Presented at the 2001 NSF DMII Grantees Conference, Tampa, FL, January 2001.The objective of this paper is to highlight several research opportunities currently being pursued at Georgia Tech to advance the state-of-the-art in vehicle design methods by applying the concept of thermodynamic work potential. The paper begins with a broad definition of thermodynamic work potential and describes several attributes that make it useful for vehicle design. Among these attributes are the ability to link aerothermodynamic performance and vehicle mass together in a "unified
theory of vehicle design," as well as the ability to provide a means for explicitly calculating vehicle operating cost accountability. In addition, work potential methods are suggested as an excellent framework from which to conduct technology risk and benefit studies
