The performance of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells is studied using a single-phase two-dimensional electrochemical model. The model is coupled with a nonlinear constrained optimization algorithm to determine an optimum design of the fuel cell with respect to the operation and the geometrical parameters of cathode such as the air inlet pressure, the cathode thickness and length and the width of shoulders in the interdigitated air distributor. In addition, the robustness of the optimum design of the fuel cell with respect to uncertainties in several electrochemical reaction and species transport parameters (e.g., gas diffusivity, agglomerate particle size, etc.) is tested using a statistical sensitivity analysis. The results of the optimization analysis show that higher current densities at a constant cell voltage are obtained as the inlet air pressure and the fraction of the cathode length associated with a shoulder of the interdigitated air distributor are increased, and as the cathode thickness and the length of the cathode per one interdigitated gas distributor shoulder are decreased. The statistical sensitivity analysis results, on the other hand, show that the equilibrium cathode/membrane potential difference has the largest effect on the predicted polarization curve of the fuel cell. However, the optimal design of the cathode side of the fuel cell is found not to be affected by the uncertainties in the model parameters such as the equilibrium cathode/membrane potential difference. The results obtained are rationalized in terms of the effect of the fuel-cell design on the air flow fields and the competition between the rates of species transport to and from the cathode active layer and the kinetics of the oxygen reduction half-reaction. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.