Y. Samara Ren

Y. Samara Ren

Ph.D. Student in Computer Science

EPFL

Biography

Yingying Ren (Samara) is a fifth-year PhD student at the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL. She is advised by Professor Mark Pauly at EPFL and co-advised by Professor Julian Panetta at UC Davis. Her research interests focus in the domain of physics-based simulation, numerical optimization, and computational inverse design for digital fabrication. She is passionate about studying and designing shape-morphing structures built with state-of-the-art fabrication technology. Previously she received her dual degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Mathematics (with highest distinction) and Computer Science (with highest honors). She had interned at Google and Samsung Research America. She was an executive member of WiGRAPH (ACM SIGGRAPH Community group) and organized the yearly Berthouzoz Women in Research Event for three years from 2021 to 2023.

Interests
  • Physics-based Simulation
  • Inverse Design Optimization
  • Digital Fabrication
  • Geometric Computing
Education
  • PhD in Computer Science, 2019 - 2024

    EPFL

  • BSc in Computer Science, BSc in Mathematics, 2015 - 2019

    UIUC

Publications

Reach For the Arcs: Reconstructing Surfaces from SDFs via Tangent Points
Reach For the Arcs: Reconstructing Surfaces from SDFs via Tangent Points