Models at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagn

In the 1800's, mathematicians exploring the nature of surfaces in space began to construct physical models of those surfaces. This was done to assist with the education of students and as a research activity. Certain publishing firms, particularly in Germany, began to offer copies of the models for sale around the world. At the end of the 1800's, many American mathematics departments began to develop model collections.

At the Chicago World Columbian Exposition in 1893, where Felix Klein curated the German models, Edgar Townsend was hired as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois. Around 1899 he travelled to Göttingen, Germany, to write a dissertation with Hilbert. Göttingen was at that point a center of model-building activity. After completing his dissertation, Townsend returned to UI to head the mathematics department and he ordered a complete set of models. In 1911, Townsend hired Arnold Emch and set for him the task of constructing more models to expand the Univerity's collection.

Times changed and model-building died out, but UI retained its strong collection. The University currently has at least 380 models on public display. This is the largest collection of such models on public display in the United States and contains many original pieces by Arnold Emch that cannot be found elsewhere.

It is vital that this piece of history be preserved. Already approximately 75 models have been mislaid. Many more are in an advanced state of deterioration. UI is also in danger of losing its understanding of these complex models because many of the catalogs and handbooks which explain the models are crumbling. It would be tragic to see this unique resource deteriorate beyond retrieval.

What Needs to Be Done for the UIUC Collection?

• A preliminary catalog was completed by Philip Nyman in 1993. A more complete catalog is needed, including the following information for each model
  • Photo(s),
  • Current condition and known history (e.g. origin, date aquired),
  • Location in the Altgeld cases,
  • Description (e.g. equation, mathematical significance, special features).
• Excerpts from this catalog can be placed on the UIUC web site.
• Updated displays are needed. Each display case should be accompanied by a wall mounted descriptive board containing useful historical and mathematical information. Better lighting would be nice as well. Some cases (such as the case by the Post Office), will have to be opened and some cleaning and arranging is neccessary, but since the models are extremely fragile this should be kept to a minimum and not done unless absolutely necessary.
• Certain models are in need of repair and conservation.
  • The are some plaster models that are cracking and may come apart in the near future. Conservation of these should not be attempted without some professional guidance.
  • The string in the string models is deterioriating and has already begun to unravel on many of the models. Several pictures should be taken of each string model as soon as possible to provide a reference point for any future restringing attempts. Peggy Kidwell of the Smithsonian and William Mueller with MathSoft have both had experience with conserving string models and may provide a resource.
• The UIUC Mathematics Library's materials related to models are in need of conservation.
• A subscription drive should be done to provide funding for these restoration and conservation projects.

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