Randolph E. Kirchain, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering Systems
Professor Kirchain's research and teaching explores the impact of materials-technology decisions on the economic and environmental performance of the products into which those materials are transformed and the systems in which they are produced, used, and eventually discarded.�
The choice of material potentially has sweeping implications on the realization of a product. Materials dictate available production processes, and therefore the physical constraints within which a designer must work. Similarly, the synergism of design, materials, and process affect the environmental impacts associated with a product's manufacture, its use, and its ultimate disposal. As such, understanding the implications of a materials-technology decision requires characterizing the effects that occur throughout every stage of the material/product life-cycle.
To address this, Prof. Kirchain's research deals with the development of methods to model two critical aspects of technological performance: 1) life cycle economics and 2) materials system sustainability - particularly resource efficiency and recyclability. To date such methods, have been developed for and applied to issues associated with every major life-cycle stage.
Research - Economic Performance
