Traditional heuristic design methodologies can be augmented by computational tools that can decide how material must be distributed over a domain in space so that a well-formulated and mathematically well-posed design goal can be met. But conjuring up a workable design demands robust software tools and computational power. In a discussion moderated by Prof Anupam Saxena (IIT Kanpur), Profs G. K. Ananthasuresh and C.S Jog (IISc, Bangalore), V. S. Nagendra Reddy B (NIT Kurusksh