Creativity in Engineering Education ?

Are you addressing the

José Carlos Quadrado

Jaipur

12 JANUARY 2017

Last year in a normal classroom

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado

Problem Based Learning approach

How does an Induction Motor work?

How can you detect and correct failures? Start by building one!

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado José Carlos Quadrado

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado José Carlos Quadrado

After: Taking a selfie with the Professor

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado

Posting in the facebook…

and commenting.

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado

Very Interactive classes

Creativity incubation in the normal curricula

José Carlos Quadrado

José Carlos Quadrado

Who is beautiful ?

Am I ?

One of the first engineering questions

José Carlos Quadrado

Preferred Proportions

José Carlos Quadrado

The golden ratio

118.145 =

1.618

618.618.11

=1

Creativity

Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality.

If you have ideas but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.

Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing.

A device to remind you to mail a letter

Reuben Garret Lucius Goldberg (4 July 1883 – 7 December 1970) was a cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor who received a 1948 Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning. He is best known for his series of popular cartoons depicting Rube Goldberg machines, complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.

José Carlos Quadrado

Successful design requires two different kinds of thought

Convergent Thinking – narrowing the design space

Divergent Thinking – expanding the design space

Need Multiple Alternatives

“BEST” Alternative

José Carlos Quadrado

The early design decisions are the most important

Time

Plan

ning

% o

f Cos

t Com

mitt

ed

Con

cept

Des

ign

Detailed Design

50

100

Act

ual M

oney

Spe

nt

ref. The Mechanical Design Process, by D. Ullman, McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition, 2003

José Carlos Quadrado

Common Pitfalls in Concept Generation

1.  Not Listening to, or Misinterpreting the Customer

2.  Premature Selection, Design Lock – “Don’t marry your first idea”

3.  Poor literature/patent search

4.  Poor Team Process

5.  Ignorance, Stupidity

José Carlos Quadrado

Barriers to Creativity

•  Emotional – fear of failure/taking risks/ego damage, fear of chaos/ambiguity, easier to judge than create (and be judged by others)

•  Cultural – taboos, imagination/playfulness are discouraged, tradition/status quo preferred to change

•  Intellectual – lack of correct information, skill, proper tool •  Environmental – poor team dynamics, lack of support,

distractions

Ref. Conceptual Blockbusting, by James Adams, AddisonWesley, 1986

•  Perceptual – stereotypes, preconceptions, inability to see problem from various viewpoints

“Fish is Fish”, by Leo Leonni, 1998

José Carlos Quadrado

Aids for Generating Alternatives

•  Lateral Thinking •  Mental Push-ups

•  Brainstorming

•  Random Stimulation

•  Analogy

•  Organizing and Combining

José Carlos Quadrado

Lateral Thinking

Systematic identification of alternative solutions before committing yourself to an apparent “best” solution a) resist urge to pursue any concept in detail

b) avoid critiquing any concept

José Carlos Quadrado

Mental Push-ups using lateral thinking

•  List 15 non-traditional uses for a spoon

José Carlos Quadrado

Abarriertocrea+vedesignisthetendencytobetoocri+calofunusualapproachesbeforeexploringtheiradvantages.Describefiveadvantagesofthecoffeecupshownbelow.

José Carlos Quadrado

Asteelpipeisimbeddedinconcrete.ThepipeIDis.06”largerthanapingpongball.Therearesixpeopleintheroom.Youhavethefollowingobjects:

100’ofclotheslineCarpenter’shammerChiselBoxofWhea+esFileWirecoathangerMonkeywrenchLightBulb

Listasmanywaysasyoucanthinkoftoremovetheball,withoutdamagingthefloor,tubeorball

José Carlos Quadrado

Cultural Blocks to Creativity

TheGoodyearTireCo.proposalforaninflatablespacesta+onepitomizestheculture-boundlimita+onsofdesign.Itwastobefoldedwithinarocketnoseandinflatedinspace.

Amock-upoftheGoodyearspacesta+ondemonstrateshowmuchtheconceptowedtoabias-belted+re

Ref. Engineering and the Mind’s Eye, by E. Ferguson, MIT Press 1993

José Carlos Quadrado

Consumer Product Design Project - Overview

•  Determine Customer Needs and Specifications – should be well in-process and must be complete before concept selection

•  Elevator Pitch

José Carlos Quadrado

The Design Process, according to Bernie Roth, Stanford

•  Understand the need, (have empathy with user) •  Commit yourself

•  Be stupid •  ETC (Express, Test, Cycle)

•  Question constantly the results and the process

José Carlos Quadrado

Understand and clarify the problem

1.  Need: Is there a real need(s), what are they?

2.  Market: Who are all the potential customers? How large is the potential market?

3.  Cost target: What would customers be willing to pay?

4.  Use: What attributes (features) are needed? Why would a customer use it? How would they use it?

5.  Competition: What other alternatives currently exist?

6.  Spinoffs: Are there other related needs that you discovered that could lead to a more viable product?

José Carlos Quadrado

Translate needs into actionable specifications

•  Prioritized list of customer needs Ease of use, aesthetics, low price, long life, safety,

etc.

•  Target specifications for the product Cost, weight, size, strength, MTBF, FDA specs, ….

José Carlos Quadrado

घणां घणां धन्‍यवाद

jcquadrado@gmail.com

The End for today !?!?!