Erik Demaine

Erik Demaine is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), affiliated with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Theory of Computation (TOC) group. His roles combine computer scientist, mathematician, and artist. He holds appointments at MIT’s School of Engineering and is known for interdisciplinary work bridging computational geometry, algorithms, and art.

Research Interests: Demaine focuses on algorithms, discrete and computational geometry (including folding and origami), data structures, complexity theory, combinatorics, computational biology (protein folding), and network computing. His work also explores computational archaeology and intersects with artistic mediums like sculpture and glassblowing.

Awards: He received the MacArthur Fellowship for his contributions to computational geometry and folding theory. His favorite award humorously cites the 'Tetris Master' title, though it is not a formal scientific honor.

Collaborations: He frequently collaborates with his father Martin Demaine on artistic projects, such as curved-crease sculptures in MoMA’s permanent collection and films like Lino Tagliapietra: Glass Magician. His research emphasizes 'supercollaboration' and is documented in his extensive CV available online.