Ph.D. positions in Computer Graphics and Computational Fabrication

The Perception, Display, and Fabrication Group at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Switzerland is looking for Ph.D. candidates to work at the intersection of computer graphics, fabrication, and perception. The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and will be carried out by two Ph.D. students in a collaboration with external partners at the MIT and the University of Toronto.

Background: Current multi-material 3D printers can deposit different materials with extremely high precision, creating objects with unseen geometrical details and mechanical properties. The freedom to create and to customize previously impossible to fabricate objects makes additive manufacturing a key enabler for many applications. At the same time, the excellent capabilities of the fabrication devices open up many computational challenges regarding designing printable objects which can fully exploit the capabilities of these devices.

Reachers goals: The goal of this project is to develop new computational fabrication techniques for creating and designing objects with complex appearance and tactile properties. More precisely, we would like to provide fine control over the look of the fabricated objects and how they feel when investigated using touch. Achieving this goal requires new algorithms for optimizing both the geometry of the objects as well as the distribution of 3D printing materials within the volume of fabricated objects. In this work, we will not limit our investigation to currently available 3D printers but will consider custom fabrication techniques that can be integrated into 3D printers in the future.

Requirements:

• Master’s degree in computer science or related field
• Interest, coursework, and research experience in at least one of the following areas: computer graphics, computational fabrication, appearance modeling and reproduction, haptics, geometry processing, machine learning
• Good math and programming skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English

We offer:

• Full-time position as a Ph.D. student at USI
• Collaboration and research visits at our research partners: MIT and University of Toronto
• Competitive salary in line with Swiss universities
• International, ambitious, and enthusiastic working environment
• Flexible starting date, but no later than spring 2022

Applications:

Applications should be sent to Piotr Didyk (piotr.didyk@usi.ch) with a subject starting with the phrase “[Application]” and include:

• CV & statement of purpose
• transcripts of records, both Bachelor and Master’s degree
• complete list of publications, if any,
• contacts to 2-3 persons who agreed to write recommendation letters

Consideration of applicants will begin June 1, 2021, and continue until the positions are filled.

The Faculty of Informatics at the USI is defined by its passion for scientific research. Around 200 top researchers from around the world conduct research in several computer science areas, with tens of millions of Swiss francs in competitive funding obtained to date. Over the years, the Faculty has become one of the leading research centers in Switzerland and an international point of reference in many fields.

Our group conducts research in the fields of computational display and computational fabrication. Our main goal is to combine computational techniques with human perception and hardware design to create better display and fabrication techniques. We are interested in everything related to new display technologies, image/video processing, 3D printing, computational fabrication, computer graphics, and human perception. We strive for excellence in research publishing regularly at top computer graphics venues, such as ACM SIGGRAPH.‍

Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland. The unique mixture of Swiss and Italian culture together with surrounding the city lake and mountains create a unique atmosphere as well as endless opportunities for spending free time.

For more information about our group see https://www.pdf.inf.usi.ch/