Larry Leifer Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Design Division, Stanford Director, Center for Design Research, Stanford UniversityEDN (Electronic Design Notebook)
January 15, 1991
No abstract was submitted but, based on conversations I've
had with Dr. Leifer, I believe he will discuss a software development
project (that began at Stanford and is now being made into a
product) called EDN (Electronic Design Notebook). You may have
also heard it referred to as VMACS. EDN is a computer-based tool
for keeping a design notebook. There has been considerable thought
and effort put into its design and implementation and Dr. Leifer's
talk should be quite interesting.
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Professor Leifer's formal academic training was obtained at
Stanford University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
Mechanical Engineering (1962) and a Master of Science degree
in Product Design (1963). His Biomedical Engineering doctoral
thesis (1969) dealt with the electrophysiology and control of
voluntary human movement. From 1969 to 1972 he worked on human
information processing at the NASA Ames Research Center. This
work continued through 1973 as a NASA research exchange fellow
to the MIT Man-Vehicle Laboratory. From 1973 to 1976 Dr. Leifer
was an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Systems Analysis at
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. His work
dealt with the neuromuscular control of posture, funtional electrical
stimulation of hearing, and measurement of motor axon conduction
velocity distributions. A member of the Stanford faculty since
1976, he now teaches the industrial project based Graduate Automation
and Machine Design course series, directs the Industrial Design
Affiliates Program and manages the Joint Design Research Seminar.
He developed, and taught for ten years, the laboratory and curriculum
for programmable electromechanical systems design (Smart Product
Design) as an extension of the Design Division's Product Design
Program. His research is based in the Center for Design Research
(CDR). As CDR's founding Director (1984) he endeavors to develop
basic design theory and methodology through the application of
knowledge based engineering technology to a wide reange of industrial
machine design problems. Special interest projects include: a),
development of an electronic design notebook for "design
knowledge capture"; b), development of telerobotic assistants
for medical, rehabilitation, industrial and space applications;
c), development of concurrent product and process design software
for machine and injection mold design; and d), development of
conceptual design analysis tools. In an effort to disseminate
his earlier work in rehabilitation technology, he is co-founder
(1989) of Tolfa Internation Corporation. Tolfa seeks to promote
personal independence for disabled persons through assistive
technology that supports communication, mobility and manipulation.
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