Sustainable Design and Manufacturing Lab (SDM)


Education

  • Ph.D., University of Houston, 1992
  • M.S. (Ingenieur), University of Twente, The Netherlands, 1987

Teaching Interests

Professor Bras' teaching interests encompass core mechanical engineering topics at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including capstone design, machine design, engineering graphics, optimization and environmentally consious design and manufacturing. He is committed to fostering analytical skills and integrating research insights into the classroom, actively involving students in problem-solving and critical thinking within mechanical engineering disciplines.

Research Interests

Professor Bras' research focus is on sustainable design and manufacturing, including design for recycling and remanufacture, biological inspired design, and life-cycle analyses, with applications in energy and mobility systems.

Recent Publications

  • Starbuck, B., Li, H., Cochran, B., Weissburg, M. and Bras, B. A., “Concept for Bio-Agentic Visual Communication: Bridging Swarm Intelligence with Biological Analogues”, Biomimetics, Vol 10, No. 9, 605, 2025. 
  • Grilli, A. and Bras, B., “Reducing energy consumption in secondary aluminum manufacturing through the implementation of improved workflow practices”, Procedia CIRP, Volume 122, 2024, Pages 867-872, ISSN 2212-8271, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2024.01.118. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10090605.
  • Jastkrembski's, M., Watson B.C., Weissburg M, Bras B. “Assessing the State of Biologically Inspired Design from Three Perspectives: Academic, Public Perspective, and Practitioners”, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Vol. 18, No. 4., 2023.
  • Johnston, S. and Bras, B., “Analysis of financial and carbon savings of grid-tied home energy systems in conjunction with photo-voltaic solar generation and electric vehicle use," Procedia CIRP, Vol 105, pp 73-79, Proceedings of the 29th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering (LCE), Leuven, Belgium, April 4-6, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.02.013.
  • Morris, Z., Weissburg, M. and Bras, B. “Ecological Network Analysis of Urban-Industrial Ecosystems”, Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1-12, June, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2018.07.007.