Faculty Profile: Dr. Yasuaki Ninomiya, a.k.a. "Dr. Whitewings"

Born in 1926, Dr. Yasuaki Ninomiya has been fascinated by airplanes since  childhood -- an interest which later developed into his lifetime passion of designing and building paper airplanes.  He has designed well over 1000 different models.

In 1962, Dr. Ninomiya received his Ph.D. in the field of microwave measurement theory. He is recognized as a pioneer in microwave communications engineering from his work as a leading researcher for the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT).  He retired in 1984. 

Drawing on his background and expertise, Dr. Ninomiya designs aerodynamically sound and sleek high performance paper planes based on the principles of flight. He won grand prizes in both the Duration Flight and Distance Flight competitions of the 1st International Paper Plane Contest in San Francisco in 1967.  In 1985, he served as a judge in the 2nd Great International Paper Plane Contest in Seattle.  

When Dr. Ninomiya is not designing paper gliders, he actively pursues his other interests.  Also known as a photographer, he published an remarkable book of paper plane photos in 1993.  He also has his own pilot license and flies his Cessna 182 whenever his busy schedule permits.