Professor Kara’s research develops new computational techniques and software to support product design and user interaction with design tools. His research interests include CAD/CAE, product design and styling, geometric modeling, shape analysis, design for additive manufacturing, user interfaces for design, pen computing and artificial intelligence. While founded in mechanical engineering, his research draws upon several related disciplines including computer graphics, machine learning and human-computer interaction.

One of Professor Kara’s recent research projects involves developing a sketch-based 3D geometric modeling tool. This work aims to help designers construct, modify, and fluidly interact with 3D geometry through a 2D sketch-based interface. The techniques enable a rapid creation and manipulation of 3D shapes, and are particularly effective for concept development and styling design. Other ongoing projects include shape abstraction, study of aesthetic product forms, design for additive manufacturing, free-form surface feature modeling, data-driven shape design and engineering design and analysis from image-based representations.