Award Abstract #0628162 Collaborative Research: Implications of Automotive Greenhouse Gas Policies on Material Flows - A Life Cycle Approach Integrating Engineering, Public Policy, and Market Behavior
John L. Daniels
CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation
ENG Directorate for Engineering
Start Date:
September 15, 2006
Expires:
August 31, 2011 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:
$1190506
Investigator(s):
Steven Skerlos skerlos@umich.edu (Principal Investigator)
Panos Papalambros (Co-Principal Investigator) Gregory Keoleian (Co-Principal Investigator) Walter McManus (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
3003 South State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 734/764-1817
NSF Program(s):
BE-MAT USE:SCIENCE,ENG&SOCIETY, SERVICE ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS
Field Application(s):
0116000 Human Subjects, 0308000 Industrial Technology
Program Reference Code(s):
MANU, 9251, 9148, 9147, 1794, 116E, 076E
Program Element Code(s):
1794, 1787
ABSTRACT
The overarching goal of this Materials Use: Science, Engineering and Society, MUSES project is to produce modeling tools and methods that can be used to analyze changes in materials flows that would result from policy instruments aimed at reducing GHG emissions from passenger cars and light trucks. This goal will be achieved by building and validating a set of linked models that account for producer and consumer behavioral responses to GHG reduction policies, and integrating these forecasted market responses into a novel framework for predictive life cycle and material flow analyses (LCA/MFA). Our major tasks will be: 1) to model vehicle design options and materials use for their costs and performance; 2) to evaluate the market penetration of these options by modeling their performance in the context of market-based and regulatory policy instruments, producer objectives, and consumer preferences; and, 3) to evaluate the consequences of market responses on global materials flows and life cycle emissions.
The proposed research exists at the interface between engineering design, applied economics, social research, public policy, and sustainable development. The scientific impact will derive from the formulation of techniques, methods, and models in each of these disciplines that will help us understand the relationships between technology policy, technology adoption, and unintended environmental and materials flows consequences. Scientific impact will also arise from how these tasks are holistically integrated into an interdisciplinary meta-system. The broader impact of this proposal will be derived in part from the construction of a computational environment that will allow analysts to optimize technology and policy decisions with respect to costs, market acceptance, materials flows, and environmental impacts. The educational impact of this proposal will be significant through the integration of this project with undergraduate and graduate courses and curricula at the University of Michigan and at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). We also include an educational component aimed at deaf and hard-of-hearing students through collaboration with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf located at RIT. The award is co-managed by the Division of Manufacturing Innovation (DMI) and the Division of Electrical and Communications Systems (ECS).
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Stepp, M.D., Winebrake, J.J., Hawker, J.S., Skerlos, S.J.. "Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies and the Transportation Sector: The Role of Feedback Effects on Policy Effectiveness," Energy Policy, v.37, 2009, p. 2774.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Kim, HJ; McMillan, C; Keoleian, G; Skerlos, SJ. "Model of cost and mass for compact sized liglitweight automobiles using aluminum & high strength steel," in 16th IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment., 2008, p. 245-250.
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