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.

More than 50 students from the James A. Foshay Learning Center—part of the USC Family of Schools—visited Doheny Memorial Library on Friday, July 20, to help construct the Mosely Snowflake Sponge. With Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim on hand to provide guidance, the students folded business cards, assembled them into cubes, and then constructed nearly a dozen modules out of the cubes. Those modules will soon become part of the 3-D fractal model that, with the help of the USC community, is quickly nearing completion. Keep reading to learn more about this project and for photos from the students' visit.

Last week, volunteers completed the fourth of six constituent towers that will soon be assembled into the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a 3-D fractal model made out of 49,000 folded business cards. Dozens of USC students, faculty, staff, and other volunteers have contributed to the project, folding cards, constructing cubes, and assembling larger modules. To learn how you can help, or to keep track of future construction sessions, visit the project page at www.usc.edu/libraries/sponge or follow the project on Facebook.

On Tuesday, April 10, USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim will join University Professor Kevin Starr in a conversation about how she has explored different ways to comprehend the universe through her career as a science communicator. Titled Understanding the Universe, the event is hosted by the USC Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study and begins at 12:00 noon in DML 241. Keep reading to learn more about Wertheim and the event.

Stop by Doheny Library's Ground Floor Rotunda anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. this Wednesday, March 7 and Thursday, March 8 to help construct the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a 3-D fractal object made from 54,000 business cards. MIT-trained engineer Jeannine Mosely and USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim will be on hand as we assemble the model's basic building blocks into X modules, Y modules (pictured above), and other structures of increasing complexity. For those new to the project, we will offer special instructional workshops each day from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

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.