Whitefoot Research Group

The Whitefoot Research Group advances the theoretical foundations and computational modeling of engineering design and technology change in the context of market and regulatory systems to inform product development, manufacturing, and policymaking. We bridge methods in engineering design and economics to examine a variety of topics, including product variety and product-line design, transportation energy, environmental policies, consumer choice, and automation and parts consolidation in manufacturing. Our research is published in Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Science & Technology, and the Journal of Mechanical Design among others, and is featured in the Washington Post, Popular Mechanics, and Bloomberg Business.

Faculty

Kate Whitefoot

Kate S. Whitefoot

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy

Courtesy Appointment, Heinz College

Professor Whitefoot is the director of the Whitefoot Research Group, a thrust leader of the NextManufacturing Center, and a Fellow of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. She has worked with several companies in automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and high-tech industries, and has been invited to present briefings at the White House, Capitol Hill, the Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Office
358 Scaife Hall
Phone
412.268.6771
Email
kwhitefoot@cmu.edu
Google Scholar
Kate S. Whitefoot

Publications

Journals

View all publications at Google Scholar.

Working papers

  • Combemale, Christophe, Laurence Ales, Erica R.H. Fuchs, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2020. “A General Theory of the Labor Implications of Technological Change.”
  • Forsythe, Connor, Akshaya Jha, Jeremy J. Michalek, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2020. “Externalities of Policy Induced Scrappage: The case of automotive regulations.”
  • Laureijs, Rianne, Chad Syverson, Erica R.H. Fuchs, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2020. “Mix and Match: The Influence of Person-Task Match Effects on Productivity.”
  • Combemale, Christophe, Kate S. Whitefoot, Laurence Ales, and Erica R.H. Fuchs. 2018. “Not All Technological Change is Equal: Disentangling Labor Demand Effects of Automation and Parts Consolidation.

Books

Conferences

  • Case, Sarah, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2020. “Global Product Design Platforming: A comparison of two methods to find equilibrium solutions.” ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences. ASME.
  • Combemale, Christophe, Kate S. Whitefoot, Laurence Ales, and Erica R.H. Fuchs. 2019. “Not All Technological Change is Equal: Disentangling Labor Demand Effects of Automation and Parts Consolidation.” The Impacts of Innovation on Workers. Nashville, TN: Industry Studies Association Conference.
  • Jung, Sangjin, Rianne Laureijs, Christophe Combemale, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2019. “Design for Nonassembly: Current Status and Future Directions.” ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences.Anaheim, CA: ASME.
  • Gowharji, Waleed, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2019. “Influence of Omitted Variables in Consumer Preference Models on Engineering Design Optimization.” ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Anaheim, CA: ASME.
  • Nie, Zhenguo, Sangjin Jung, Levent Burak Kara, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2019. “Optimization of Parts Consolidation for Minimum Production Costs and Time Using Additive Manufacturing.” ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Anaheim, CA: ASME.
  • Yip, Arthur H.C., Jeremy J. Michalek, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2019. “Implications of competitor representation on optimal design.” ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Anaheim, CA: ASME.
  • Combemale, Christophe, Kate S. Whitefoot, Laurence Ales, and Erica R.H. Fuchs 2018. “Not All Technological Change is Equal: Disentangling Labor Demand Effects of Automation and Parts Consolidation.” Industry Studies Association Conference. Seattle, WA: Industry Studies Association.
  • Combemale, Christophe, Kate S. Whitefoot, Laurence Ales, and Erica R.H. Fuchs. 2018. “Not All Technological Change is Equal: Disentangling Labor Demand Effects of Automation and Parts Consolidation.” Technology Management Policy Consortium Annual Meeting. Delft, Netherlands: Technology Management Policy Consortium Annual Meeting.
  • Yip, Arthur H.C., Jeremy J. Michalek, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2018. “On the Implications of Using Composite Vehicles in Choice Model Prediction.” Technical webinar. US Department of Energy - Vehicle Technologies Office.
  • Yip, Arthur H.C., Jeremy J. Michalek, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2018. “On the Implications of Using Composite Vehicles in Choice Model Prediction.” Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
  • Ales, Laurence, Christophe Combemale, Erica R.H. Fuchs, Brian Kovak, Hakki Ozdenoren, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2018. “The Sources of Capital-Labor Substitutability.” Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Dynamics.Mexico City: Society for Economic Dynamics.
  • Yip, Arthur H.C., Jeremy J. Michalek, and Kate S. Whitefoot. 2017. “On the Implications of Using Composite Vehicles in Choice Model Prediction.” Behavior, Energy, & Climate Change Conference. Sacramento, 2017: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
  • Azevedo, Ines, A. Davis, N. Hanus, Jeremy J. Michalek, Kate S. Whitefoot, Arthur H.C. Yip, B. Augustino, et al. 2017. “Characterizing Utility Customer Preferences for Technologies and Services: A Review of Methods and their Applications.” EPRI Technical Report. EPRI. 3002011249.

Research Team

Sangjin Jung

Sangjin Jung

Post-Doctorate

Research interests
Design for metal additive manufacturing, product platform and product family design, and product architecture assessment and design
Email
sangjinj@andrew.cmu.edu
Sarah Case

Sarah Case

Doctorate

Research interests
Mathematical modeling of physical and conceptual systems, particularly the effects of global product planning and environmental regulations on vehicle design.
Email
sscase@andrew.cmu.edu
Christophe Combemale

Christophe Combemale

Doctorate

Research interests
Employment and productivity effects of consolidation of parts in manufactured goods
Email
ccombema@andrew.cmu.edu
Connor Forsythe

Connor Forsythe

Doctorate

Research interests
Survival analysis of vehicles and the impacts of policy and design on vehicle lifetimes
Email
connorforsythe@cmu.edu
Waleed Gowharji

Waleed Gowharji

Doctorate

Research interests
Engineering design, particularly decision-based design and design for market systems research
Email
wgowharj@andrew.cmu.edu
Ria Laureijs

Ria Laureijs

Doctorate

Research interests
Product variety on the production line and its implications for productivity, profitability, and labor outcomes
Email
rlaureijs@cmu.edu

Past students

  • Zhenguo Nie, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University
  • Runze Huang, CEO and Co-Founder of ExLattice
  • Stephanie Jennings, Quality Engineer at Ford Motor Company
  • Ashley Orr, Ph.D. student, Heinz College, CMU
  • Arthur Yip, Postdoctoral Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Video

Courses

Course Course Name Location Units Semester Offered
24-441 Product Design Pittsburgh 12 Fall, Spring
24-680 Quantitative Entrepreneurship: Analysis for New Technology Commercialization Pittsburgh 12 Intermittent

AVL Partnership

AVL imageThe Whitefoot Research Group uses AVL Advanced Simulation Technologies (AVL AST) software tools as part of AVL AST’s University Partnership Program with Carnegie Mellon University. Learn more about AVL AST.Opens in new window

Media mentions

Fox Business

Whitefoot quoted on electric vehicle tax credits

Kate Whitefoot was quoted in Fox Business on the updated federal policy surrounding electric vehicle tax credits.

CNET

Whitefoot talks electric vehicle tax credits

EPP/MechE’s Kate Whitefoot spoke to CNET about adding to the list of electric vehicles that qualify for a federal tax credit worth thousands of dollars.

Axios

CMU’s take on autoworkers in the electric car industry in Axios

As the auto industry begins making the switch over to electric vehicles (EVs), a popular contention is that it takes fewer workers to manufacture EVs. However, researchers at CMU have found that it actually takes more labor hours as battery cell production is a complex and time-consuming process.

MSN

Whitefoot comments on green cars in MSN

MechE/EPP’s Kate Whitefoot comments on the future of green vehicles in MSN. “Moving heavy vehicles like school buses, construction equipment, and big trucks to electrification will definitely be slower,” she says.

Newsweek

Whitefoot comments on gas-powered green vehicles

MechE/EPP’s Kate Whitefoot comments on gas-powered green vehicles in Newsweek. "Moving heavy vehicles like school buses. construction equipment and big trucks to electrification will definitely be slower. That's where improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines will be important,” Whitefoot says.

Nautilus

Whitefoot talks increasing electric vehicle popularity

MechE/EPP’s Kate Whitefoot spoke to Nautilus about what’s behind the latest uptick in consumer interest in electric vehicles, breaking down several factors, including environmental impact and the influence of Tesla.

GO Banking Rates

Whitefoot talks cost of EVs, policy incentives

MechE/EPP’s Kate Whitefoot said there are many policy incentives available to lower the cost of purchasing electric vehicles (EVs).

CMU Engineering

Tech advances will drive the transition to electric vehicles

Researchers found that advances in EV technology will likely bring significant growth to the market, relative to gasoline powered automobiles.

Vox

Whitefoot talks future of electric vehicles after California’s ban on gasoline vehicles

EPP/MechE’s Kate Whitefoot discussed future uptake of electric vehicles in Vox after California passed a measure banning the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars by 2035. “It is expected that EVs will dominate the new vehicle market nationwide in the future,” she said. “The uncertainty is exactly when this will occur.”

CMU Engineering

Engineering faculty featured in events at GCEAF

Many faculty from across the College of Engineering will be featured at events during this year’s Global Clean Energy Action Forum.

Whitefoot honored for work in design automation

EPP/MechE’s Kate Whitefoot has been recognized with the Young Investigator Award by the 2022 ASME Design Automation Committee.

Vox

Whitefoot quoted on electric vehicles

EPP/MechE’s Katie Whitefoot was quoted in a Vox article for her expertise in electric vehicles in public policy. “Efficiency regulations are still really important even as automakers are making pledges to electrify their fleets,” Whitefoot said.