Origami Master Robert J. Lang to Visit MIT
For Immediate Release: Oct. 29, 2004
Contact: Erik Demaine,
E-mail edemaine@mit.edu
11/12 update: Both workshops have been filled
"Night Hunter" Medium: one uncut square of Korean hanji (paper)
Cambridge, MA....Master origami artist Robert J. Lang will present his art and the mathematics behind
it in a series of lectures and workshops (see schedule below) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Robert Lang has been an avid student of origami for over 30 years and is now recognized as one of the
world's leading masters of the art, with over 400 designs catalogued and diagrammed. He is noted for
designs of great detail and realism, and includes in his repertoire some of the most complex origami
designs ever created. His work combines aspects of the Western school of mathematical origami design
with the Eastern emphasis upon line and form to yield models that are at once distinctive, elegant,
and challenging to fold.
A pioneer of the cross disciplinary marriage of origami with mathematics, Lang has presented several refereed
technical papers on 'origami-math' at mathematical and computer science professional meetings. He has consulted
on the applications of origami to engineering problems ranging from air-bag design to expandable space
telescopes.
Robert Lang has been one of the few Western columnists for Origami Tanteidan Magazine, the journal of the Japan Origami
Academic Society. Additonally, he was the first Westerner invited to address the Nippon (Japan) Origami Association's
annual meeting (in 1992) and has been an invited guest at international origami conventions around the world.
After a successful career as a physicist and engineer, during which he authored or co-authored over 80
technical publications and 40 patents on semiconductor lasers, optics and integrated optoelectronics, Lang
is now a full-time origami artist and author or co-author of eight books and numerous articles on origami.
This residency is hosted by MacArthur Award winning Professor Erik Demaine in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, whose love of origami came out of his interest in the mathematics of folding. He now studies folds in proteins and believes that computational origami
could eventually lead to the design of custom proteins that fight disease.
While at MIT, Lang will also visit classes, tour labs, and share meals with faculty, staff, and students including
members of MIT's growing Origami Club.
No tickets or reservations are necessary for either lecture. Info: 617/253-2341
Lang's MIT Schedule:
Thursday, Nov. 11--Overview of work, both artistic and mathematical -- 7 p.m. in Room 32-123 (Stata
Center, 32 Vassar St).
SOLD OUT--Saturday, Nov. 13 -- Workshop for novice folders -- 2-4 p.m. Register at
edemaine@mit.edu to learn location.
Monday, Nov. 15 -- Technical lecture on the mathematics and algorithms behind his designs -- 11 a.m.
in Room 4-231 (enter 77 Massachusetts Ave)
SOLD OUT--Tuesday, Nov. 16 -- Workshop for experienced folders who want to design their own models or to refine their
design skill -- 7-9 p.m. Register at edemaine@mit.edu to learn location
Tuesday, Nov. 16 -- Lang will sign his latest book, "Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Models
for an Ancient Art," at 4 p.m. at Quantum Books (Four Cambridge Center, Kendall Square).
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