by KC Trommer

Dr. Robert J. Lang, physicist, electrical engineer, and longtime practitioner of the Japanese art of paper folding, uses mathematics to create complex forms from a single sheet of paper. This “origami technology,” as it has come to be known, has proven to be surprisingly useful in medicine, industrial design, electronics, and space exploration.

Lang demonstrated his approach in “Origami: From Flapping Birds to Space Telescopes,” a lecture at the GC on July 1. He breaks down each design, however complex, into its most basic elements, beginning with a stick figure of the form he wants to represent. He then designs a folded shape for every element of the figure, finally creating a fully-realized stag beetle, rattlesnake, Roosevelt elk, or another of his more than 450 original designs. “What is possible in origami is defined by the mathematical properties of a folded sheet of paper,” says Lang. “So if you understand the math, you can use it to create a variety of forms.”

The real-world applications of Lang’s art range from designing heart implants that can be inserted while folded and then opened inside the body, to designing space telescopes that can be folded for transport and expanded in space. What some might dismiss as clever sculptures, Lang sees as the first figures in a world of possibilities. The lecture was co-sponsored by Science & the Arts and the nonprofit organization Math for America.

PHOTOS: A. POYO

Top: Audience members learning origami

Middle: Robert J. Lang

Bottom two photos: Roosevelt elk made of one uncut 8” square of Korean Hanji, using the crease pattern below. Courtesy of Dr Lang. http://www.langorigami.com/www.langorigami.com