The Science of Innovation: Tools and Methods

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Innovation and creativity have been the focus of intensive study across a variety of scientific disciplines, including Psychology, Engineering, Computer Science, and Business. This work has revealed a number of key aspects about the way people formulate a problem, search for potential analogies, and evaluate possible. The knowledge gained by this research is potentially useful because most people in the workforce do not know enough about their own thought processes to spur themselves to be creative. Research on innovation and creativity may lead to methods and techniques that promote repeatable innovation in the the lab and the workplace. The National Science Foundation is supporting a multidisciplinary workshop hosted by the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas to explore the development of tools for innovation. This workshop will bring together cognitive scientists, engineers, computer scientists, business researchers, and members of the business community to propose specific tools that could be used in innovation settings. These proposals are intended not only as workable methods of supporting the processes of innovation in the lab and the workplace, but also as the basis of discussion for new research questions that will extend our knowledge of the creative process. Support of this workshop will enable students and junior investigators to participate in the earliest stages of new collaborations among researchers from different disciplines who share a common interest in innovation and creativity.