Folding for Fun and Function

Origami paper-folding may not seem like a subject for mathematical
investigation or one with sophisticated applications, yet anyone
who has tried to fold a road map or wrap a present knows that
origami is no trivial matter. Mathematicians, computer scientists,
and engineers have recently discovered that this centuries-old
subject can be used to solve many modern problems.The methods of
origami are now used to fold objects such as automobile air bags
and huge space telescopes efficiently, and may be related to how
proteins fold. Manufacturers often want to make a product out of a
single piece of material. The manufacturing problem then becomes
one of deciding whether a shape can be folded and if so, is there
an efficient way to find a good fold? Thus, many origami research
problems have to do with algorithm complexity and optimization
theory. A testament to the diversity of origami, as well as the
power of mathematics, is its applicability to problems at the
molecular level, in manufacturing, and in outer space. For More
Information: http://db.uwaterloo.ca/~eddemain/papers/MapFolding/