Principal Investigator
Dr. Sonal Keshwani is the Founder and Principal Investigator of the Design Research and Human Factors Lab (DREAMRS Lab), Department of Human-Centered Design, IIIT-Delhi. She holds a Ph.D. and an MSc in Design from IDeaS Lab, Department of Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (2018), and a B.Tech in Production Engineering from G.B. Pant University, Pantnagar (2008). Dr. Keshwani serves on the review boards of several leading publications, including the Journal of Engineering Design (Taylor and Francis), Research in Engineering Design (Springer), and the ASME IDETC conference. Her research has been published in five international peer-reviewed SCI journals. She was also a guest researcher at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, where she received the prestigious JASSO scholarship.
In addition to her research, Dr. Keshwani has fostered international collaborations with institutions such as the Technical University of Denmark, Politecnico di Milano, and Ariel University. She was a founding member of the School of Design and Digital Transmedia at Dayananda Sagar University (DSU), Bangalore, where she served from 2021 to 2023. Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Keshwani gained industry experience working with Tata Motors Ltd. from 2008 to 2011.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department of Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (2011–2018)
Thesis: Supporting Designers in Generating Novel Ideas at the Conceptual Stage using Analogies from the Biological Domain
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.)
Production Engineering, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar
Academic Experience
Full-Time Visiting Faculty
Department of Human-Centered Design, IIIT Delhi (July 2023 – Present)
Founding Member and Assistant Professor
School of Design and Digital Transmedia, Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru (Sep 2021 – July 2023)
Guest Researcher
Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan (May 2018 – July 2018)
Awards and Recognition
- Recipient of JASSO Scholarship (2018)
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Certificate of Merit for the following papers:
- Keshwani S, and Chakrabarti A (2017): Towards automatic classification of description of analogies into SAPPhIRE constructs. In: Proceedings of 6th International Conference on Research in Design, Guwahati, India, 9-11 January.
- Keshwani S, Lenau TA, Ahmed-Kristensen S, Chakrabarti A (2013): Benchmarking bio-inspired designs with brainstorming in terms of novelty of design outcomes. In: Proceedings of 19th International Conference on Engineering Design, Seoul, Korea, 19-22 August.
- GATE All India Rank 33 (2008, Production and Industrial Engineering)