Creativity is at the core of what architects do every day. Creativity is the fundamental tool necessary to envision environments, engender possibilities, and dream what can be. However, the creative process doesn’t belong only to architects and those in the design professions or in the arts: it is essential to scientists, engineers, and others who seek new answers. How is creativity perceived by these professionals? What can we learn from them? What can they learn from us? What exactly is the creative process and how can we command it? Dr. Nathan Huntoon, former director of the Innovation Gymnasium at SMU, will discuss these and other aspects of the creative process with a panel representing a cross-section of academic and applied research professions.
The Dallas Architecture Forum Panels are offered at no charge to both Forum members and to the general public as a public outreach of the Forum. Join us for a cold beverage and lively dialogue! The venue for this Panel, presented by the Dallas Architecture Forum, is 1909 Woodall Rogers Freeway, Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75201 (Dallas Center for Architecture offices). This free Dallas Architecture Forum Panel will be held at 6:30 pm, with an informal reception beginning at 6:15 pm. No reservations are needed to attend the Panel.
About the Moderator: Nathan Huntoon, Ph.D.
Nathan Huntoon loves engineering. He also loves science and design. He works on understanding how these three fields all function in our society and the unique role each of them plays in shaping a culture. All three of these fields require creative work, as well as data-driven analysis. The interaction between creativity and analysis is of particular fascination. Working as an engineer in industry, teaching engineering and design at a university and doing research on cutting-edge science has allowed Huntoon to observe many facets of creativity.
Dr. Huntoon has worked as an engineer for the U.S. Navy doing foreign military exploitation of surface-to-air-radar systems. He left the Navy to earn a Ph.D. at Southern Methodist University. While a graduate student he did research on integrated photonics, neurophotonic sensors and computational modeling of optical systems. Upon completion of his PhD, Huntoon founded and directed the SMU Innovation Gymnasium where he oversaw over 30 teams working on projects ranging from autonomous vehicles, to 4X8 foot touch screens, to low-cost composting latrines. For the past year he has worked at Frito-Lay North America in the Packaging Engineering Group. His primary responsibility is long-term technology strategy, and next-generation system design. Specifically, understanding how the next generation of robots, vision and computing will affect the consumer goods industry.
For more information on the Dallas Architecture Forum, or the Panel Discussion Series, visit www.dallasarchitectureforum.org or call 214-764-2406. Advance registration is not necessary to attend any of the Panels in the Panel Series.
Panel Season Sponsors are Balfour Beatty Construction, John Eagle Dealerships, HOSSLEY Lighting Associates, Purdy McGuire, Inc., Cindy + Armond Schwartz, Talley Associates and WDG Architects.