Richard H. Crawford

Richard H. Crawford is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, holding the Earl N. & Margaret Brasfield Endowed Faculty Fellowship and serving as Director of the Design Projects Program.

His educational background includes a BSME from Louisiana State University (1982), and MSME (1985) and Ph.D. (1989) from Purdue University.

Dr. Crawford's research spans computer-aided mechanical design, design theory, and engineering education, with four primary focus areas: (1) computer representations for conceptual design and design retrieval; (2) geometric modeling for engineering design and manufacturing; (3) additive manufacturing including design tools and applications; and (4) pre-college engineering education. His industrial collaborations include faculty internships at Ford Motor Company, IBM, and Sandia National Laboratory.

His recent publications demonstrate consistent emphasis on design optimization, metamodeling (particularly NURBS-based approaches), additive manufacturing applications, and biomedical engineering solutions for prosthetics and orthotics, reflecting integration of computational methods with practical engineering challenges.

Dr. Crawford has received significant recognition:

• 1995 Fred Merryfield Design Award from the American Society for Engineering Education
• 2010 Ralph Coates Roe Award for exemplary Mechanical Engineering education
• 2011 University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award

He co-founded the Design Technology and Engineering for All Children (DTEACh) program providing K-12 teacher training, and partnered with UTeach to develop the "Engineer Your World" high school curriculum adopted by over 200 school districts, featuring a dual-credit option through UT System institutions.