USC Libraries

Shrouded since its completion last month, the Mosely Snowflake Fractal will be unveiled today, Thursday, September 20, at a reception and exhibition opening in USC's Doheny Memorial Library. RSVP online, or keep reading to learn more about today's event.

KCET's Artbound program has featured the USC Libraries' Mosely Snowflake Fractal in a new video about mathematical origami. Inspired by USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim's recent Artbound article about L.A.'s origami moment, the video shows the giant fractal model in its final stages of construction. It also showcases several items from the USC Libraries' collections that reveal artistic representations of fractal structures. The video and more information about the fractal appear after the jump.

In its August 2012 issue, Artvoices magazine profiles USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim. A science writer and curator, Wertheim directs the Institute for Figuring--"Los Angeles' most quizzical institution," the magazine declares. The institute recently opened a permanent exhibition space in Chinatown. Keep reading to learn about Wertheim and her work as Discovery Fellow.

Last week in Doheny Memorial Library, the Mosely Snowflake Fractal took physical form for perhaps the first time ever. Built by hundreds of USC students, faculty, and staff out of 49,000 folded business cards, the giant origami fractal measures six feet cubed and weighs more than 100 pounds. The USC Libraries will unveil the finished model in a reception on September 20 in Doheny Library's first-floor entrance pavilion. RSVP now, or keep reading to learn more about the collaborative community art project.

In a recent story on KCET's Artbound website, USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim wrote about a "rare constellation of origami projects" in Los Angeles that constitute the city's "origami moment." Among those projects, writes Wertheim, is the USC community's effort to construct the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a 3-D fractal model made out of 49,000 folded business cards. Keep reading to learn more about Wertheim's article and the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, which will be unveiled at a Thursday, September 20, reception in Doheny Memorial Library.

USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim recently explored the intersections of art and physics in a Wide Open School class at London's Hayward Gallery. In her class, titled Making Space, Wertheim introduced her students to the art of business card origami. Keep reading to learn more about her class and a related project at the USC Libraries, the Mosely Snowflake Sponge.

The USC Libraries have added 36 new electronic resources to support USC's teaching and research needs. Keep reading to learn more about the recently acquired e-resources, accessible to USC students, faculty, and staff through the E-Resources tab on the USC Libraries homepage.

Discover another side of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland this Wednesday, February 22 at 11:00 a.m., when the USC Academy for Polymathic Study and USC Libraries present "Wonderland and the Mathematical Imaginary." The multidisciplinary discussion--sponsored by Visions and Voices--features science writer and USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim, mathematics professor Francis Bonahon, and English professor Jim Kincaid. Keep reading to learn more about the event.

Earlier this week, USC students, staff, and faculty began constructing the Mosely Snowflake Sponge inside Doheny Memorial Library. MIT-trained engineer Jeannine Mosely was on hand to show the volunteers how to turn simple, folded business cards into cubes and then fashion the cubes into a unique three-dimensional fractal model. Photos from the instructional workshops appear after the jump.

The USC community will soon begin constructing the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a three-dimensional fractal object, out of 54,000 folded business cards. The USC Libraries need your help to make this unique mathematical form come into physical being for the first time in the world--and perhaps in the universe. Join us for one of the three 90-minute workshops listed below to learn how to create the building blocks of the Mosely Snowflake Sponge. Workshop dates, times, and locations appear after the jump.