SUNY Stony Brook

This is the university at which George Hart was a professor (he just recently retired). Here he did interdisciplinary research inspired by da Vinci’s work with polyhedra. Hart also collaborated with Craig Kaplan and Douglas Zongker, both from the University of Washington in Seattle. Along with creating hybrid polyhedra for research, Hart also created sculptures of polyhedra, one of such sculptures was on display in the computer science building at University of California, Berkeley.

 

Peterson, Ivars. “Polyhedron Man.” Science News, vol. 160, no. 25/26, 2001, pp. 396–398., doi:10.2307/4012851.

Parent Map

da Vinci and the Renaissance Map

Coordinates

Latitude: 40.925653800000
Longitude: -73.140942900000

Timeline of Events Associated with SUNY Stony Brook

Date Event Manage
1970 to 2001

da Vinci inspires modern works in mathematics and art

Although da Vinci’s geometric sketches did not cause radical changes in mathematics, modern mathematicians and artists alike take inspiration from his geometric figures and interest in the transformation of shapes. George Hart is a professor recently retired from SUNY Stony Brook whose research was heavily inspired by da Vinci’s polyhedra sketches; by integrating the fields of math, computer science, and art he developed a computer program that synthesized new hybrid polyhedra. Likewise, several artists have been inspired by da Vinci’s thoughts on the transition of shapes. For example, sculptor Charles Perry created structures that depict abstract shapes underdoing transformation.

Sources

Shearer, Rhonda Roland. “Chaos Theory and Fractal Geometry: Their Potential Impact on the Future of Art.” Leonardo, vol. 25, no. 2, 1992, pp. 143–152., doi:10.2307/1575702.

Perry, Charles O. “On the Edge of Science: The Role of the Artists Intuition in Science.” Leonardo, vol. 25, no. 3/4, 1992, pp. 249–252., doi:10.2307/1575845.

Peterson, Ivars. “Polyhedron Man.” Science News, vol. 160, no. 25/26, 2001, pp. 396–398., doi:10.2307/4012851.

The image is taken from the following article "Polyhedron Man" that is listed above.

 A hybrid polyhedron