This is the web page of Raph Levien.
I am now back at Google, on the Google Fonts team, where my main role is research on GPU font rendering and related technology. I am also very active in the Rust community, including the Xilem family of projects
From 2018-2020 I took a break from full-time work, originally intending to create a game with sound synthesis as a core mechanic, but ultimately becoming far more drawn to the graphics rendering infrastructure needed for such a game, leading to a deep dive into vector graphics rendering on GPU.
Before that, I worked at Google on the Fuchsia team, working on text processing and Rust. Previously, I worked on Android, the Web Fonts team, and before that, on spam in apps.
For fun, I tinker with emulating vintage synthesizers. You can find source code and Play Store links on my Android projects page.
I used to be maintainer of Ghostscript, and have played a role in a number of other free software projects.
I have a number of patents, all of which are available for licensing, and all of which are subject to a patent grant for GPL-licensed software. A special prize is the Even Toned Screening, an exceptionally high quality suite of halftoning algorithms for inkjet printers.
I have completed a PhD on techniques for interactive curve design. Spiro is a free software library containing these techniques, and I also used them to design a number of fonts, including Inconsolata.
You may also be interested in a draft of an earlier attempt at a PhD, on Attack-Resistant Trust Metrics. The best source for that work is the chapter in Computing with Social Trust.
I have a Wikipedia entry.
I'm a member of the Berkeley Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
I live in Berkeley, California. I'm father of two sons, Alan and Max.
Please follow my projects on my blog.
Send mail to <firstname>.<lastname>@gmail.com
I can be found in the Fediverse at @raph@mastodon.online.