Creativity for Engineers Prof. Tim Johnson Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA

Photography Anyone? The DeWitt Jones video, Everyday Creativity, seen earlier in this week was quite interesting. He’s a master working with light. I want to break out my camera again and take some of those extraordinary shots. What do you need? A camera and some film. Set an F-stop, maybe.

Photography made EASY What’s an F-stop? Maybe I should figure this out first. Maybe take a course. Anybody want to major in Photography? You’re at the wrong school. You need to be enrolled over at Mass Art. It’s across the street. However, if you’d like to design the camera DeWitt Jones uses, you’re at the right school.

Photography 101 DeWitt was using photography, his craft, to talk about releasing the creativity in everyday man. The principles he talked about apply to your career path. You can be just as creative as he. He looked at how he did his best work and then generalized the principles he followed. What were those principles? Anyone remember?

Nine Key Concept Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the…extraordinary. Every act can be a creative one. Creativity is a matter of perspective. There’s always more than one right answer.

Nine Key Concept (con’t) Reframe problems into opportunities Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Break the pattern. Train your technique. You’ve got to really care.

The Key Concept One concept that he kept mentioning over and over was that bit about Train your Technique. What that meant was he knew his equipment and it’s capabilities on an expert level. He with this knowledge, he could then push the envelop and release his creativity. He had the technology down pat. The equipment and his training became a tool, a paintbrush for his artistic efforts.

Photography limitations He was actually only as good as his equipment could allow him to be. Here at Wentworth, you could be the person designing the microchip that his camera used, or you could be designing the electromechanical components in the machine. or you could be designing the machine that makes the camera, or packages it, or you could be designing the environmental consideration of the camera film and/or recycling the chemicals used to develop the film.

The Reality of Design DeWitt Jones photos are only as good as the designer of his camera is creative. If the designer is not pushing the envelop in his designs, Jones’ creativity is limited. If camera design stopped with the Brownie Automatic…think any of those shots would have happened? When a great engineer meets with a great photographer, the extraordinary happens. The good engineer has to be a good photographer.

The Joy of Design When DeWitt Jones wants to take a shot in exceptionally low light, lower that his present camera can take, he communicates his need to the manufacturer. You, if you’re employed there, get to become the creative person and all those other concepts he listed suddenly apply. You get to change the perspective on low light. You get to reframe this problem into an opportunity (for your skills to shine).

The Joy of Design (con’t) You get the opportunity to make mistakes (it’s the mistake that teach you the correct path). You get to break the pattern (the pattern is the present way the device is made)…(and be called innovative). You get to show how much you really care (have you ever heard of overtime?). The photographer, duh, all he does is take some pictures of goats or trees. That’s easy. You’re the one that makes the camera ready to take the perfect shot every time.

In Conclusion Here at Wentworth, you’ll have 4 years to hone your knowledge of your craft. You’ll learn techniques and skills that are common to everyone in your chosen industry. You’ll get to learn the theory and mathematics that are the basis for the designs you’ll be creating. You can make a difference in the world.

And the Reality is… You don’t have to wait to apply these techniques, you have plenty of opportunity staring you in the face. You’re a college student. You’ve got readings to do, homework to complete, papers to prepare, classes to attend. Pretty mundane stuff and sometimes boring. Remember his 2 nd Key Concept: Every act can be a creative one. Make your college years…extraordinary. Enjoy!