Catrinel Tromp
Dr. Catrinel Tromp is a Romanian-born cognitive psychologist and Professor at Rider University who earned her PhD from Princeton University. She uniquely bridges rigorous academia with practical business experience gained at a Manhattan hedge fund and a recruiting firm. Her groundbreaking research fundamentally challenges the "blank canvas" myth of creativity, establishing that constraints facilitate rather than inhibit innovative outcomes.
She created the "Green Eggs and Ham Hypothesis" and the IConIC (Integrated Constraints in Creativity) model, identifying "faux-fixed" constraints—deep-seated assumptions that appear permanent but are actually changeable. Her recent work includes the "Mr. Plumbean Approach" and the Model of Creative Aging (MOCA), co-developed with Vlad Glăveanu. An abstract painter, her insights have been featured by the BBC, The New York Times, and CNN.