2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Ideation Equation: Examining how mechanical engineering and industrial design capstone students generate ideas

Presented at Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) - Foundations of Design Theory

This paper presents findings from a pedagogical experiment using the Ideation Equation, a short, in-class activity designed to surface patterns in early-stage idea generation. Conducted with senior capstone students in mechanical engineering (n=57) and industrial design (n=16), the activity prompted rapid sketch-based responses to a visual equation. Each student's output was analyzed for quantity, uniqueness, and derived metrics such as ideation breadth, depth, and impact. Results indicate that while industrial design students generated more unique and varied ideas on average, several engineering students demonstrated high ideation capacity, challenging assumptions about disciplinary creativity. Distinct strategies were also observed: engineering students often iterated within idea types, while design students explored a broader solution space. This work contributes to ongoing efforts to support creativity across STEM and design education by offering a lightweight, embedded method to compare ideation behaviors across disciplines and to make visible the cognitive diversity present within and between student cohorts.

Authors

Prof. William Nickley http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6120-9164 The Ohio State University [biography]

William Nickley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at The Ohio State University, where he teaches in the industrial design major and researches social design practice. His work explores co-design with LGBTQIA+ youth, design-based making in out-of-school settings, and person-centered design frameworks. Prior to academia, he worked for eight years across design consultancy, in-house, and nonprofit sectors. A founding board member of Local Tech Heroes and faculty advisor to OSU’s Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) chapter, he serves on IDSA’s Education Council and received the IDSA Young Educator Award in 2024.
Prof. Dan Wisniewski The Ohio State University [biography]

Dan Wisniewski is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Professor Wisniewski earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University and his MS in Product Design Engineering from Ohio State University. HE teaches product design capstone courses for mechanical engineering students, a machining course, and a CAD/CAM course.

After graduation, he worked in industry for 11 years at Priority Designs working on consumer goods, sporting equipment, lawn care equipment, medical devices, UI/UX development and marketing. In that time, Wisniewski was able to work with industry leaders like Nike, TaylorMade and Scotts. He returned to Ohio State because he missed teaching students. From his experience in his teaching assistant days, Wisniewski had the itch to get back in the classroom and help the next generation of engineers. His teaching goal are to give engineers a better understanding of manufacturing, visual communication skills, entrepreneurial endeavors and how to bring their ideas to life.
Prof. Annie Abell The Ohio State University [biography]

Annie Abell is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State University. She holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Design Research & Development, and teaches product design courses to students in OSU’s College of Engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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