Home Page for Geodesic Structures Workshop is now on-line

The Home Page for the Synergetics Collaborative's Sixth Annual Summer Workshop on Geodesic Structures: Build a Dome for Bucky's Birthday is now on-line at http://synergeticists.org/snec.announce.meeting.2008.07.html.

Geodesic Sculpture Project for Children, April 5th, Ithaca, NY

Geodesics seem to be in the air this year. The Synergetics Collaborative will feature Building a Dome for Bucky's Birthday at their sixth annual Summer Workshop in July. And then I saw an announcement for another geodesic event in Ithaca, NY. Here are the details for that event:

At 2 PM on April 5th, 2008 at the Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, NY, local artist Josh Sperling will work with children ages 7 through 13 and their families to learn about and construct geodesic models. The models will be part of a large geodesic sculture Sperling built and will be part of the Library’s newest art exhibit.

This program is being co-sponsored by Cornell’s Center for Materials Research. It is free and open to the public, and it will be held in the Library’s Borg Warner Community Meeting Room.

For more information, please contact Adelle Leise (607) 272-4557 Ext. 276 0r 277.

Source: Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) News.

The History [and Mystery] Of The Universe, Oct 14 - Dec 7 2008 - Portland, OR

Portland Center Stage will be presenting "R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY [and Mystery] OF THE UNIVERSE" (Written and Directed by D.W. Jacobs, from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller) from October 14 – December 7, 2008.

An engineer, architect, mathematician, designer, poet, philosopher, motivational speaker, major utopian thinker and inventor of the geodesic dome, Buckminster Fuller was one of the most remarkable minds of the 20th century. Born in 1895, Bucky was way ahead of his time. Refusing to think in conventional ways, he was an innovator, a futurist, and one of the first true global thinkers. This tour-de-force, one-man performance explores Bucky's life and work through a blend of testimony, lecture, autobiography, poetry, comic antics and video imagery. The play spirals and spins through ideas and experiences as Bucky escorts you on an unforgettable journey.

Portland Center Stage: 128 NW Eleventh Ave, Portland, OR 97209. Phone: 503 445-3700

Source: PCS 2008/2009 season blog

(SNEC) Member Remembers Arthur C. Clarke

One of my heroes died recently, Arthur Clarke. If I haven’t read everything he ever wrote, I consumed a big chunk. 

It’s strange how life works…I didn’t know that he was good friends with Bucky. Whenever Bucky was in the vicinity on one of his 40 or more around the world speaking tours, they’d get together at Clarke’s home in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They were friends for decades. I wish I knew more about their relationship…someone will have to do some digging in Bucky’s Chronofile at Stanford and make their correspondence available.

I found out that they knew each other quite by accident. I was reading Bucky and Clarke at the same time. Both were important to me for different reasons. I spent many a happy hour on the beach reading one book after another. My two favorites are Childhood’s End, and a non-fiction book, Ascent To Orbit , which is the finest introduction to all things space related. I could even understand the math. I learned for the first time how radar came into being. He was a part of that during his stint in the RAF during World War Two. Fascinating stuff, and highly recommended.It was also something of an autobiography, and very humorous at times.

He was waiting for a call from E.T. ‘till the day he died. As I write this, my computer is crunching data for SETI at home. I hope they call soon.


Phil Haggerty
March, 2008

Special Session on Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics and Mathematics

The Synergetics Collaborative (SNEC) sponsored a special session on Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics and Mathematics at the 2008 Spring Eastern Meeting (#1036) of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) at the Courant Institute of Mathematics at New York University (NYU) this past weekend. 

Presentations were given by Synergetics Collaborative Members: 

CJ Fearnley, Don Briddell, Joe Clinton, Roger Tobie, and Tom Miller. Special Guest Presentations were made by Dimitri Kozlov, R E Skelton, Robert Connelly,  Romuald Tarczewski, and Waldemar Bober. 

Also an informal Sunday morning gathering was hosted by Tom Miller at his home in New York City. CJ Fearnley, Joe Clinton, Dimitri Kozlov, R E Skelton, Victor Acevedo, and Brennan Delaney were all in attendance. The order of the day was brunch, informal discussion, and Cosmic Fishing. Thanks to everyone who participated. 

Photographs and additional updates and information are to follow.