Who is Robert Sommer from The Hidden Dimension and what is their importance?

A Canadian social-psychologist, Sommer studied the relationship between placement of semifixed-feature space, specifically furniture, and its impact on social interaction. He determined that individuals who sit in relatively close proximity and at 90-degree angles, have far more conversation than those who sit across from one another or side-by-side. Results of his study have been used by hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions in the placement of furniture, and certainly reinforced by observations of furniture placement of various cultural groups.