Panos Papalambros joins CMU-Africa as special faculty

Carnegie Mellon University Africa is excited to welcome Panos Papalambros as its design science and optimization lead starting April 1. Papalambros is a U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) member with a global reputation for his work on the design optimization of products and complex systems and for his leadership in advancing transformative engineering design research and education.

Papalambros joins CMU-Africa as a special faculty under its Center for Inclusive Digital Transformation in Africa. The center is dedicated to producing and nurturing technology talent, catalyzing job creation and entrepreneurship, and strengthening Africa’s engineering education and knowledge creation capacity to achieve inclusive digital excellence.

Papalambros graduated from Stanford University and the National Technical University of Athens. He is an emeritus professor at the University of Michigan, holding the titles of James B. Angell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Donald C. Graham Professor Emeritus of Engineering, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering, professor emeritus of integrative systems and design, professor emeritus of architecture, and professor emeritus of art and design.

He co-authored the standard textbook Principles of Optimal Design: Modeling and Computation with D.J. Wilde, and has published over 450 articles in journals, conference proceedings, and books.

Papalambros is the founding editor-in-chief of Design Science and past chief editor of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Journal of Mechanical Design. His primary interest is in mathematical design optimization for product development and complex systems design with emphasis on sustainability, including automotive systems, electric and hybrid powertrains, farming systems, modularity, product platforms, and systems of systems — linking design decisions with defense, commercial, and regulatory business and government decision making.

His research in design preference elicitation, including machine learning and crowdsourcing, has linked engineering design models with computer science, marketing, behavioral, and social sciences models for a more holistic, inclusive, and comprehensive quantification of the design optimization process.

Papalambros is no stranger to CMU-Africa, having pioneered the first-ever NAE member-led event Design Science in the Age of AI Workshop held in Kigali, Rwanda in April 2024 and a follow-up event held in Johannesburg in the fall of 2024.

As design science and optimization lead, Papalambros will work collaboratively across Africa to establish design science education, research, and development ecosystems. He will also work to strengthen the core mathematical principles that serve as the foundation for design and optimization.

"At the heart of artificial intelligence is optimization, whether a loss function or the efficient use of data or energy," says Conrad Tucker, director of CMU-Africa. "We're excited to have a world-renowned mathematician, researcher, and educator at CMU-Africa to help advance our pan-African mission, including our leadership in AI."