Theodore Kim
Theodore Kim | |
|---|---|
| Education | Cornell University (B.S.) UNC Chapel Hill (Ph.D.) |
| Awards | NSF CAREER Award (2016) Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement (2013, 2023) Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (2024) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science American Studies |
| Workplaces | Yale University T. J. Watson Research Center UCSB University of Saskatchewan Rhythm & Hues Studios Evans & Sutherland |
| Ming C. Lin | |
Theodore Kim is a two-time Academy Award-winning computer scientist and full Professor of Computer Science at Yale University,[1] where he is also an affiliate of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race & Migration (ER&M).[2] He is a member of the Computer Graphics Group with Julie Dorsey and Holly Rushmeier.[3]
He is known for his contributions to computer graphics, computer animation, solid mechanics, computational fluid dynamics, and fractal geometry.[1][3] His team's works have been featured in The Washington Post[4] and The Guardian among others.[5]
Education
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Cornell University[6] with a minor in English Literature[7] and interned at Evans & Sutherland[8] and Rhythm & Hues Studios.[9] He received a PhD in Computer Science from UNC Chapel Hill in 2006, under the supervision of Ming C. Lin for his dissertation "Physically-based simulation of ice formation."[10]
Career
He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at IBM TJ Watson Research Center in 2007 and a Post-Doctoral Associate at Cornell University from 2008-2009. From 2009-2011, he was an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan, and from 2011-2015 a faculty member at UCSB in the Media Arts and Technology Program and the Department of Computer Science. He was a Senior Research Scientist at Pixar Research from 2015-2019 and received screen credits in Cars 3, Coco, Toy Story 4, and Incredibles 2. He has been a Yale faculty member since 2019.
Awards
He received a Technical Achievement Award at the 2013 Scientific & Technical Academy Awards with Nils Thuerey, Markus Gross and Doug James, "for the invention, publication and dissemination of Wavelet Turbulence software"[11] which enabled "fast, art–directable creation of highly detailed gas simulation, making it easier for the artist to control the appearance of these effects in the final image."[11]
He received a second Technical Achievement Award with David Eberle, Fernando de Goes and Audrey Wong[12] in recognition of their contributions to Pixar’s Fizt2 physics simulation system, which provides "a high-performance solver with novel and stable implicit physics and robust collision. The design of this system enables artist workflows to easily apply soft-body dynamics to a broad range of interacting animated characters and objects."[12][13]
He is also the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award[14] and was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering in 2024.[6]
Public writing
His public writings on labor, race, and technology have appeared in the Los Angeles Times,[15][16] Scientific American,[17] Time,[18] San Francisco Chronicle,[19] and Washington Post.[20]
References
- 1 2 "Theodore Kim ∣ Professor ∣ Yale Engineering". Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science.
- ↑ "Theodore Kim ∣ American Studies". American Studies at Yale.
- 1 2 "Theodore Kim ∣ Computer Graphics Group". Yale Computer Graphics Group.
- ↑ Ortega, Lizette (November 30, 2024). "Animations of coiled hair for Black film characters improve with new algorithms". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- ↑ Oladipo, Gloria (February 7, 2025). "'This is Black hair': technological advances are making waves in animation". The Guardian. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- 1 2 "Theodore W. Kim - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering". Bios Archive - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. 2024.
- ↑ "Member Profile: Theodore Kim ∣ ACM SIGGRAPH". Member Profiles - ACM SIGGRAPH.
- ↑ "T. Kim, Computer Graphics, Etc". Theodore Kim.
- ↑ "Theodore Kim ∣ For Humanity". For Humanity - Yale University.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore Won-Hyung (May 2006). Physically-based simulation of ice formation (PhD thesis). UNC Chapel Hill.
- 1 2 "The 85th Scientific & Technical Awards 2012 ∣ 2013". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 9, 2013.
- 1 2 "Scientific & Technical Awards ∣ 2023". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 24, 2023.
- ↑ Shelton, Jim (Mar 8, 2023). "It's two Oscars and counting for Yale computer scientist Theodore Kim". Yale News.
- ↑ Estrada, Andrea (May 31, 2013). "UCSB Media Arts and Technology Scholar Receives Harold J. Plous Award". UC Santa Barbara News & Events - The Current.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore (June 26, 2022). "Op-Ed: The rise of tech unions shows workers reckoning with reality". The Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore (May 14, 2023). "Can today's AI truly learn on its own? Not likely". The Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore (August 18, 2020). "The Racist Legacy of Computer-Generated Humans". Scientific American.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore; Oh, Yoehan; Tran, Jacinda S. "The Vietnamese Computer Scientist Who Made Toy Story Possible". Made by History at Time.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore (April 6, 2022). "Amazon warehouse workers unionized. It's time tech workers do the same". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ↑ Kim, Theodore (December 8, 2021). "Racism in our curriculums isn't limited to history. It's in math, too". The Washington Post.