schuh, Randy H. Ewoldt, James T. Allison. 'Enhancing Full-Film Lubrication Performance via Arbitrary Surface Texture Design.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 65(2), p. 35, Jun 2017. DOI: 10.1115/1.4036133
• Danny J. Lohan, Ercan M. Dede, James T. Allison, 'Topology Optimization for Heat Conduction Using Generative Design Algorithms.' Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 55(3), p. 1063￿1077, March 2017. DOI: 10.1007/s00158-016-1563-6
• Tinghao Guo, James T. Allison. 'On the Use of Mathematical Programs with Complementary Constraints in Combined Topological and Parametric Design of Biochemical Enzyme Networks. Engineering Optimization. 49(2), p. 345-364, Feb 2017. DOI: 10.1080/0305215X.2016.1188091
• Rebecca Corman, Lakshmi Rao, N. Ashwin Bharadwaj, James T. Allison, Randy H. Ewoldt. 'Setting Material Function Design Targets for Linear Viscoelastic Materials and Structures.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design. 138(5), p. 051402, Mar 2016. DOI: 10.1115/1.4032698
• Daniel Herber, Anand Deshmukh, Marlon Mitchell, James T. Allison, 'Project-Based Curriculum for Teaching Analytical Design to Freshman Engineering Students via Reconfigurable Trebuchets.' Education Sciences, 6(1), article 7, Feb 2016. DOI: 10.3390/educsci6010007
• Anand P Deshmukh, James T Allison. 'Multidisciplinary Dynamic Optimization of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Design.' Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 53(1), pp. 15-27, Jan 2016.. DOI: 10.1007/s00158-015-1308-y
• Ashish Khetan, Danny J. Lohan, James T. Allison. 'Managing Variable-Dimension Structural Optimization Problems using Generative Algorithms'. Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 50(4), pp. 695-715, Oct 2015.
• Horea Ilies, Matt Parkinson, Carolyn Conner Seepersad, Michael Kokkolaras, Kenneth Ragsdell, Panos Papalambros, Farrokh Mistree, Christopher Williams, Rahul Rai, Jitesh Panchal, Scott Ferguson, Bryony DuPont, James Allison. 'New Perspectives on Design Automation: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the ASME Design Automation Conference.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 137, No. 5. , 050301, 2015. DOI: 10.1115/1.4030256
• James T. Allison, Tinghao Guo, Zhi Han. 'Co-Design of an Active Suspension Using Simultaneous Dynamic Optimization.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 136, No. 8, p. 081003, 2014. DOI: 10.1115/1.4027335
• James T. Allison, Daniel R. Herber. 'Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of Dynamic Engineering Systems.' AIAA Journal, Vol. 52, No. 4, April 2014. DOI: 10.2514/1.J052182
• James T. Allison. 'Engineering System Co-Design with Limited Plant Redesign.' Engineering Optimization, Vol. 46, No. 2, p. 200￿217, 2014. DOI: 10.1080/0305215X.2013.764999
• James T. Allison 'Plant-Limited Co-Design of an Energy-Efficient Counterbalanced Robotic Manipulator.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 135, No. 10, p. 101003, 2013. DOI: 10.1115/1.4024978
• Michael J. Alexander, James T. Allison, Panos Y. Papalambros, and David J. Gorsich. 'Constraint Management of Reduced Representation Variables in Decomposition-Based Design Optimization.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 133, No. 10 - Special Issue on Designing Complex Engineered Systems, 2011. DOI: 10.1115/1.4004976
• Michael J. Alexander, James T. Allison, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Decomposition-based Design Optimization of Electric Vehicle Powertrains Using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition.' Invited Article, International Journal of Powertrains, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp.72￿92, 2011. DOI: 10.1504/IJPT.2011.041910
• Michael J. Alexander, James T. Allison, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Reduced Representations of Vector-Valued Coupling Variables in Decomposition-based Design Optimization.' Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Vol. 44, No. 3, p. 379-391, 2011. DOI: 10.1007/s00158-011-0636-9
• James T. Allison and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Consistency Constraint Allocation in Augmented Lagrangian Coordination.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol 132, No. 7, 2010. DOI: 10.1115/1.4001525
• James T. Allison, Michael Kokkolaras, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Optimal Partitioning and Coordination Decisions in Decomposition-based Design Optimization.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 131, No. 8, 2009. DOI: 10.1115/1.3178729
• James T. Allison, Michael Kokkolaras, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'On Selecting Single-Level Formulations for Complex System Design Optimization.' ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 129, No. 9, 2007. DOI: 10.1115/1.2747632

Articles in Conference Proceedings

• Vedant, Alex Ghosh, Oscar Alvarez-Salazar, James T. Allison. 'Impact of Strain-Actuated Attitude Control Systems for Variant Mission Classes'. In the proceedings of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, 21-25 October, 2019, Washington D.C.
• Vedant, Alex Ghosh, Matthew West, James T. Allison. 'Reinforcement Learning for Spacecraft Attitude Control'. In the proceedings of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, 21-25 October, 2019, Washington D.C.
• Albert Patterson, James T. Allison. 'Generation and Mapping of Minimally-restrictive Manufacturability Constraints for Mechanical Design Problems.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, to appear, Anaheim CA.
• Albert Patterson, Yong Hoon Lee, James T. Allison. 'Overview of the Development and Enforcement of Process-Driven Manufacturability Constraints in Product Design.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, to appear, Anaheim CA.
• Vedant, James T. Allison. 'Pseudo-Rigid Body Dynamic Modeling of Compliant Members for Design.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, to appear, Anaheim CA.
• Tonghui Cui, James T. Allison, and Pingfeng Wang. 'A Comparative Study of Formulations and Algorithms For Reliability-based Co-Design Problems.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, to appear, Anaheim CA.
• Charul Chadha, Albert Patterson, Iwona Jasiuk, James Allison, and Kai James. 'Repair of High-value Plastic Components Using Fused Deposition Modeling.' To appear in the proceedings of the 2019 Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium.
• Tonghui Cui, Pingfeng Wang, James T. Allison. 'Reliability-based Co-Design of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines with Lattice Towers .' To appear in the proceedings of the 13th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Beijing, China, May 20-24, 2019.
• Yong Hoon Lee, Vedant, Randy H. Ewoldt, James T. Allison. 'Strain-Actuated Solar Arrays for Spacecraft Attitude Control Assisted by Viscoelastic Damping.' To appear in the proceedings of the 13th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Beijing, China, May 20-24, 2019.
• Danny J. Lohan and James T. Allison. 'An Assessment of Structural Optimization Methods for Device-Level Heat Sink Design.' To appear in the proceedings of the 13th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Beijing, China, May 20-24, 2019.
• Tinghao Guo, Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Circuit Synthesis Using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs).' In the proceedings of the AIAA 2019 Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA 2019-2350, San Diego, CA, USA, Jan 2019. Invited paper.
• Albert Patterson, James T. Allison. 'Manufacturability Constraint Formulation for Design Under Hybrid Additive-Subtractive Manufacturing.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2018 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, Quebec City, Quebec, CA.
• Tinghao Guo, Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Reducing Evaluation Cost for Circuit Synthesis Using Active Learning.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2018 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, , Quebec City, Quebec, CA.
• Satya R.T. Peddada, Daniel R. Herber, Herschel C. Pangborn, Andrew G. Alleyne, and James T. Allison. 'Optimal Flow Control and Single Split Architecture Exploration for Fluid-Based Thermal Management.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2018 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, Quebec City, Quebec, CA.
• Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'A Problem Class With Combined Architecture, Plant, and Control Design Applied to Vehicle Suspensions.' In the proceedings of the ASME 2018 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, Quebec City, Quebec, CA.
• Zitao Liao, Danny J Lohan, Nathan C Brooks, James T Allison, and Robert C.N. Pilawa-Podgurski. 'Multi-Objective Optimization of Series-Stacked Energy Decoupling Buffers in Single-Phase Converters.' COMPEL 2018, Padova, Italy.
• Chendi​ ​Lin,​ Dan​ ​Herber, ​Vedant,​ ​Yong​ ​Hoon​ ​Lee,​ ​Alexander​ ​Ghosh,​ ​Randy Ewoldt, James​ ​T.​ ​Allison. 'Attitude​ ​Control​ ​System​ ​Complexity​ ​Reduction​ ​via​ ​Tailored​ ​Viscoelastic​ ​Damping Co-Design.' In the proceedings of the 2018 AAS Guidance & Control Conference, Breckenridge, CO.
• Yong Hoon Lee, Jonathon K. Schuh, Randy H. Ewoldt, and James T. Allison. 'Simultaneous Design of Non-Newtonian Lubricant and Surface Texture Using Surrogate-Based Optimization.' In the proceedings of the AIAA 2018 Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, Jan 2018.
• Tinghao Guo, Danny J. Lohan, Ruijin Cang, Max Yi Ren, and James T. Allison. 'An Indirect Design Representation for Topology Optimization Using Variational Autoencoder and Style Transfer.' In the proceedings of the AIAA 2018 Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, Jan 2018 (invited).
• Yong Hoon Lee, Rebecca E. Corman, Randy H. Ewoldt, James T. Allison. 'A Multiobjective Adaptive Surrogate Modeling Optimization (MO-ASMO) Framework Using Efficient Sampling Strategies.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-67541, Cleveland, OH.
• Madhav Arora, Siyao Luan, Deborah Thurston, James T. Allison. 'Augmenting Procedure-Based Design with Optimization.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-68348, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017.
• Satya R.T. Peddada, Pamela J. Tannous, Andrew G. Alleyne, James T. Allison. 'Optimal Sensor Placement Methods for Active Power Electronic Systems.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-68253, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017.
• Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Unified Scaling of Dynamic Optimization Design Formulations.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-67676, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017.
• Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Nested and Simultaneous Solution Strategies for General Combined Plant and Controller Design Problems.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-67688, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017.
• Anand P. Deshmukh, Danny J. Lohan, James T. Allison. 'Design of a Reconfigurable Dynamic Testbed for Co-Design Method Validation.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-67319, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017. Selected as a 'Paper of Distinction'.
• Siyao Luan, Madhav Arora, Deborah Thurston, James Allison. 'Alternative Design Optimization Formulations ￿ Developing and Comparing for A Vibration Damping Example.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-68337, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017. Nominated for DFMLC best paper award.
• Anand P. Deshmukh, James T. Allison. 'Unrestricted Wind Farm Layout Design with Optimal Control Considerations.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-67480, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017.
• Tinghao Guo, Jiarui Xu, Yilin Dong, Neal E. Davis, James T. Allison. 'Network Analysis of Design Automation Literature.' In the proceedings of the 2017 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, iDETC-67361, Cleveland, OH, Aug 2017.
• Danny Lohan, James T. Allison. 'Temperature Constraint Formulations for Heat Conduction Topology Optimization.' In the proceedings of the 12th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Braunschweig, Germany, June 5-9, 2017.
• Chendi Lin, Yong Hoon Lee, Jonathon Schuh, James Allison, Randy Ewoldt. 'Efficient Optimal Surface Texture Design Using Linearization.' In the proceedings of the 12th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Braunschweig, Germany, June 5-9, 2017.
• Pamela J. Tannous, Satya Peddada, James T. Allison, Thomas Foulkes, Robert P. Pilawa, and Andrew G. Alleyne. 'Dynamic Temperature Estimation of Power Electronics Systems.' In the proceedings of the 2017 American Control Conference, Seattle, WA, May 2017. DOI: 10.23919/ACC.2017.7963482
• Anand P Deshmukh, Marlon E Mitchell, James T Allison. 'Integrating Model-Based Design and Physical Design Evaluation for Improved Design Education.' In ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, IDETC2016-59299, Charlotte, NC, USA, Aug 2016.
• Danny J. Lohan, Masanori Ishigaki, Ercan M. Dede, James T Allison. 'Combined Lumped and Continuum Parameter Design Optimization of Electro-Thermal Systems.' In ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, IDETC2016-60218, Charlotte, NC, USA, Aug 2016. Selected as a 'Paper of Distinction'.
• Daniel R Herber, Tinghao Guo, James T Allison. 'Some Theory Towards Architecture Design with Perfect Matchings.' In ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, IDETC2016-60212, Charlotte, NC, USA, Aug 2016.
• Yong Hoon Lee Lee, Jonathon Schuh, Randy H. Ewoldt, James T. Allison. 'Shape Parameterization Comparison For Full-Film Lubrication Texture Design.' In ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, IDETC2016-60168, Charlotte, NC, USA, Aug 2016.
• Anand Deshmukh, James T. Allison, Deborah Thurston. "Heuristics for Formulating Design Optimization Models: Their Uses and Pitfalls'. In the 5th International Engineering Systems Symposium, CESUN 2016, Washington, D.C., USA, Jun 2016.
• Danny J. Lohan, Ercan M. Dede, James T. Allison. 'Topology Optimization Formulations for Circuit Board Heat Spreader Design.' In 2016 AIAA Aviation and Aeronautics Forum and Exposition, Washington, DC, USA, June 2016.
• Oscar S Alvarez-Salazar, Jack B Aldrich, James T Allison, Soon-Jo Chung. 'Strain Actuated Solar Arrays for Precision Pointing of Spacecraft.' In 2016 AAS Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Breckenridge, CO, USA, Feb 2016.
• Christian M Chilan, Daniel R Herber, Yashwanth Kumar Nakka, Soon-Jo Chung, James T Allison, Jack B Aldrich, Oscar S Alvarez-Salazar. 'Co-Design of Strain-Actuated Solar Arrays for Precision Pointing and Jitter Reduction.' In AIAA 2016 Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA-2016-0162, San Diego, CA, USA, Jan 2016. DOI: 10.2514/6.2016-0162
• Lakshmi Gururaja Rao, James T. Allison. 'Generalized Viscoelastic Material Design with Integro-Differential Equations and Direct Optimal Control.' In the Proceedings of the 2015 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. ASME, August 2-5, 2015.
• Lakshmi Gururaja Rao, Jonathon Schuh, Randy H. Ewoldt, James T. Allison. 'On Using Adaptive Surrogate Modeling in Design for Efficient Fluid Power.' In the Proceedings of the 2015 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. ASME, August 2-5, 2015.
• James T. Allison, Daniel R. Herber, Anand P. Deshmukh. 'Integrated Design of Dynamic Sustainable Energy Systems.' In the Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Engineering Design. July 27-30, 2015.
• Anand P. Deshmukh, Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Bridging the Gap between Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Control in Co-Design: A Framework for Complete Optimal Plant and Control Architecture Design.' In the Proceedings of the 2015 American Control Conference. July 1-3, 2015.
• Danny J. Lohan, Ercan M. Dede, James T. Allison. 'Topology Optimization for Heat Conduction Using Generative Design Algorithms.' In the Proceedings of the 11th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. June 7-12, 2015.
• Jeff D. Arena, James T. Allison. 'Solving The Reconfigurable Design Problem For Multiability with Application to Robotic Systems.' In the Proceedings of the 2014 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. ASME, August 17-20, 2014.
• Ashish Khetan, James T. Allison. 'Large-Scale Topology Optimization Using Parameterized Boolean Networks.' In the Proceedings of the 2014 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. ASME, August 17-20, 2014.
• Daniel R. Herber, Jason W. McDonald, Oscar S. Alvarez-Salazar, Girish Krishnan, James T. Allison. 'Reducing Spacecraft Jitter During Satellite Reorientation Maneuvers via Solar Array Dynamics.' In the Proceedings of the 2014 AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference. AIAA, June 16￿20 2014.
• James Allison, Girish Krishnan and Deborah Thurston. 'Design of Engineering Systems in Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering Department at University of Illinois'. In the Proceedings of the 4th International Engineering Systems Symposium, CESUN 2014.
• Anand Deshmukh, James T. Allison. 'Design of Nonlinear Dynamic Systems using Surrogate Models of Derivative Functions.' In the Proceedings of the 2013 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference, DETC2013-12262. Aug. 4￿7, 2013.
• Daniel R. Herber, James T. Allison. 'Wave Energy Extraction Maximization in Irregular Ocean Waves using Pseudospectral Methods.' In the Proceedings of the 2013 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference, DETC2013-12600. Aug. 4￿7, 2013. DAC Best Paper Award Finalist.
• N. Ashwin Bharadwaj, James T. Allison, Randy H. Ewoldt. 'Early-Stage Design of Rheologically Complex Materials via Material Function Design Targets.' In the Proceedings of the 2013 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference, DETC2013-12262. Aug. 4-7, 2013.
• James T. Allison, Ashish Khetan, Danny Lohan. 'Managing Variable-Dimension Structural Optimization Problems using Generative Algorithms.' In the Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. May 19-24, 2013.
• Tinghao Guo, James T. Allison. 'On the Use of MPCCs in Combined Topological and Parametric Design of Genetic Regulatory Circuits.' In the Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. May 19-24, 2013.
• Anand P. Deshmukh, James T. Allison. 'Simultaneous Structural and Control System Design for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines.' In the Proceedings of the 9th AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference. Apr. 8-11, 2013.
• James T. Allison, Daniel R. Herber. 'Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of Dynamic Engineering Systems.' In the Proceedings of the 9th AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference. Apr. 8-11, 2013.
• James T. Allison, Allen Kaitharath, and Daniel Herber. 'On the Maximum Extraction Limits for Wave Energy Harvesting Devices.' In the Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition. Nov. 9-15, 2012.
• James T. Allison. 'Plant-Limited Co-Design of an Energy Efficient Counterbalanced Robotic Manipulator.' In the Proceedings of the 2012 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference, DETC2012-71108. ASME, Aug. 12￿15 2012.
• James T. Allison. 'Engineering System Co-Design with Limited Plant Redesign.' In the Proceedings of the 8th AIAA Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Specialist Conference. AIAA, Apr. 23￿Apr. 26 2012.
• James T. Allison and Zhi Han. 'Co-Design of an Active Suspension Using Simultaneous Dynamic Optimization.' In the Proceedings of the 2011 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference, DETC2011-48521. ASME, Aug. 28￿Aug. 31 2011.
• James T. Allison and Sam Nazari. 'Combined Plant and Controller Design Using Decomposition-Based Design Optimization and the Minimum Principle.' In the Proceedings of the 2010 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference DETC2010-28887. ASME, Aug. 15￿Aug. 18 2010.
• Erin MacDonald, Katie Whitefoot, James T. Allison, Panos Y. Papalambros, and Richard Gonzalez. 'An Investigation of Sustainability, Preference, and Profitability in Design Optimization.' In the Proceedings of the 2010 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference DETC2010-29055. ASME, Aug. 15￿Aug. 18 2010.
• Michael J. Alexander, James T. Allison, Panos Y. Papalambros, and David J. Gorsich. 'Constraint Management of Reduced Representation Variables in Decomposition-Based Design Optimization.' In the Proceedings of the 2010 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference DETC2010-28788. Aug. 15–18, 2010.
• Michael J. Alexander, James T. Allison, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Reduced Representations of Vector-Valued Coupling Variables in Decomposition-Based Design Optimization.' In the Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Lisbon, Portugal, June 1￿5, 2009.
• James T. Allison and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Consistency Constraint Allocation in Augmented Lagrangian Coordination.' In the Proceedings of the 2008 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference DETC2008-49823. ASME, Aug. 3￿Aug. 6 2008.
• James T. Allison, Michael Kokkolaras, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Optimal Partitioning and Coordination Decisions in Decomposition-based Design Optimization.' In the Proceedings of the 2007 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference DETC2007-34698. ASME, Sept. 4￿Sept. 7 2007.
• James T. Allison and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Optimal Partitioning and Coordination Decisions in System Design Using an Evolutionary Algorithm.' 7th World Conference on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, May 21￿May 25 2007.
• Bryon Sohns, James T. Allison, Hosam Fathy, and Jeffrey L. Stein. 'Efficient Parameterization of Large-Scale Dynamic Models Through the Use of Activity Analysis.' In the Proceedings of the 2006 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Chicago, Il, Nov 5-10 2006.
• James T. Allison, Brian Roth, Michael Kokkolaras, Ilan Kroo, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'Aircraft Family Design Using Decomposition-Based Methods.' In the Proceedings of the 11th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference, Portsmouth, Virginia, Sept. 6-8 2006.
• James T. Allison, David Walsh, Michael Kokkolaras, Panos Y. Papalambros, and Matthew Cartmell. 'Analytical Target Cascading in Aircraft Design.' In the Proceedings of the 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit AIAA-2006-1326. AIAA, January 9-12 2006.
• James T. Allison, Michael Kokkolaras, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'On the Impact of Coupling Strength on Complex System Optimization for Single-Level Formulations.' In the Proceedings of the 2005 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference DETC2005-84790. ASME, Sept. 24￿Sept 28 2005.
• James T. Allison, Michael Kokkalaras, Marc Zawislak, and Panos Y. Papalambros. 'On the Use of Analytical Target Cascading and Collaborative Optimization for Complex System Design.' In the Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, May 30￿June 3 2005.

Invited Lectures

• Advancing Energy Sustainability Through Advanced Integrated Design Methods
• Integrated Physical and Control System Design: A Strategy for New Performance Levels in Renewable Energy Systems
• Integrated Physical and Control System Design: A Strategy for New Performance Levels in Renewable Energy Systems
• Multidomain Modeling for Optimization
• Integrated Physical and Control System Design: A Strategy for New Performance Levels in Renewable Energy Systems
• Scientific Discovery via Engineering Design Automation Experiments
• Scientific Discovery via Engineering Design Automation Experiments
• Scientific Discovery via Engineering Design Automation Experiments
• Interface Between Dynamic System Design Research and Machine and Machine Tool Research
• Introduction to Engineering Design Optimization
• Scientific Discovery via Engineering Design Automation Experiments
• Integrated Methods for Rational Design of Engineering Systems
• Integrated Methods for Rational Design of Engineering Systems
• Integrated Physical and Control System Design for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
• Understanding DAC Through its Literature (Keynote Session)
• Hybrid Powertrain Architecture Design Using Generative Algorithms
• Advancing Undergraduate Design Learning Through Extensive Use of Hands-On Model-Based Design Projects
• Rethinking MDO for Dynamic Engineering System Design
• Design Principles for Autonomous Engineering Systems
• Toward Integrated Design Methods for Active Dynamic Systems
• Toward Integrated Design Methods for Mechatronic Systems (Keynote Lecture)

Other Publications

• James T Allison, Deborah Thurston, Madhav Arora, Siyao Luan. "Toward a Method for Achieving Synergy between Heuristic Rules of Thumb and Quantitative Methods in Engineering Design." 2017 NSF Design Workshop
• Jonathon K Schuh, Yong Hoon Lee, James T Allison, Randy H Ewoldt. 'A Validated Computational Model for the Design of Surface Textures in Full-Film Lubricated Sliding.' Presentation, The 69th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society ￿ Division of Fluid Dynamics, Portland, OR, USA, Nov 2016.
• Yong Hoon Lee, Jonathon K Schuh, Randy H Ewoldt, James T Allison. 'Generalization of Surface Texture Shape Reduces Friction and Increases Load Capacity Simultaneously in Sliding Contact with Full-Film Lubrication.' Presentation, CCEFP Fluid Power Innovation & Research Conference 2016, Minneapolis, MN, USA, Oct 2016.
• Jonathon K Schuh, Yong Hoon Lee, James T Allison, Randy H Ewoldt. 'Design Appropriate Modeling for Determining Optimal Friction Reduction with Surface Textures.' Presentation, CCEFP Fluid Power Innovation & Research Conference 2016, Minneapolis, MN, USA, Oct 2016.
• Jonathon K Schuh, Yong Hoon Lee, James T Allison, Randy H Ewoldt. '1G.3 Rheological Design for Efficient Fluid Power.' Presentation, CCEFP Webinar Series 2016, Feb 2016.
• James T. Allison "Generating Design Knowledge Through Systematic Investigation of Interacting Physical Phenomena." Poster presentation, 2015 NSF Design Circles Workshop.
• Jonathon K Schuh, Yong Hoon Lee, James T Allison, Randy H Ewoldt. 'Surface Textures and Non-Newtonian Fluids for Decreasing Friction in Lubricated Sliding Contact.' Presentation, CCEFP Fluid Power Innovation & Research Conference 2015, Minneapolis, MN, USA, Oct 2015.
• Anand Deshmukh, Marlon Mitchell, James T. Allison. "Advancing Undergraduate Design Learning Through Extensive Use of Hands-On Model-Based Design Projects." Poster presentation, UIUC College of Engineering Celebration of Teaching, April 24, 2015.
• Anand Deshmukh, James T. Allison. ￿Integrated Physical and Control System Design Methods for Wind Turbines.￿ Poster presentation, 3rd NREL Wind Energy Systems Engineering Workshop, January 14th, 2015, Boulder, CO.
• Jason McDonald, Oscar Alvarez-Salazar, James Allison. ￿Strain Actuation & Sensing of SC Structures for Payload Jitter Suppression and Momentum Dumping.￿ Poster presentation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Research and Development poster session, November 12, 2014, Pasadena, CA.
• James T. Allison. "Design Principles for Autonomous Engineering Systems." Poster presentation, WSRI AHEAD Conference, December 2013, Dayton OH.

Patents

• ￿Precision-Pointing Control Architecture based on Strain Actuated Solar Arrays￿ CIT File No.: CIT-7668-P, Filed: 12/21/2016. SBIR awarded (with CU Aerospace, June - Nov 2017) based on this technology.

Reports

• Daniel R Herber. 'Basic Implementation of Multiple-Interval Pseudospectral Methods to Solve Optimal Control Problems.' Technical report, Engineering System Design Lab, UIUC-ESDL-2015-01, Urbana, IL, USA, June 2015.
• Daniel Herber. 'Solving Optimal Control Problems using Simscape Models for State Derivatives'. Technical Report UIUC-ESDL-2014-1, May 2014.
• Daniel Herber, James Allison, Traci Spencer, Hank Roark. 'Inner Loop Progress on Complex System Architecture Optimization Project'. Internal Technical Report, Deere & Co., March 2014.
• Xin Niu. 'Modeling and Design Analysis of a Permanent Magnet Linear Synchronous Generator'. Technical Report UIUC-ESDL-2013-01, August 2013.
• Daniel Herber, Tinghao Guo, James Allison, Traci Spencer, Hank Roark. 'Summary of Initial Work on Complex System Architeture Optimization Project'. Internal Technical Report, Deere & Co., August 2013.
• James T. Allison. 'Design Optimization Model for an Automotive Electric Water Pump.' Technical Report, University of Michigan, Optimal Design Laboratory, 2007.

Conferences Organized or Chaired

• Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee and special session organizer (Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of Dynamic Systems), World Congress on Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (2012-Present).
• Member of the Scientific Committee, International Conference on Engineering Design (2012-Present).
• ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, Symposium Organizer and Chair (2008-Present). Topics: Multidisciplinary Design Optimization; Active System Design; Design for Energy Efficiency; Design and Optimization of Sustainable Energy Systems; Design of Complex Systems; Risk, Uncertainty, and Robustness.

Honors

• Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising (April 2012)
• Engineering Council Outstanding Advising Award (April 2016)

Teaching Honors

• Nominated for the Illinois Student Senate Teaching Excellence Award (Official Voice of the Student Body) (February 2012)
• Recognized on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, UIUC (Fall 2013) (March 2014)

Research Honors

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (April 2004)
• Nominated for the ISSMO/Springer Prize, Young Investigator Award (unsolicited nomination) (May 2007)
• 2013 ASME Design Automation Young Investigator Award (August 2013)
• 2014 JPL Research Poster Conference Award. (May 2015)

Other Honors

• Member Phi Kappa Phi, Collegiate Honor Society (1999)
• Member Pi Tau Sigma, Mechanical Engineering Honor Society (2001)
• Member Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honor Society (2002)
• Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation Gold Award (advisor), student design competition (2014)
• MathWorks File Exchange Pick of the Week (2016)