9/1/2009 Design of artifacts is following a natural evolution from being purely static to being “smart,” namely, fully adaptive to a changing operating environment. Although control design is an important element in smart product design, a controller can only perform as well as the design of the artifact—its configuration, structure and materials—will allow. JMD is a natural venue for research work addressing such design interests, particularly since much product innovation is taking place in this area. This special issue highlights exciting new research and serves to welcome the broader community to continue to contribute smart design research to our journal. I am grateful to guest editors Dr. Mary Frecker and Dr. Nancy Johnson for pursuing and managing the creation of the special issue, and I am looking forward to seeing smart product design a growing area of publication in JMD.
