Contact Information

Research Interests

Broadly, I am interested in the modeling and decision making for systems design problems. Currently, I am investigating an approach for abstracting the capabilities and limitations of components in order to improve system-level modeling in the early and middle phases of a design project. I believe this will lead to faster and more effective concept/architecture selection and requirements flowdown.

I am part of the NSF Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. Fluid power includes hydraulics and pneumatics. Because fluid power systems often are comprised of discrete functional units (pumps, cylinders, accumulators, etc.), they can benefit from a compositional approach to system-level design.

In my MS thesis, I address the question of how designers can perform model validation in reuse scenarios. In the most general reuse scenarios, model validation can be quite challenging.  The core challenge is one of knowledge transfer between model creators and model users.  I describe a conceptual framework that identifies this knowledge and the process through which it must flow.  I have posted a summary of my MS research here.

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

• R.J. Malak, Jr., and C.J.J. Paredis, (2008) "Validating Behavioral Models for Reuse," Research in Engineering Design, 18(3) p.111-128.  [manuscript (pdf)] (The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com)
• R.J. Malak, Jr., J.M. Aughenbaugh, and C.J.J. Paredis, (In Press) "Multi-Attribute Utility Analysis in Set-based Conceptual Design," Computer Aided Design.  [draft (pdf)] (A preprint version is available at www.elsevier.com)
  
• R.J. Malak, Jr., and C.J.J. Paredis, (In Press) "Modeling Design Concepts under Risk and Uncertainty using Parameterized Efficient Sets," Transactions of the Society of Automotive Engineers. [draft (pdf)]
• R.J. Malak, Jr. and C.J.J. Paredis, (Under Review) "Using Parameterized Pareto Sets to Model Design Concepts." [abstract]
• Malak, R.J., Tucker L., and Paredis, C.J.J. (Under Review) “Compositional Modeling of Fluid Power Systems using Predictive Tradeoff Models”
  
• Malak, R.J. and Paredis, C.J.J. (Under Review) “Parameterized Pareto Dominance and the Mathematical Foundations of Composing Tradeoff Models.” [abstract]
• Malak, R.J. and Paredis, C.J.J. (In Preparation) “A Dominance Rule for Hierarchically-Structured Combinatorial Optimization Problems.” 

Refereed Conference Papers

• Malak, R.J., Tucker L., and Paredis, C.J.J. "Compositional Modeling of Fluid Power Systems using Predictive Tradeoff Models" accepted for presentation at the 2008 Bath/ASME Symposium on Fluid Power and Motion Control (FPMC 2008).
  
• R.J. Malak, Jr., L. Tucker and C.J.J. Paredis, "Composing Tradeoff Models for Multi-Attribute System-Level Decision Making" accepted for presentation at the 2008 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE 2008). Paper No. DETC2008-49970. [draft(pdf)][slides(pdf)]
  
• R.J. Malak, Jr., and C.J.J. Paredis, "Modeling Design Concepts under Risk and Uncertainty using Parameterized Efficient Sets" in Proceedings of the  2008 SAE World Congress & Exhibition, Detroit, MI, April 13-17, 2008. Paper No. SAE 2008-01-0709. [paper(pdf)][slides(pdf)]
  
• R.J. Malak, Jr., and C.J.J. Paredis, "Using Parameterized Pareto Sets to Model Design Concepts" in Proceedings of the 2007 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE), Seattle, WA, November 11-15, 2007. [paper(pdf)][slides(pdf)]
  
• R. J. Malak, Jr., and C. J. J. Paredis, “Foundations of Validating Reusable Behavioral Models in Engineering Design Problems,” in Proceedings of the 2004 Winter Simulation Conference, R .G. Ingalls, M. D. Rossetti, J. S. Smith, and B. A. Peters, eds., Washington D.C., December 5-8, 2004. [paper(pdf)][slides(pdf)]
  
• R. J. Malak, Jr., and C. J. J. Paredis, “On Characterizing and Assessing the Validity of Behavioral Models and Their Predictions,” in Proceedings of DETC 2004, Design Theory and Methodology Conference, paper no. DETC2004/DTM-57452, Salt Lake City, UT, September 28 – October 3, 2004. [paper(pdf)][slides(pdf)]
  
• G. Mocko, R. Malak, C. Paredis, R. Peak, “A Knowledge Repository for Behavioral Models in Engineering Design,” in Proceedings of DETC 2004, Computers and Information  in Engineering Conference, paper no. DETC2004/CIE-57746, Salt Lake City, UT, September 28 – October 3, 2004. [paper(pdf)][slides(pdf)]
  

Invited Talks

• R.J. Malak, Jr. "Predictive Tradeoff Modeling for System-Level Decision Making" presented at the Workshop on Performance Prediction in System-Level Design held at the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC2008), Brooklyn, NY, 3 August 2008. [slides(pdf)][Workshop Website]
  

MS Thesis

• R. J. Malak, Jr. "A Framework for Validating Reusable Behavioral Models in Engineering Design," Master's Thesis, G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 2005. [paper(pdf)]
  

Posters

• R. J. Malak, Jr., G. Mocko, C. Paredis, R. Peak, "Characterizing and Managing Knowledge about Behavioral Models," Presented at the 7th NASA-ESA Workshop on Product Data Exchange, Atlanta, GA, April 19-22, 2005.  [poster (pdf)]

Resources

EndNote

Here are a few EndNote bibliography style definitions I have created. they should work for EndNote9 and above (I think EndNoteX1 is the current version). I make no promises about correctness. Use these as a starting point for defining your own styles. If you make a noteworthy improvement, send it to me and I'll post the updated style.

Instructions: (1) right-click the links and save the files in your EndNoteVER/styles/ directory (where VER is your EndNote version, probably 9, X or X1), (2) open the Style Manager from within EndNote (Edit->Output Styles->Style Manager), (3) find the style name in the list and select the check box beside it.  Be warned: NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ENDNOTE8 OR EARLIER.

• GT-Thesis. Should be good for theses and dissertations at GT.
• GT-2. Similar to GT-Thesis, but uses numbered citations rather than author-date.

Non-academic Stuff

• I ran on an Ekiden relay team with some other SRLiens.  See some pictures here.
  
• Some pictures from our day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity (23 July 2005) are here.
• Donna keeps some pictures of various things we've done in her gallery.