CREATIVE RESEARCH: ME Ph.D. candidate Jonathan Hey is studying how to improve the creative process in engineering and design. By focusing on tweaking the thinking process as well as the product, Hey thinks many more innovations can result.

ME Ph.D. plumbs connection between creativity and engineering

Engineers like to measure everything. But first-year ME Ph.D. Jonathan Hey has a tough job. How do you scientifically measure creativity?

The British native is attempting to answer that question in the context of engineering and design. He is studying an aspect of product design that most engineers avoid, the creative process. Before coming to Berkeley, Hey worked on solving product problems for companies. As a professional problem solver, he has experience in diverse areas from sugar companies and sports equipment to automobiles.

In his research, Hey came across a theory called TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, that promotes the active use of contradictions to help solve the most stubborn problems.

“Successful people are the most comfortable with contradictions within their work, within the problems they’re solving, and even in their personalities,” he says.

According to Hey, good design takes more than just intelligence. Without creativity, systems reach natural limits and would be unable to evolve and progress. Because creativity spurs progress, Hey is trying to unravel the fuzziness that surrounds it.

“When I understand the contradictions in a problem it makes me look at it differently. I don't see it as a problem anymore, but as an opportunity,” he adds.

While the fields of psychology and sociology have long studied creativity, the topic has been largely sidestepped within the framework of engineering. Hey wants to identify the links between creativity, effective engineering, and successful people. He has found that a good way to measure creativity in groups and individuals is to try to gauge how comfortable they are with contradiction.

An example of such a contradiction is a design conflict that engineers often face. In the design of a table, a contradiction exists between making a table that is light yet also strong. Typically if a table is light, it must sacrifice strength and vice versa. The most creative designers don’t accept this trade-off and will find a means to get both properties at once: a table that is both strong and light.

Hey is conducting his research by studying design teams and assessing their group and individual performances.

He would like to apply what he is studying by improving the immediate working environment at Berkeley to produce one that is more creative and interactive.

His chosen research, says Hey, isn’t about getting a better job or “working at Microsoft.”

“I have a genuine passion for this research and I’m certain the implications of this work will exceed the boundaries of this field.” says Hey.

To learn more e-mail Jonathan Hey at jhey03@me.berkeley.edu

College of Engineering Home Page

Send comments to editnews@coe.berkeley.edu   © 2003 UC Regents