Ashok conducts research into human-centered computing, artificial intelligence and cognitive science, with a focus on computational design, discovery, and creativity. The goals of his research are to understand human creativity in conceptual design of complex systems as well as scientific problem solving, to develop interactive tools for aiding people in such creative tasks, and to invent computational systems that are themselves creative. His research explores analogical thinking, systems thinking, visual thinking, and meta-thinking as fundamental processes of design, discovery and creativity. His current projects investigate analogical thinking and systems thinking in biologically inspired engineering design, visual thinking on intelligence tests, and meta-thinking in game-playing agents. Related project focuse on systems thinking and meta-thinking in learning about ecological systems, and analogical thinking and systems thinking in learning about biologically inspired design.