Complex pasta shapes inspire mathematical studies

New York Times : An essential part of an authentic Italian meal, pasta comes in a variety of shapes that are both decorative and utilitarian: The shape of the pasta complements the sauce it is paired with. Recently, the various complex shapes that pasta can take have inspired people to ponder the mathematics involved, writes Kenneth Chang for the New York Times. Sander Huisman, a physics graduate student at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, used Mathematica software to come up with code that would describe such pasta shapes as gemelli and stelline. He was inspired to blog his results as " Pasta visualization ” and " Pasta visualization - Part II ,” and he even considered doing a mathematical pasta of the month. Architect George Legendre, who was similarly inspired, wrote a book on the subject— Pasta by Design (Thames & Hudson, 2011). Each page spread features a single pasta and includes a mathematical equation, diagram, photo, and suggested sauces to eat it with. In pasta, it would seem, mathematics and art combine in aesthetically pleasing ways.