Folding and Unfolding: Making Contemporary Research in Computational Geometry Accessible to a Broad Spectrum of Students

Smith College, Northampton MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project builds on the PI's research in computational geometry, a branch of computer science with deep mathematical roots and ties to many applications areas, including computer graphics, robotics, and manufacturing. The PI's recent research on folding and unfolding, is a topic brimming with easily comprehended unsolved mathematical problems, and with connections to protein folding, to manufacturing by sheet metal bending, and to a host of other application areas. This project aims to incorporate the latest research in this developing area into educational levels from grade school through graduate school and industrial research: origami constructions in grade school, creating folding toys in middle school, a two-week summer high school course, a new interdisciplinary college course, "Folding and Unfolding in Engineering" touching on topics from design of the Space Shuttle robotic arms to automotive air bag unfurling, an academic monograph readable at several levels, and software addressing industrial needs. The goal of the project is to communicate the depth of frontier research, the joy of exploring it and its practical usefulness, to all these different constituencies, capitalizing on the rare accessibility of the research.