Research to track innovation

A National Science Foundation grant of nearly $400,000 will allow two Pitt professors to… A National Science Foundation grant of nearly $400,000 will allow two Pitt professors to continue research that hopes to probe into the minds of engineering students to determine the factors that foster innovation.

Pitt’s associate professor of psychology Christian Schunn and industrial engineering professor Mike Lovell will use the grant, which was awarded to them on Jan. 1, to continue analysis of students in the Swanson School of Engineering’s product realization class.

“Our larger motivation has to do with all of these reports that have been coming out that the U.S. is basically going to be screwed because there are not enough engineers being produced and Asia is producing them all,” Schunn said.

“It used to be that they would have the factories there and the design work would be done here. Now, most companies make most of their money on new products, and if U.S. companies aren’t generating new products, we won’t be doing very well.”

The class that the study follows allows student teams to develop their own product ideas.

“The question we want to answer is: Why do some teams succeed and why do some teams not?” said Schunn.

The two researchers have set up study rooms, equipped with a meeting table, a SMART Board, a computer with modern software and a refrigerator. Students who participate are paid $200 and agree to work only in their assigned room, where they are constantly videotaped.

Schunn and Lovell then review the tapes, looking for factors that lead to or hinder success.

“I’m really interested in the kinds of tools they use,” Schunn said.

“There are some suggestions that making a physical prototype too early can hinder innovation.”

But Schunn said it is too soon to jump to conclusions.

The team will research for of two years and observe a total of 60 teams.