Robert James Lang (born May 4, 1961) is an American physicist who is also one of the foremost origami 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

thumb|Robert Lang folding an [[origami American flag, which includes 50 stars and 13 stripes, from a single uncut square]]

Lang was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. Lang studied electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, where he met his wife-to-be, Diane. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 1983, and returned to Caltech for a Ph.D. in applied physics, with a dissertation titled Semiconductor Lasers: New Geometries and Spectral Properties.

Lang began work for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1988. and then at JDS Uniphase, also of San Jose.

Lang has authored or co-authored over 80 publications on semiconductor lasers, optics, and integrated optoelectronics, and holds 46 patents in these fields.

Origami

thumb|Cicada by Lang

thumb|Dimetrodon by Lang

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. 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 airbag manufacturer. Lang is the author or co-author of eight books and many articles on origami.

Awards and honors

In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Bibliography

  • The Complete Book of Origami; Dover Publications, 1988,
  • Origami Zoo (with Stephen Weiss <!-- do not wikilink; hocky player is someone else -->); 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,

See also

  • Napkin folding problem
  • Black Forest cuckoo clock

References

  • Doctoral Thesis Abstract
  • Computational Origami from IT Conversations
  • Radio interview at The Connection
  • Interview with Robert Lang, by Margaret Wertheim, featured in Cabinet magazine, Issue 17, Spring 2005
  • Origami Engineering in the Fold: video report on origami telescopes
  • An Origami Space Telescope
  • Interview with Peter Shea at Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota, March 2011
  • Origami^6, American Math Society, (2015)
  • Origami Insects II; Gallery Origami House, 2003
  • See a NASA Physicist's Incredible Origami Southwest Daily News (video) 16 Mar 2019