We would like to invite you to Scarpa’s Sea Urchin Inspires New Instrumentation: Live Discussion on April 24th.

The Leonardo Book Club is a series activating opportunities for our authors to connect with our readers.

Join Leonardo author Pino Trogu for a discussion of his article "Giorgio Scarpa’s Model of a Sea Urchin Inspires New Instrumentation" featured in the April issue of Leonardo Journal. We will be producing this livestream on Facebook and Zoom for audience discussion and participation. 

Giorgio Scarpa (1938–2012) was an Italian designer, artist and teacher who worked in bionics, topology and rotational geometry. This article describes Scarpa’s bionic model of “Aristotle’s lantern”—the mouth of the sea urchin. The technical literature on Echinoidea lacks a detailed study of its remarkable mouth mechanism. Scarpa’s model is the only known analysis and physical analogue of the mechanism. It is a striking example of geometrical analysis and craftsmanship, bridging science and art. Built in the early 1970s and described in 1985 in Modelli di Bionica, his model has inspired designs for a biopsy harvester and for a mini-rover to collect soil samples on Mars.

Similar to the previous book clubs we will be producing this via live stream on our Facebook page and on the Zoom platform. Save the date now with your RSVP and we'll get in touch with the details on how to join.

Download the article for free, grab a coffee or a cocktail and join us.

Find Your Time Zone

24 April 1:00 PM (13:00) - San Francisco
24 April 9:00 PM (21:00) - London

Please also let us know if you plan to do the livestream in a classroom setting. We would appreciate any feedback on attendance.