Bildung + Gesellschaft

Lauren Niu won the 2025 Mario Markus Prize for Ludic Science for her studies of how simple knit and purl stitches can produce intricate geometric patterns.You are holding a very special scarf. What is it?LN We call it the Magic <link href="#nadc20264156561-fig-0001">Scarf. It is made entirely of the same yarn, which is not very stretchy. However, it creates different patterns with various levels of stretch and material properties. And all these patterns are made up of knitted squares resulting from only two basic stitches: the knit stitch and the purl stitch. You always have to choose between one or the other. The rows all have the same number of stitches. The knitting pattern is what‘s different. That‘s how different shapes are formed.<figure xml:id="nadc20264156561-fig-0001"><figure><img alt="image" src="https://eu-central-1.graphassets.com/Aype6X9u2QGewIgZKbFflz/cmncvbwofvuw006upeflv2mk6" data-strapi-src="https://cdn.gdch.de/prod/nadc20264156561_fig_0001_a_3e8da89f4d.png"><figcaption><label>Abb.1: </label>Lauren Niu from the Center for Functional Fabrics at the University of Pennsylvania uses mathematics to study the geometry of knitted fabrics. Her favourite example of knitted work is the „magic scarf“, which can be moulded into different shapes by varying between two types of stitches. Photos: Uwe Dettmar; Center for Functional Fabrics at Drexel University</figcaption></figure></figure>And your research does explain why it shapes the way it does?LN Yes, exactly. We wanted to know if there’s a way to mathematically predict how to go from the pattern to this beautiful shape. Of course, knitters have known this for centuries, even millennia, through experience. We were only taking a small step by adding a bit of mathematical notation to it.How did you come up with the idea to study it scientifically?LN Some people in my field have already researched this area. For example, Sabetta Matsumoto is a professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She’s a knitter who does pioneering work on the mathematical and physical descriptions of knitted materials. These materials are incredibly engineered with artistic possibilities.How difficult is the mathematics behind it?LN It depends on your perspective. Calculating the exact shape can be computationally difficult. However, the general idea of what’s happening is quite simple. The fabric itself is a relatively thin material that behaves similarly to other thin materials, such as paper, foils, and plastic layers.How do people react when you tell them you are researching knitting?LN People actually respond very well to it. I think, material scientists are the most impressed. They already know how cool the material is, with its unusual properties that can form beautiful shapes.And how do „normal“ people react?LN They react very well, too. People who knit often tell me, „Oh, this is very simple.“ Then, people who don‘t knit often tell me, „Oh, this seems very complicated.“ It‘s really both, which I think is the best kind of problem.Did you learn to knit after you started your scientific project?LN Yes, and I’m still very bad at it. Honestly, I don’t have enough patience. I still knit for fun, though. I’m in awe of people who create things with it, whether by hand or machine. It requires intuition, patience, and an in-depth understanding of how the stitches will turn out. You could spend a lifetime learning about all the different subtleties and what contributes to them. We only made a very coarse model, a first approximation. The credit for this work belongs to the people who have developed knitting technology for decades and centuries, came up with all these patterns, and recognized its potential. Physicists, in particular, have a habit of coming in and saying, „Let me explain to you how your system works.“ But they wouldn’t have come up with it on their own.Do you see any applications for your findings?LN In terms of applications, this is more the domain of material scientists. You can adjust the levels of stretch and material properties based on the pattern you choose. This is beneficial for applications where you start with one yarn and achieve a wide range of results without changing the base material. That’s probably the most straightforward application. The next step is to quantify that process. What is the exact influence of the shape versus the material or the yarn itself? I admit that I don‘t think much about that question because, to me, the ability to create these incredible geometries is the coolest part.In ludic science, the joy of discovery drives research. Would you consider yourself a ludic scientist?LN I didn‘t know the term „ludic science“ before, but this concept has always motivated me. It was my PhD advisor‘s motivation, too. We would go for walks, and he would point out how a tree branch grew or the structure of a cloud. The possibilities of doing science were everywhere – not just for the next immediate application or technology, but as a way to interact with the world around us, to really play <link href="#nadc20264156561-fig-0002">with it.<figure xml:id="nadc20264156561-fig-0002"><figure><img alt="image" src="https://eu-central-1.graphassets.com/Aype6X9u2QGewIgZKbFflz/cmncvc0havv9n06upthot1k3v" data-strapi-src="https://cdn.gdch.de/prod/nadc20264156561_fig_0002_a_ac074af970.png"><figcaption><label>Abb.2: </label>Photos: Uwe Dettmar; Center for Functional Fabrics at Drexel University</figcaption></figure></figure>What are your next projects? Now that you are an independent researcher, do you want to continue this line of research?LN Yes, definitely. I think, there’s a whole world of possibilities in textiles and other crafts, such as origami. I’ve been interested in those crafts for a long time for similar reasons. You can create infinite possibilities with different types of materials. One tangential interest of mine is circus artists and aerial performers. I’m fascinated by how they perform incredible feats of balance and dynamism with seemingly impossible techniques. I hope there are similar principles between artists and textiles in how they arrange things. I don’t think the model itself will be the same, but the idea will definitely be similar. Many crafts and art forms have this deep technical knowledge, but because it‘s not expressed mathematically, they‘re not considered scientific subjects until you really think about them and recognize all the structure. The best part of working on this has been introducing this appreciation for textiles to scientists and technical people. If you don‘t stop to think about it, textiles are often seen as uninteresting or inaccessible to those without a knitting background. Being able to change that perspective for some people is the coolest part about working on this project.At the awards ceremony in Frankfurt Lauren Niu amazed Nachrichten aus der Chemie editors Christian Remenyi and Hannah Sonntag with her playful approach to the science of knitting.<h2 type="main">Worth a prize: Mathematics of Knitting</h2>Lauren Niu, Center for Functional Fabrics, Drexel University &amp; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, USA, was awarded with the Mario Markus Prize for Ludic Science 2025 for her insights into the geometry of knit fabrics. She discovered that even simple stitches, such as knit and purl, lead to complex geometric patterns. Instead of modeling the material at the level of individual stitches, she created swatches, large-scale models, and hand-knitted fabrics. She observed that the swatches tend to roll up to generate Gaussian curvature. She proposed that knit fabrics could be modeled as thin elastic sheets that maintain their area while forming saddle points, with orientations varying between knit and purl.

Artikel

„Doing science to play with the world around us“

Lauren Niu won the 2025 Mario Markus Prize for Ludic Science for her studies of how simple knit and purl stitches can produce intricate geometric patterns.You are holding a very special scarf. What is it?LN We call it the Magic Scarf. It is made entirely of the same yarn, which is not very stretc...

„Ich dachte, es sei ein Aprilscherz“, beginnt Roland, der mir im Beratungsgespräch gegenübersitzt. Ich soll ihm helfen, sich beruflich neu zu orientieren.Viele Jahrzehnte lang war die chemische Industrie in Deutschland ein verlässlicher Partner. Arbeitnehmer:innen konnten bei einer einzigen Firma ihr gesamtes Arbeitsleben verbringen. Die Gehälter wurden ohne Streiks in Einvernehmen mit der Gewerkschaft verhandelt. Kooperationen mit Hochschulen förderten gegenseitiges Verständnis und reibungslose Laufbahnen. Entlassungen gab es nur bei Diebstahl des Tafelsilbers oder eben als Aprilscherz.Doch nun hat sein Arbeitgeber, eine große Chemiefirma, Roland tatsächlich entlassen. „Ich muss mich mit einem Szenario auseinandersetzen, das bislang unvorstellbar war und deshalb keine Rolle für mich gespielt hat“, gesteht mir Roland.Der Arbeitsmarkt trübt sich zusehends. Nach drei wirtschaftlich schwachen Jahren und globaler Unsicherheit verlieren Chemiker:innen Stellen, die bislang als privatwirtschaftliches Äquivalent des Beamtenstatus galten.Das Management solcher Firmen steht vor neuen Aufgaben. Es muss den Ruf als verlässlicher Arbeitgeber schützen und der Realität ins Auge sehen. Bei Personalabbau, der bis hin zu den Festangestellten reicht, können Firmen Abfindungen und Unterstützung bei neuen Karriereschritten anbieten, etwa in Form von Outplacement-Coachings.Als Arbeitnehmer:in sollten Sie frühzeitig aktiv werden. Regelmäßiges Netzwerken erhöht die Chance, Probleme zu antizipieren und Gegenmaßnahmen zu ergreifen.Wird Ihnen ein Aufhebungsvertrag angeboten, dann können Sie diese Kolumne [<url href="https://t1p.de/sdpsf">Nachr.</url> Chem. 2017, 65(5), 569] lesen, um zu entscheiden, ob es in Ihrer Situation sinnvoll ist, ihn anzunehmen oder nicht. Wird Ihnen ein Coaching angeboten, zeigen Sie keinen falschen Stolz. Unabhängig davon, wie erfolgreich Sie bisher waren, kann eine externe Perspektive Ihnen helfen, Ihre Situation besser zu verstehen. Aber: Keine Coachin kann Türen zu Personalverantwortlichen öffnen. Coaches bieten Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe.Worauf sollten Sie achten, wenn Sie einen Coach wählen? Alle Coaches sind unterschiedlich spezialisiert. Analysieren Sie zunächst sich selbst, um Ihren Bedarf zu erkennen, sei es Orientierung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, mentale Unterstützung oder Fähigkeiten wie Netzwerken und Verhandeln. Nach diesen Spezialisierungen können Sie gezielt suchen. Nach einem kostenlosen Kennenlerngespräch sollten Sie die Entscheidung nicht übereilen, damit sich Ihre Auswahl an Ihrem Bedarf orientiert und nicht am Charisma des Coaches.Der promovierte Chemiker Philipp Gramlich ist Mitgründer von <a href="https://NaturalScience.Careers" target="_blank">NaturalScience.Careers</a>, einem Unternehmen, das Workshops über Karriereentwicklung und Wissenschaftskommunikation anbietet. Für die Nachrichten aus der Chemie schreibt er über Beobachtungen aus seiner Beratungstätigkeit. <a href="mailto:p.gramlich@naturalscience.careers">p.gramlich@naturalscience.careers</a>

Artikel

„Doing science to play with the world around us“

Überprüfung Ihres Anmeldestatus ...