Helaman Ferguson

The Clay Mathematics Institute icon takes the form of the elegant sculpture "Figureight Knot Complement vii/ CMI" by sculptor Helaman Ferguson. The CMI commissioned the sculpture in early 1999, and the sculptor himself unveiled the granite masterpiece on May 10, 1999. Smaller polished bronze versions are given in recognition of the Clay Research Award. The bronze replicas are crafted using the lost wax process for molds made from the original. The master sculpture also served as a model for the larger sculpture carved in Inner Mongolian Black Granite and located at the CMI, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The figureight knot is presented as an Esker curve winding with no self-intersections on a double torus. The complement of the figureight knot has the structure of a double quotient group, one of the groups being discrete.

The mathematical object which the sculpture represents is the orbifold X given as a quotient of three-dimensional hyperbolic space by a discrete group action, as described by the following equations, permanently inscribed on the larger granite sculpture:

Unveiling: Helaman Ferguson, sculptor and mathematician, unveiled and lectured on the CMI Icon at the Clay Mathematics Institute opening ceremony on May 10, 1999 in Cambridge, MA.