Mr. Carpenter first became interested in polyhedra over 25 years ago, through an undergraduate course at his Alma Mater, the College of William and Mary. In an online blog, Mr. Carpenter has photographs and descriptions of hundreds of polyhedra.; he has invented many which are novel to Geometry and Materials Science.
Although Mr. Carpenter has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, he has found that it fuels his ability. He states, “There is something about being Bipolar and being creative. They seem to be intertwined. I attribute my creativity to this illness in part because I was not so until my illness began to manifest.”
“As an artist, and having both painted and sculpted, I have to say that Geometry is by far the most creative activity I have ever engaged in! Though I am an artist at heart, I have decided to reinvent myself as a nano-designer. It better reflects my current interests. Many artists are inspired by science, and I am too. But I also want to invert that relationship, and inspire scientists with art.”
Mr. Carpenter’s goal in attending the conference is to meet other like-minded individuals, including chemists and nano-scientists. His hope is that one day his structures will be synthesized into molecules, which may be used in the fields of medicine and industry.
The Bridges Conference runs from July 29th through August 1st, at the University of Baltimore, in Baltimore, Maryland. Friends of Mr. Carpenter have set up fund-raising efforts to help with travel related expenses.
For more information and a video, please go to: bit.ly/Berts_Quest (case sensitive), or search Kickstarter.com for Bert’s Quest.
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