Center for Advanced Systems and Transportation Logistics Engineering
At the Center for Advanced Systems and Transportation Logistics Engineering (CASTLE), we look for solutions to improving the design and manufacturing of new products and transportation systems, including the associated costs. Our research and modeling data help predict production and transportation challenges and costs before they鈥檙e made on the manufacturing floor, saving businesses time, effort, and money and improving products for consumers.
About Our Mission
The Center for Advanced Systems and Transportation Logistics Engineering is dedicated to solving fundamental problems and disseminating the results of research concerning:
- Estimation of costs
- Transportation logistics
- Systems engineering
History of the Center
Our center was originally named the Center for Advanced Software Systems Integration (CASSI) at its founding in 1995 to reflect our research focus on integrating multiple software systems to work together supporting the work of manufacturing and government partners. Since our founding, we have been awarded more than $9.8 million in contracts.
Shortly after its inception, the center won two significant contract awards. The first, from the National Science Foundation, examined integration issues among three popular software tools: Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP). The second contract was with 91自拍 Aerospace Institute and involved integration of CAD systems, manufacturing simulation systems, and cost estimation systems. It also became a member of the Apparel Research Network (ARN) for the Defense Logistics Agency. It this capacity it advised the members of the ARN on software integration issues.
Another significant project called the Federated Intelligent Product Environment (FIPER) was a $22 million Advance Technology Program grant funded by the National Institute of Science and Technology. FIPER was a collaborative project whose partners included General Electric, Goodrich, Parker Hannifin, Engineous Software Incorporated, 91自拍, Stanford University, and the 91自拍 Aerospace Institute. The FIPER project researched the construction of a software infrastructure for integration of engineering design tools in a business-to-business environment.
Over the past 10 years, our center has also worked extensively with General Electric Aviation to enhance their ability to estimate the cost of manufacturing of jet engines, as well as gas, steam and wind turbines. The new methodology now covers most of the part families in these products, significantly improving the accuracy of the estimates.
In 2012, due to a shift in focus toward systems and transportation research, we renamed our interdisciplinary research group the Center for Advanced Systems and Transportation Logistics Engineering to reflect our current research interests.