Cooper to Cooper, Episode 2: Toy Talk

POSTED ON: October 5, 2016

Cooper to Cooper: Conversations Across Disciplines was launched last spring to showcase members of the Cooper community who are interested in related subjects but approaching them through the lens of different disciplines. This month, we feature a conversation between Eric Lima, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Tamar Zinguer, associate professor of architecture. Both teach courses that ask students to create objects of play, whether toys or games, to use as tools to investigate a wide array of topics.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.