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Erik Demaine
Erik Demaine
Erik Demaine
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Erik D. Demaine (born February 28, 1981) is a Canadian-American professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former child prodigy.

Key Information

Early life and education

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Demaine was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to mathematician and sculptor Martin L. Demaine and Judy Anderson. From the age of 7, he was identified as a child prodigy and spent time traveling across North America with his father.[1] He was home-schooled during that time span until entering university at the age of 12.[2][3]

Demaine completed his bachelor's degree at 14 years of age at Dalhousie University in Canada, and completed his PhD at the University of Waterloo by the time he was 20 years old.[4][5] Demaine's PhD dissertation, a work in the field of computational origami, was completed at the University of Waterloo under the supervision of Anna Lubiw and Ian Munro.[6][7] This work was awarded the Canadian Governor General's Gold Medal from the University of Waterloo and the NSERC Doctoral Prize (2003) for the best PhD thesis and research in Canada. Some of the work from this thesis was later incorporated into his book Geometric Folding Algorithms on the mathematics of paper folding published with Joseph O'Rourke in 2007.[8]

Professional accomplishments

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Erik Demaine (left), Martin Demaine (center), and Bill Spight (right) watch John Horton Conway demonstrate a card trick (June 2005)

Demaine joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2001 at age 20, reportedly the youngest professor in the history of MIT,[4][9] and was promoted to full professorship in 2011. Demaine is a member of the Theory of Computation group at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Mathematical origami artwork by Erik and Martin Demaine was part of the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 2008, and has been included in the MoMA permanent collection.[10] That same year, he was one of the featured artists in Between the Folds, an international documentary film about origami practitioners which was later broadcast on PBS television. In connection with a 2012 exhibit, three of his curved origami artworks with Martin Demaine are in the permanent collection of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum.[11]

Demaine was a fan of Martin Gardner and in 2001 he teamed up with his father Martin Demaine and Gathering 4 Gardner founder Tom M. Rodgers to edit a tribute book for Gardner on his 90th birthday.[12] From 2016 to 2020 he was president of the board of directors of Gathering 4 Gardner.[13]

Honours and awards

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In 2003, Demaine was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship, known colloquially as the "genius grant".[14]

In 2013, Demaine received the EATCS Presburger Award for young scientists. The award citation listed accomplishments including his work on the carpenter's rule problem, hinged dissection, prefix sum data structures, competitive analysis of binary search trees, graph minors, and computational origami.[15] That same year, he was awarded a fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.[16]

For his work on bidimensionality, he was the winner of the Nerode Prize in 2015 along with his co-authors Fedor Fomin, Mohammad T. Hajiaghayi, and Dimitrios Thilikos. The work was the study of a general technique for developing both fixed-parameter tractable exact algorithms and approximation algorithms for a class of algorithmic problems on graphs.[17]

In 2016, he became a fellow at the Association for Computing Machinery.[18] He was given an honorary doctorate by Bard College in 2017.[19]

See also

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References

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Erik Demaine

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Erik Demaine (born February 28, 1981) is a Canadian-American professor of at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), renowned as the youngest person ever appointed to the MIT faculty at age 20. Specializing in , his research explores algorithms, , data structures, and the mathematics of folding and unfolding, including computational and linkage mechanisms. Demaine is also an artist who collaborates with his father, Martin L. Demaine, on kinetic sculptures and glass art, some of which are held in the permanent collection of the (). Born in , Demaine was homeschooled after leaving traditional school at age 7, traveling across with his father, a sculptor and glassblower. He entered at age 12 without formal grades, earning a B.Sc. in in 1995 at age 14. He then pursued graduate studies at the , completing an M.Math. in 1996 and a Ph.D. in 2001 under advisors Anna Lubiw and J. Ian Munro, with a thesis on . In September 2001, Demaine joined MIT as an in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), affiliated with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). He advanced to in 2005 and full professor in 2011, also holding the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Professorship from 2005 to 2008. His work bridges theory and practice, addressing problems like the complexity of puzzles (e.g., solving), graph algorithms via bidimensionality theory, and efficient data structures for web search and . Demaine co-authored the influential book Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, , Polyhedra (2007), which systematizes folding . Demaine's contributions have earned him prestigious honors, including the MacArthur Fellowship ("genius grant") in 2003 at age 22, the Presburger Award from the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science in 2013 for advances in algorithms and data structures, the in 2013, election as an in 2016, the MIT Bose Award for Excellence in in 2020, and the MIT with Digital Award in 2024. He has published over 500 papers, often with high , and teaches courses blending rigorous theory with creative applications, such as in algorithm design.

Early Life and Education

Childhood and Family Background

Erik Demaine was born on February 28, 1981, in , , to artist and sculptor Martin L. Demaine and his mother, Judy Anderson. His parents divorced when he was young, and he was primarily raised by his father, who had only a high school education but pursued a career as a pioneering glassblower and the founder of 's first private hot glass studio. This family dynamic exposed Demaine early to creative and technical pursuits, blending artistry with problem-solving. From the age of seven, Demaine was homeschooled by his father while the two embarked on a nomadic lifestyle, traveling across in a converted to visit art studios, glassblowing workshops, and cultural sites. This peripatetic existence, spanning locations from the East Coast to Miami Beach, fostered his interdisciplinary interests by immersing him in environments rich with , , and emerging technologies. His father encouraged self-directed learning, allowing Demaine to explore advanced concepts at his own pace without the constraints of traditional schooling. Recognized as a by age seven, Demaine demonstrated exceptional talent in through feats such as designing intricate puzzles and writing his first computer program—a text-based in —before turning ten. At just six years old, he collaborated with his father to create original puzzles, leading to the founding of the Erik and Dad Puzzle Co. in Halifax, which produced and sold their designs. These early endeavors highlighted his innate ability to merge mathematical reasoning with artistic expression, shaping his lifelong passion for and folding problems. The family's mobile lifestyle further reinforced this blend, as travels provided real-world contexts for exploring through and play.

Academic Milestones

Erik Demaine, recognized as a due to his background, began his formal higher education early by enrolling in the program at at age 12. He completed his degree in there in 1995, at the remarkably young age of 14. Following his undergraduate studies, Demaine moved to the , where he pursued advanced degrees in . He earned his in 1996 and his PhD in 2001, finishing the latter at age 20 under the supervision of Anna Lubiw and J. Ian Munro. Demaine's doctoral thesis, titled Folding and Unfolding, focused on computational origami and explored key problems in the folding and unfolding of planar structures. It introduced algorithms for determining foldability of polygonal shapes and analyzed the unfolding of linkages—rigid bar frameworks connected by joints—to straighten them without overlap, laying foundational work in geometric computation. His academic achievements during this period were recognized with several prestigious awards, including NSERC postgraduate scholarships that supported his graduate and the Canadian Governor General's for the top PhD thesis at the in 2002. Additionally, his dissertation earned the NSERC Doctoral Prize in 2003, one of Canada's highest honors for outstanding PhD in the natural sciences and .

Professional Career

Positions and Appointments

Erik Demaine joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an in the Department of and (EECS) in September 2001, shortly after completing his PhD, becoming the youngest person ever appointed to a professorship at MIT at age 20. In July 2005, Demaine was promoted to without tenure in EECS and simultaneously appointed as the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Professor, a position he held until June 2008. He received tenure and was promoted to tenured in July 2007. Demaine advanced to full professor in EECS in July 2011, a role he continues to hold as of 2025. Throughout his MIT career, Demaine has maintained key affiliations, including membership in the and Laboratory (CSAIL) since September 2001 and the group within EECS. Demaine has also held visiting positions abroad, notably serving as the International Francqui Chair Professor in during the 2007–2008 , where he delivered lectures on algorithmic topics from to December 2009.

Teaching and Mentorship

Erik Demaine has developed several influential courses at MIT, including 6.849: Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, , Polyhedra, which explores algorithms for analyzing and designing geometric foldings through hands-on topics like and polyhedra reconfiguration. He also leads 6.851: Advanced Data Structures, covering major results in data structures with a focus on current research directions, delivered via video lectures and problem sets that encourage deep engagement with algorithmic techniques. These courses emphasize interactive and playful learning, incorporating folding exercises and puzzle-solving to illustrate complex concepts in and algorithms. Demaine integrates art and games into his curricula to engage students with algorithmic ideas, drawing on his expertise in origami and puzzles to make abstract topics accessible and enjoyable; for instance, his classes often feature explorations of video games and to demonstrate hardness proofs and . This approach fosters , as seen in MIT's SP.268: Topics in the of Toys and Games, which he has supervised and which blends with rigorous analysis. In mentorship, Demaine has supervised numerous PhD students and postdocs, including former postdoc Markus Hecher (2023–2025) and a series of doctoral candidates such as Hayashi Ani, Josh Brunner, and Tim Gomez, guiding them toward contributions in algorithms and computational theory. His collaborative supervision has resulted in over 300 co-authored papers with more than 550 co-authors, reflecting his role in nurturing interdisciplinary research partnerships. Demaine's teaching excellence is recognized through high student evaluations and institutional honors including the 2020 Bose Award for Excellence in and the 2019 MIT Teaching with Digital Technology Award for innovative tools like discussion-facilitating software. He was also named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow in 2019, acknowledging his sustained impact on through engaging, technology-enhanced methods.

Research Contributions

Computational Geometry and Folding

Erik Demaine has made foundational contributions to through his work on folding algorithms, focusing on the mathematical and algorithmic challenges of reconfiguring geometric structures such as linkages, , and polyhedra. His research emphasizes efficient algorithms for determining foldability and simulating folding processes, often bridging theoretical geometry with practical applications. Central to this area is his exploration of constraints like flat-foldability, where a structure must lie flat without intersections, and the of achieving desired configurations. A landmark achievement is the co-authorship of the book Geometric Folding Algorithms: Linkages, , Polyhedra (2007) with Joseph O'Rourke, which systematically addresses folding problems across dimensions and structures. The book details algorithms for folding, demonstrating that an arbitrary of length nn can be folded in O(n/log⁡n)O(n / \log n) steps, matching lower bounds up to constants, and provides treewidth-based bounds for analyzing crease patterns in design. It also covers hinged linkages and polyhedral unfolding, establishing key results like the existence of universal hinge patterns for certain protein backbones. In origami foldability, Demaine developed algorithms to characterize when a crease pattern can be folded flat, including a linear-time method for one-dimensional patterns and extensions to two-dimensional maps. For map folding, he proved that orthogonal crease patterns on rectangular are foldable they satisfy specific layering conditions, enabling an efficient reconstruction of folding sequences. His work on the fold-and-cut problem resolved a long-standing by showing that any polygonal can be produced via folding followed by a single straight cut, using techniques like straight skeletons and disk packing to compute the necessary folds. Demaine's models for treat the backbone as a fixed-angle linkage, addressing span problems where the chain must reach specific distances between endpoints. Key results include developments on universal linkages for fixed-angle protein backbone chains, providing a computational framework for simulating and designing protein structures. These models draw briefly on for rigidity analysis but prioritize geometric constraints. Demaine's folding algorithms have applications in , where they inform deployable mechanisms, and , enabling precise sheet-metal bending. His research on curved-crease folding establishes mathematical foundations for self-equilibrating structures, where paper naturally forms 3D shapes under tension, with algorithms exploring equilibrium states for non-flat creases. Recent work (as of 2025) includes proving the optimality of Dudeney's 1902 dissection of an equilateral triangle into a square and showing that tiling the plane with three polygons is undecidable, extending his contributions to geometric folding and reconfiguration.

Algorithmic Graph Theory

Erik Demaine has made foundational contributions to algorithmic graph theory, particularly in the development of efficient algorithms for graph classes defined by excluded minors and structural parameters. His work emphasizes parameterized complexity, where algorithms are designed to run in time exponential only in a small parameter, such as treewidth or the size of an excluded minor, while polynomial in the input size. These advancements have enabled subexponential fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) algorithms for a wide range of NP-hard problems on restricted graph families, bridging theoretical insights with practical algorithmic design. A cornerstone of Demaine's research is the graph minors project, inspired by Robertson and Seymour's structural theorem, which he extended through subexponential algorithms for minor-closed graph families. In collaboration with Fedor Fomin, MohammadTaghi Hajiaghayi, and Dimitrios Thilikos, Demaine introduced a framework for solving parameterized problems on H-minor-free graphs in time 2O(k)nO(1)2^{O(\sqrt{k})} n^{O(1)}
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