Research Spotlight On: SfNC2024 Keynote Speakers Upali Nanda & Kosa Goucher-Lambert

In our first installment of Creative Currents for 2024, we’d like to shine a spotlight on SfNC2024 keynote speakers Upali Nanda, PhD and Kosa Goucher-Lambert, PhD. Dr. Nanda and Dr. Goucher-Lambert are renowned experts on the application of research on human cognition and well-being to the enhancement of creativity and innovation in design. We’re so excited to hear about their research and perspectives on the intersection of design, creativity, and cognitive neuroscience in Toronto in April. We hope to see you there!

To learn more about their careers and research, check out the research spotlight below!

 Dr. Upali Nanda is EVP and Global Sector Director for Innovation at HKS, an international architectural firm where she oversees a range of innovation practices that work within, through and beyond the built environment for meaningful impact. Prior to her current role she served as the global research director for the firm and as the Executive Director for the non-profit Center for Advanced Design Research and Education. Dr. Nanda teaches as Associate Professor of Practice at the Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning at University of Michigan and serves on the board of the Academy for Neuroscience for Architecture. She received her Bachelor's degree in Architecture from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, M.A. from National University of Singapore, and PhD in Architecture from Texas A&M University.

Dr. Nanda led the research arm of HKS from 2013- 2023 to bring neuroevidence-based and culturally responsive approaches to building environments that support innovation, creative thinking, and brain health on an international scale. In addition to her book, Sensthetics: A Crossmodal Approach to Designing for the Senses, Dr. Nanda has published her work on designing sensory environments that support brain health and creative thinking extensively in peer-reviewed journals. In particular, her recent work has investigated the contributions of enriched environments to promoting creativity and brain health in an aging population. She has also examined the power of bringing art into healthcare spaces (particularly in the context of patient anxiety and waiting room behaviors) and creating “cocoon” spaces for individuals with sensory processing needs in otherwise-chaotic environments.

Dr. Nanda’s research has been awarded the AIA Upjohn Grant, European Healthcare Design Research Award, and Journal of Interior Design Scholarship Excellence award. Recently, Dr. Nanda was recognized with Architectural Record’s 2018 Women in Architecture Innovator Award and in a 2021 book of “The Women Who Changed Architecture” for her research on designing spaces that promote healthy behaviors. 

Kosa Goucher-Lambert is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and affiliated faculty with the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation at UC Berkeley. Dr. Goucher-Lambert is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2019 Excellence in Design Science Award, and several best paper awards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Design Society.

At UC Berkeley, he directs the Cognition and Computation in Design (Co-Design) Lab, whose goals include developing theories of design processes, models predicting user responses to designs, and tools to enhance designer capabilities through human-computer synthesis. The lab’s research includes human-subject studies, neuroimaging, computational modeling, interactive prototype development, and in-situ studies of student and professional designers.

Much of Dr. Goucher-Lambert’s research has examined the psychological and neurocognitive factors that influence the generation of design concepts and design performance, such as how different types of inspirational stimuli impact design processes and the creativity of generated ideas. He has examined the brain's response to these stimuli and how the semantic and spatial characteristics of such stimuli influence downstream thought processes and design outcomes. Dr. Goucher-Lambert and his colleagues have also investigated the impact of “adaptive inspiration” on design outcomes, whereby design inspiration stimuli (e.g. analogies, patents) are presented adaptively based on ongoing thought content and output of the designer. Recently these methods have been expanded to more dynamic interaction modalities, including 3D modeling.

His work has also included investigating the neural correlates of active design thinking, including modeling state transitions in the brain during creative thought that may represent cognitive shifts in the concept generation process. Additionally, his lab explores how humans and artificial systems differ in how they approach design, including how they generate design concepts and represent and judge the similarity of design objects, as well as the psychological and functional factors that influence how humans utilize AI systems during design.

Embracing Breaks and Sleep for a Creative Boost

As excited as we are about the work we’re doing, we also want to practice what we preach! Significant research in psychology and neuroscience have demonstrated that rest and sleep are not only critical for brain function, but also creativity.

The Critical Role of Sleep in Creativity

Sleep is not only vital to our overall cognitive function, but also for creativity. Getting enough sleep is critical for replenishing our attentional resources and the consolidation and flexible reorganization of memories. In particular, researchers argue that creativity thought is enabled by the interplay between REM and non-REM stages of sleep, which together support the formation and restructuring of complex knowledge frameworks (Lewis, Knoblich, & Poe, 2018). Many studies have shown that people’s ability to solve complex, creative problems is enhanced by sleep (even a nap!) The holiday season offers an ideal time to catch up on sleep, allowing the brain to process and weave together creative ideas.

Letting go, and Letting the Mind Wander Intentionally

A study by the University of Illinois (Lleras, 2011) found that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one's ability to focus on that task for prolonged periods. During breaks, our brain continues to process and connect complex ideas. Periods of rest following creative effort, or creative incubation, have long been thought to be a critical component of the creative process, during which defocused attention and/or engaging in unrelated tasks appear facilitate creative idea generation (Sio & Ormerod, 2009). Indeed, letting one’s mind wander can be very cognitively beneficial for creativity, particularly during the incubation period (Baird et al., 2012). In a study of creative writers and scientists, participants reported that many of their best creative ideas occurred to them when their minds were wandering while engaged in another task (Gable et al., 2019).

Importantly, not all mind wandering may be equally beneficial for creativity. Research suggests that when we’re burnt out and our capacity for cognitive control is depleted, our minds are more likely to wander unintentionally, which harms our productivity. On the other hand, intentional mind wandering, especially while doing a moderately engaging task such as walking, cooking, or socializing, appears to be helpful for improving creativity (Irving et al., 2022).