Technology transfer: design in a scientific research program

The CRC Wood Innovations commenced in July 2001 with an ambitious program to develop and commercialise revolutionary technologies that establish wood as the sustainable material of choice.One unusual feature of the CRC was the inclusion of a design team from the Swinburne University of Technology Faculty of Design as an integral part of the research program.The team was led by the internationally acclaimed furniture designer Professor Helmut Lueckenhausen and included Professor Lyndon Anderson and Lotars Ginters.The objective of the work was to develop products that can be manufactured from the new materials and technologies from the other projects of the CRC. Including designers and product design engineers at the very outset of the technology development would, it was argued, greatly enhance commercialisation of the new technologies.The argument has been shown to have merit and other CRCs in the Manufacturing Sector can learn from the experience of this CRC. It is true that market analysts, designers and product design engineers can develop their ideas, product concepts and designs more quickly than physical scientists and engineers can develop new materials. It is also true that all of the above professionals do need highly skilled artisans and tradespeople to translate their ideas into real prototypes. The CRC has been fortunate that John Faulks and Ian Higgs have been able to work on prototype construction.This book is an account of the processes that the Faculty of Design has used during the seven years of the CRC.It will be a valuable text to guide future interactions between designers and technologists. [Foreword, Professor Tom Spurling]