Penn State Laureate to speak at Fayette campus

LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. — Rebecca Strzelec, a professor of Visual Arts at Penn State Altoona and the 2016-2017 Penn State Laureate, will present “Art + Engineering = Creative Problem Solving” at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus at 12:15 p.m. on March 27. The Penn State Laureate is an annual faculty honor established in 2008 to bring greater visibility to the arts, the humanities, the honoree’s work, and the University through a statewide tour of the Commonwealth Campuses.

Strzelec, who works with art, 3D modeling, 3D printing, and jewelry/object making, regularly contributes to conversations about contemporary artistic materials and methods. “As an artist originally trained as a traditional bench jeweler who has converted to an entirely digital studio practice, I have been using 3D printing technologies in my work since 1999,” she said. “It is exciting to see how these processes have matured to their current accessibility and attention.”

According to Strzelec, developments in 3D have brought significant and meaningful advances in many fields, including health care, safety, architecture, and art and design, while also raising questions of ownership, ethics, originality, and responsibility. Her talk will focus on 3D printing’s trajectory, as well as the work she has completed on a four-year, $2 million National Science Foundation grant utilizing origami and smart materials.

Strzelec’s presentation, which is free of charge and open to the public, will take place in the Student Center, which is on the lower level of the Williams Building. Penn State Fayette is located at 2201 University Drive in Lemont Furnace.