Candidate talk: Director of Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development on March 21

Thomas B. Ward, professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, is a candidate for the director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development position and the E. Paul Torrance Endowed Professor.

Ward’s talk is at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 21 in Aderhold Hall Room G5. It is titled Creativity in Real and Virtual Worlds.

About the candidate:
Thomas B. Ward received his PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has conducted externally funded research and published extensively on the nature of concepts, including how they are acquired, structured, combined, and used in creative and noncreative endeavors. He also served as editor of the Journal of Creative Behavior from 1999 to 2013 and as executive officer of the Cognitive Science Society from 2003-2009, and recently was awarded the Rudolf Arnheim Award from APA Division 10 for Outstanding Achievement in Creativity and Aesthetics. Dr. Ward has studied the ways in which people apply existing knowledge to new situations, including tasks as diverse as imagining life on other planets and designing practical products. His most recent line of research examines creativity and problem solving in virtual environments.