Research

Biologically Inspired Design

My research in biologically inspired design (BID) focuses on the cognitive processes of design, in a design space that is defined by drawing analogies to nature. We focus on creative design, analogical reasoning, mental models, and multi-modal representaitons. Our long-term goal is to design an interactive technolgoy platform to support generation of new ideas by analogical retrieval and mapping of biological designs. I work closely with Swaroop Vattam on this project. The research project has three facets:
Classroom Observation
This includes the direct observation of students in the biologically inspired design class, student meetings outside of the classroom, and analysis of student journals, assignments, and presentations from the period of August through December 2006. A technical report detailing classroom findings was published April, 2007.
Technical Report
"Biologically-Inspired Innovation in Engineering Design: A Cognitive Study"
SBF Theory and Analogical Transfer
SBF Theory and theories of Analogical Transfer both inform and provide fertile ground for the development of theories of Biologically-Inspired Desgin. As these theories develop in the context of biologically inspired design, we will include them here.
Interactive Design Systems
Using SBF as a framework for an interactive design system, our system will assist designers integrate biolgical design concepts. The direct benefits to the design community of such a system include faster time to design, integration of biologically inspired concpets into traditional design, and a wider range of design concept exploration resulting in more innovative and creative solutions.

Analogical Reasoning and Transfer in Complex Physical Systems

My research also includes the integration of models of complex physical systems from diagrams, created by Archytas, a system developed by Patrick Yaner into a case-based reasoning environment called IDeAL, created by Sambasiva Bhatta. The purpose of this research is to 1) validate these two systems by demonstrating their effectiveness as an integrated unit, and 2) gain an understanding of the information requirements necessary for analogous reasoning over diagramatic representations, especially across non-diagramtic domains. We anticipate producing results by August 2007.