Robert Bosch

Professor of Mathematics/Artist
Oberlin College
Oberlin, Ohio, USA

The mathematician in me is fascinated by the various roles that constraints play in optimization problems: sometimes they make them much harder to solve; other times, much easier. And the artist in me is fascinated by the roles that constraints play in art. All artists must deal with constraints, and many artists choose to impose constraints upon themselves

Touroborean Path
Touroborean Path
11 x 11 x 3 cm
3D printed nylon plastic
2019

A Szpakowski-esque 3D printed touroborean path (a Hamiltonian path on a torus that's eating itself).

The Big Szpakowski
The Big Szpakowski
20 x 20 x 8 cm
3D printed nylon plastic
2018

A non-self-intersecting Hamiltonian cycle on a self-intersecting Möbius strip that makes five one-quarter twists the first time it goes around its axis, and then another five one-quarter twists the second time. The design is based on a modification of Waclaw Szpakowski's linear idea A9 (circa 1924).