Robert J. Lang (born May 4, 1961) is an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

who is also one of the foremost

origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...

artists and theorists in the world. He is known for his complex and elegant designs, most notably of insects and animals. He has studied the mathematics of origami and used computers to study the theories behind origami. He has made great advances in making real-world applications of origami to engineering problems.

Education and early occupation

Lang was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, and grew up in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Lang studied electrical engineering at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, where he met his wife-to-be, Diane. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 1983, and returned to

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

for a Ph.D. in

applied physics Applied physics is the application of physics to solve scientific or engineering problems. It is usually considered to be a bridge or a connection between physics and engineering. "Applied" is distinguished from "pure" by a subtle combination ...

, with a dissertation titled ''Semiconductor Lasers: New Geometries and Spectral Properties.'' Lang began work for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

in 1988. Lang also worked as a research scientist for Spectra Diode Labs of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, and then at

JDS Uniphase JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU) was an American company that designed and manufactured products for optical communications networks, communications test and measurement equipment, lasers, optical solutions for authentication and decorative applica ...

, also of San Jose. Lang has authored or co-authored over 80 publications on

semiconductor laser The laser diode chip removed and placed on the eye of a needle for scale A laser diode (LD, also injection laser diode or ILD, or diode laser) is a semiconductor device similar to a light-emitting diode in which a diode pumped directly with e ...

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...

, and integrated

optoelectronics Optoelectronics (or optronics) is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that find, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, ''light'' often includes invisible forms of radiat ...

, and holds 46

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s in these fields. In 2001, Lang left the engineering field to be a full-time origami artist and consultant. However, he still maintains ties to his physics background: he was the editor-in-chief of the ''

IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics The ''IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering optical, electrical, and electronics engineering, and some applied aspects of lasers, physical optics, and quantum electronics. It is published by the IEEE ...

'' from 2007 to 2010, and has done part-time laser consulting for

Cypress Semiconductor Cypress Semiconductor was an American semiconductor design and manufacturing company. It offered NOR flash memories, F-RAM and SRAM Traveo microcontrollers, PSoC programmable system-on-chip solutions, analog and PMIC Power Management ICs, Ca ...

, among others. Lang currently resides in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish language, Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena, California, Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 ...

Origami

Lang was introduced to origami at the age of six by a teacher who had exhausted other methods of keeping him entertained in the classroom. By his early teens, he was designing original origami patterns. Lang used origami as an escape from the pressures of undergraduate studies. While studying at Caltech, Lang came into contact with other origami masters such as Michael LaFosse, John Montroll, Joseph Wu, and Paul Jackson through the Origami Center of America, now known as

OrigamiUSA OrigamiUSA (sometimes abbreviated as "OUSA") is the largest origami organization in the United States, with offices located at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It was founded in 1980 by Michael Shall, Alice Gray, Lillian O ...

. While in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

work, Lang and his wife were enamored of

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

cuckoo clock A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...

s, and he became a sensation in the origami world when he successfully folded one after three months of design and six hours of actual folding. In 1990, Lang first attempted to write computer code that would solve origami problems, and the result was his first version of ''Tree Maker''. Lang takes full advantage of modern technology in his origami, including using a laser cutter to help score paper for complex folds. Lang is recognized as one of the leading theorists of the mathematics of origami. He has developed ways to algorithmetize the design process for origami, and is the author of the proof of the completeness of the Huzita–Hatori axioms. Lang specializes in finding real-world applications for the various theories of origami he has developed. These included designing folding patterns for a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

airbag manufacturer. He has worked with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where a team is developing a powerful space telescope, with a 100 m (328 ft) lens in the form of a thin membrane. Lang was engaged by the team to develop a way to fit the tremendous lens, known as the Eyeglass, into a small rocket in such a way that the lens can be unfolded in space and will not suffer from any permanent marks or creases. Lang is the author or co-author of eight books and many articles on origami. Lang also designed the Google Doodle for

Akira Yoshizawa Akira Yoshizawa (吉澤章 ''Yoshizawa Akira''; 14 March 1911 – 14 March 2005) was a Japanese origamist, considered to be the grandmaster of origami. He is credited with raising origami from a craft to a living art. According to his own es ...

's 101st birthday, which was used by Google on March 14, 2012.

Awards and honors

In 2012 he became a fellow of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Bibliography

* ''The Complete Book of Origami''; Dover Publications, 1988, * ''Origami Zoo'' (with Stephen Weiss ); St. Martin's Press, 1989, * ''Origami Sea Life'' (with John Montroll); Dover Publications, 1990, * ''Origami Animals''; Crescent, 1992 ( out of print), * ''Origami Insects and their Kin''; Dover Publications, 1995, * ''Origami in Action''; St. Martin's Press, 1996, * ''Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art''; A K Peters, 2003, * ''Twists, Tilings, and Tessellations: Mathematical Methods for Geometric Origami''; CRC Press, 2018, Reviews of ''Twists, Tilings, and Tessellations'': Yossi Elran, ''Notices of the AMS''

Adriana Salerno,

References

External links