The Future of Design Methodology

Herbert Birkhofer was awarded a PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Technische Universität Braunschweig. He is currently Professor and Head of the Product Development and Machine Elements Institute at Technische Universität Darmstadt. He is a member of the Scientific Association for Machine Elements and Design Research and of Berliner Kreis (association for the advancement of product innovation in German industry). He co-edits the journal Zeitschrift Konstruktion and is Programme Chair of two events: the annual Applied Engineering Design Systems workshops in Czechoslovakia, and the biennial DESIGN conferences in Croatia. His main research interests are product development and design methodology, knowledge management in design, empirical design research, development of environmentally sound products, and lifetime theory of solid-lubricated bearings.