Joel Benjamin
Centerfolder: Hull uses origami to solve complex math problems.
Tom Hull spent two months devising an algorithm to build his masterwork: a 2-foot-tall origami ball made from 810 tiny pieces of folded paper. The actual construction required two weeks and proved that mathematics could take paper-folding to new heights. It also placed Hull at the forefront of the not-quite-burgeoning field of origami math.
Hull, who teaches calculus at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, uses origami to explore graph theory and combinatorics - work that others have applied to Internet optimization (crease lines equal fiber-optic cables) - and supercomputing (determining whether a series of folds can be turned into origami is as complex as factoring prime numbers).
All those paper cuts are starting to pay off: Origamists have been hired to model folding space telescopes and solar sails, and in January, Hull will run a two-day workshop at the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America. "Origami can tackle some pretty serious problems in the real world," Hull says. And then there's the next-generation drinking cup, which could fold up to ship and store flat. "It may not be as important an invention as the french fry, but we all need paper cups."
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