Robert J. Lang
Encyclopedia
- This article is about an origami artist named Robert J. Lang. For others, see Robert LangRobert LangRobert Lang is the name of:*Robert Lang , Czech hockey player in the NHL*Robert Lang , cricketer*Robert Lang , British swimmer at the 2007 World Championships.*Robert J...
.
Dr. Robert J. Lang is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who is also one of the foremost origami
Origami
is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...
art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
ists and theorists
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
in the world. He is known for his complex and elegant designs, most notably of insects and animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s. He has long been a student of the mathematics of origami and of using computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s 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, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, and grew up in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Lang attended California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
for his undergraduate work in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, where he met his wife-to-be, Diane. He earned a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in electrical engineering from Stanford in 1983, and returned to Caltech
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
to pursue a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Applied Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
with a dissertation titled “Semiconductor Lasers: New Geometries and Spectral Properties.”
Lang began work for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
in 1988. Lang also worked as a research scientist for Spectra Diode Labs of San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, and then at JDS Uniphase
JDS Uniphase
JDS Uniphase is a company that designs and manufactures products for optical communications networks, communications test and measurement equipment, lasers, optical solutions for authentication and decorative applications, and other custom optics. It is headquartered in Milpitas, California in the...
, also of San Jose.
Lang has authored or co-authored over 80 publications on semiconductor lasers, optics
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
, and integrated optoelectronics
Optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared, in addition to visible light...
, and holds 46 patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s in these fields.
In 2001, Lang left the engineering field to being a full-time origami artist and consultant. However, he still maintains ties to his physics background: he was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Quantum Electronics
IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics
The IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics is a scientific journal covering optical, and electrical, and electronics engineering, and some applied aspects of lasers and physical optics. It is published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers since 1965...
from 2007-2010 and has done part-time laser consulting for Cypress Semiconductor, among others.
Lang currently resides in Alamo, California
Alamo, California
Alamo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, in the United States. It is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
.
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 MontrollJohn Montroll
John Montroll is an American master origami artist and prolific author, well-known by paper-folding enthusiasts throughout the world.-Biography:John Montroll was born in Washington, D.C...
, Joseph Wu, and Paul Jackson through the Origami Center of America, now known as OrigamiUSA
OrigamiUSA
OrigamiUSA 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, and Lillian Oppenheimer as the Friends of the Origami Center of America...
.
While in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for postdoctoral work, Lang and his wife were enamored of Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
cuckoo clock
Cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...
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.
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 algorithmatize 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
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
airbag
Airbag
An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...
manufacturer. He has worked with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
in Livermore
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 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.
External links
- Official website
- 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
- Lang's lecture at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
- Interview with Peter Shea at Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota, March 2011