DESIGN AUTOMATION AND OPTIMIZATION IS A FIELD OF STUDY RELATED TO USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTING ALGORITHMS TO AUTOMATE, FACILITATE, AND OPTIMIZE THE PROCESS OF PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE DESIGN, FROM CONCEPT GENERATION TO PRODUCT RECYCLING. THIS COURSE WILL COVER CURRENT PRACTICE AND RESEARCH TOPICS IN THE AREA OF DESIGN AUTOMATION. STUDENTS WILL PRESENT RESEARCH ARTICLES AND CONDUCT RESEARCH PROJECTS.