UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Rebecca Strzelec, Penn State laureate and professor of visual arts at Penn State Altoona, will present “Art + Engineering = Creative Problem Solving” at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, on Penn State's University Park campus. The event is free and open to the campus and local community.
A Penn State faculty member since 2002, Strzelec has been using 3D printing technologies in her work since 1999 and will address 3D printing’s trajectory as well as the significant and meaningful advances in many fields, including health care, safety, architecture, and art and design. Strzelec’s presentation will also include her experiences as a co-principal investigator on a four-year, $2 million National Science Foundation grant focusing on multi-field responsive origami structures.
Strzelec’s work focuses on investigating the ways wearable objects interact with surfaces of the body and includes the creation of these wearable objects through computer-aided design and 3D printing. She regularly contributes to conversations about contemporary artistic materials and methods.
Originally trained as a traditional bench jeweler who converted to an entirely digital studio practice, her work has appeared in more than 65 exhibitions and can also be found in permanent collections at such institutions as the Museum of Arts and Design, Racine Art Museum, and the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts, as well as in private collections, such as that held by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Strzelec spoke at the Penn State Forum at University Park in February and is visiting campuses and communities throughout the spring. The Penn State laureate is an honorary position held by a full-time faculty member in the humanities or arts who shares an enhanced level of social, cultural, artistic and human perspective and awareness to a broad array of audiences for one academic year.
For more information on this event, or for questions about accommodations or the physical access provided, contact Jeff Knapp, Larry and Ellen Foster Communications Librarian, at 814-863-2480 or jak47@psu.edu in advance of the presentation.