Future Trends in Optimization

The purpose of this article is to provide a permanent record of the major ideas and questions raised during the panel session entitled “Future Trends in Optimization” at the 1980 Design Engineering Technical Conference in Beverly Hills, California. The panel members were Professors D. J. Wilde of Stanford University, E. J. Haug of the University of Iowa, K. M. Ragsdell of Purdue University, J. N. Siddall of McMaster University, and F. Freudenstein of Columbia University. They spoke, respectively, on Optimal Design Under Uncertainty; Computer-aided Design Sensitivity Analysis and Optimization of Dynamic Systems; Optimization: The Future of Design, Integration of Optimization with the Design Process; and Optimization in Mechanisms: Past, Present, and Future. It is hoped that the article will prove useful in guiding future efforts in the area of optimal mechanical design.