Terry Knight is professor of Design and computation and Vice-Dean at the MIT - School of Architecture and Planning. She conducts research and teaches in the area of design and computation.

Since the early 1980s, her work has focused on the theory and application of shape grammars. Her 1994 book, Transformations in Design, is the best known introduction to the field of shape grammars. Her current work focuses on the use of shape grammars and other computational systems for design exploration. She is examining characteristics of computational systems--for example, their expressive power, predictability, representational constraints, and emergent properties--and the consequences of these for design.

During our interview she defines computation as a tool for helping designers and as a tool for pedagogy and education. She also explains how remote collaborative environments change the teaching and learning process, and how this has a direct influence on the creativity process by helping students to understand their creativity.

Federico Casalegno, May 2003