Engineering Design and Creativity · PhD, University of Cambridge

Esdras Paravizo, PhD

I research the intersection of engineering design, creativity, and education — exploring how people learn to design, how games and simulations can support that learning, and how designers navigate and communicate the space of possible solutions.

Photo

Projects

BGI4.0 project
BGI4.0 — Industry 4.0 Board Game
As part of a 4-year Brazilian-German collaboration the Industry 4.0 Board Game was developed to challenge players to transition their companies towards advanced manufacturing paradigm. Freely available to download and play online.
Gamification Industry 4.0 Serious Games
VE EHF project
Game Engine Simulation for Ergonomics & Design
Research into using commercial game engines as simulation environments for ergonomics analysis, workplace design, and engineering education. Awarded a grant from Epic Games to pursue part of this research.
Ergonomics & Design Simulation Game Engine
COVID project
COVID Relief Network
Participated in the prototyping and manufacturing of personal protective equipment during Brazil's COVID-19 pandemic response. The initiative scaled by coordinating with industries, donors, and public institutions, delivering over 17,000 face-shields across 70+ cities in São Paulo state.
Prototyping 3D Printing Product Design
EDGE project
EDGE — Knowledge Transfer in Offshore Industry
Investigated how knowledge flows from operational offshore rigs back to design and planning phases. Conducted at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) with Prof. Ole Broberg. Published in the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics.
Knowledge Transfer Offshore Industry Ergonomics
Facilities Planning & Design
Facilities Planning & Design
University-industry collaborative projects during academic studies, including factory design with Leao AB and Ventidelta, and ergonomics and workspace design with Embraer and Gerdau. Work involved on-site data collection, design of alternative layouts, simulations of proposals and training delivery.
Facilities Design Ergonomics Simulation

Teaching & Supervision

2023–2026
Cambridge Advance Online, University of Cambridge, UK
Lead Tutor · Creativity, Problem Solving and Design Thinking
  • Responsible for the learning journey of over 40 students across three six-week course runs.
  • Provided tailored feedback on student activities and supervised project development.
  • Facilitated online live sessions and group discussions using digital whiteboards (Miro).
4.74/5 student evaluation, across all course runs
2025–2026
Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil
Co-supervisor of Undergraduate and Master's Students · Dept. of Industrial Engineering
  • Co-supervised undergraduate student thesis on gamification in Industrial Engineering education with Dr Renato Luvizoto.
  • Co-supervising master's student dissertation on Ergonomics and Work Design education in Engineeing courses with Dr Daniel Braatz.
2024–2025
University of Waterloo, Canada
Co-supervisor of Undergraduate Research Assistants · Dept. of Management Science and Engineering
  • Co-supervised three students' projects on the use of Large Language Models for creating design spaces, with Dr Ada Hurst.
  • Provided day-to-day guidance and support on research topics and tasks.
  • Hosted weekly meetings to discuss project evolution and next steps.
2022–2025
University of Cambridge, UK
Demonstrator · IA Design Challenge, IA Engineering Drawing, IA Product Design, IA Lego and System Design, Engineering Thinking · Dept. of Engineering
  • Provided project mentoring to student teams tackling the Engineering for People Design Challenge.
  • Guided students' projects for the IA Lego course, providing coding and design support.
  • Helped students progress through coursework, clarifying lecture and workbook content.
  • Marked student work (drawing workbooks, project posters and videos) and provided detailed feedback.
2018, 2021
Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
Teaching Assistant · Occupational Health Engineering and Ergonomics · Dept. of Industrial Engineering
  • Provided theoretical and technical support to students working on ergonomics and work design projects.
  • Guided teams through industry project scoping and time management.
  • Oversaw use of CAD software, discrete event simulation, digital human modelling, and game engines.
2013, 2018
Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
Teacher · Computer-Aided Design for Engineering; Microsoft Excel for Engineers · Dept. of Industrial Engineering
  • Planned and developed course materials for professional courses on CAD and Excel in engineering.
  • Delivered lectures, supported student learning throughout the semester, and marked student work.

Selected Publications

For the full list of publications see the Google Scholar page ↗

All Journal Conference Thesis
2026
Evaluation of LLM-powered analysis of visual design artifacts to support design space representations
Design Computing and Cognition (DCC'26) — E Paravizo, S Turhan, M Perera, M Turetska, A Hurst, N Crilly
Conference In press
2025
PhD Thesis, University of Cambridge — E Paravizo (supervisor: N Crilly)
Thesis
2025
International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation — E Paravizo, N Crilly
Journal 1 citation
2024
Proceedings of the Design Society — E Paravizo, N Crilly
Conference 6 citations
2024
Design Computing and Cognition (DCC'24) — E Paravizo, N Crilly
Conference 1 citation
2022
Design Computing and Cognition — E Paravizo, N Crilly
Conference 7 citations
2021
Congress of the International Ergonomics Association — E Paravizo et al.
Conference 3 citations
2019
2019
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics — CS da Conceicao, O Broberg, E Paravizo, AR Jensen
Journal 11 citations
2018
Procedia Manufacturing — E Paravizo, OC Chaim, D Braatz, B Muschard, H Rozenfeld
Journal 166 citations