Art

One of my primary research areas is generating Gray codes and universal cycles for combinatorial objects other than binary strings. For example, the well-known plain change order is an adjacent-transposition Gray code for permutations. This work is often best understood through visualizations and several of my art pieces are shown below.

Rectangulation Family Tree

Illustrates a Gray code for diagonal rectangulations obtained by reversing every other branch of their family tree. The corresponding order of Baxter permutations generalizes the plain change order of permutations from the 1600s. Created using tape during the TAPE ART CONVENTION 2018 at Neurotitan Galerie in Berlin with Liz Hartung. Research with Liz Hartung and Torsten Mütze.

Permutations in Blue

Illustrating the cool-lex order of permutations (SODA 09) on n-sets for n = 2,3,4,5. Created using hand-coded PostScript images printed on transparencies overlaid on circular canvases with research notes.

Exhibited at theMake. Purchased by Jeff Vasey.

Periodicity in Universal Cycles

A universal cycle for the permutations {1,2,3,4} with an extruded periodic symbol. Finger paint on rectangular canvases with chalkboard fabric and chalk. In this case the art piece inspired the research (instead of vice versa). A presentation from CanaDAM 2007 can be found here. Additional research and follow-up papers with Frank Ruskey and Alexander Holroyd.

Exhibited at Look 2007 by Victoria Arts Council.

Co-lex vs Cool-lex

Binary strings with four copies of 0 and four copies of 1 listed in two different orders. A standard co-lexicographic order from 11110000 to 00001111 appears on the left and the cool-lex Gray code appears on the right. On top of these orders is a wheel diagram that can be read radially from 3 o'clock in counter-clockwise order. This figure helped us understand the similarities of the two orders as formally define the recursive structure of cool-lex order. Research with Frank Ruskey.

Included in TheFeast ISBN 0-978066-30-8.