Associate Professor, Computer Science Department
Boston University
My research is in the area of computer graphics, with a focus on topics in computational fabrication, mechanics-based design, architectural geometry, and assistive technologies. Advancements in rapid prototyping technology are closing the gap between what we can simulate with computers and what we can build. The effect is rippling through industries from architecture to medicine where it is now possible to manufacture shapes of astounding complexity. Despite innovations in hardware, however, creating customized products that perform a specific function still depends on extensive expert knowledge. In my work I am developing computational tools that consider the full design to manufacturing pipeline, and are guided by the functionality of the objects being created. My research is a cross-pollination of digital geometry processing, engineering mechanics, and rapid prototyping, where the goal is to enable the design of functionally-valid and fabrication-ready real world objects.
Bio
I am an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Boston University, Director and Founder of the BU Shape Lab, and Co-Director of the BU Computer Graphics Lab. I am the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2021), Sloan Research Fellowship (2019), BU Innovation Career Development Professorship (2017), NSF CRII Award (2015), and Marie Curie/ETH Zurich Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012).
Before joining BU I was an Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College where I co-founded the Visual Computing Lab. From 2011-2014 I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at ETH Zurich in the Interactive Geometry Lab with Olga Sorkine-Hornung. I received my PhD (2012) from MIT in Computer Graphics and Building Technology, advised by Frédo Durand and John Ochsendorf. I obtained my SM (2006) in Computational Design from the MIT Department of Architecture, and BASc (2004) in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto. I've interned in R&D at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic, structural design with Halcrow Yolles engineering firm, and the National Research Council of Canada.
For more information on publications, classes, recent news, and my team members, please visit the Shape Lab website: shape.bu.edu.
"Mechanics-Based Design for Computational Fabrication"
Vimeo
"3D Printing - The Physics of Objects"
Youtube
Season 2 Episode 14
PBS
Advisors: John Ochsendorf & Frédo Durand
Supervisor: Seth Teller, Co-supervisor: Takehiko Nagakura, Reader: Axel Kilian
Awarded MS Thesis Prize