Using Origami to Explore Nanotechnology

Engineers and artists at U‑M will receive nearly $2 million from the National Science Foundation for a four-year research campaign to find out whether the ancient art of origami could bring nanotechnology into the third dimension. The team of engineers and artists will explore whether folding methods can build better solar cells, data routers, and wireless antennas, among other applications. Yet their main objective is to uncover processes that lay the foundations for using origami and other paper-folding techniques to make nanoscale devices. In addition to the five engineering investigators on the project, Matt Shlian, a lecturer in the School of Art and Design, will play an integral role in helping the team tap into paper-folding methods.

http://​www​.ur​.umich​.edu/​u​p​d​a​t​e​/​a​r​c​h​i​v​e​s​/​1​2​0​8​2​3​/​o​r​igami