Structural Origami and Art-Science Collaboration

Abstract: Origami, the traditional art of folding, is now receiving scientific attention as the source of inspiration for mechanical design. The speaker talks about the geometry behind the art of origami that may lead to structural innovations. The talk covers origamizer, rigid origami, curved folding, cellular materials, and recent fun collaboration projects between art, science, engineering, and design.

Bio: Tomohiro Tachi is a professor in Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo. He studied architecture and received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. His research interests include origami, structural morphology, computational design, and fabrication. He has been designing origami since 2002 and keeps exploring three-dimensional and kinematic forms through computation. He developed origami software tools, including "rigid origami simulator," "origamizer," and "freeform origami," which are available from his website. He is involved in STEAM education at the University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences.

Seminars are held on select Wednesdays from 12:00 noon-1pm, Eastern/New York time.

A light lunch is provided at 11:30 a.m. in the Bowen Hall Atrium immediately prior to the seminar.