Think Differently: Understanding and Leveraging Creativity in an AI-Enabled World.
Friday, May 1, 2026
Building E52
50 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA
The MIT School of Engineering is honored to host the 2026 New England Regional Meeting of the National Academy of Engineering. This year’s theme, “Think Differently: Understanding and Leveraging Creativity in an AI-Enabled World,” examines how human creativity drives discovery and innovation in the age of artificial intelligence.
The full-day symposium will highlight the essential role of creative thinking and interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing society’s most pressing challenges — from health and climate to security and equity.
While today’s AI systems offer powerful tools, they still fall short of the transformative creativity that sparks true breakthroughs. This gap — the frontier where human ingenuity must reach beyond current limits — makes fostering new forms of creativity more urgent than ever.
The event’s sessions will include:
- Session 1: How the Brain Creates: Understanding and Modeling Creativity
- Session 2: Interdisciplinarity in Creative Problem Solving
- Session 3: Educating for Outside-the-Box Problem Solving
A full agenda, speaker list, and information about registration and logistics will be posted when available. An NAE-members-only meeting will be held in the morning prior to the symposium.
For any inquiries about the event, please contact Naglaa Elshamy at nelshamy@mit.edu.
Paula Hammond
Meeting Co-Chair
Markus Buehler
Meeting Co-Chair
Maria C. Yang
Host