Computational-Design

I started out in architecture, assuming I would eventually design buildings. Somewhere along the way, that stopped being the most interesting part. What stayed with me instead was a certain way of thinking: about geometry, structure, how things fit together. I’ve always been drawn to 3D geometry in particular; there’s something about working in three dimensions that I find genuinely exciting. At some point I found myself more interested in how shapes are constructed and represented than in what the final design looked like. ...

I’m happy to share that I’m now part of Synopsys Inc as the Ansys team joins Synopsys. I’ll be continuing my work in computational geometry, geometry processing, and meshing, focusing on geometric algorithms for CAD kernels and simulation solvers — and I’m also excited about future opportunities in EDA.

Happy to be featured in the latest episode of the University of Stuttgart’s Made in Science podcast! 🎙️ It was a pleasure discussing the intersection of 3D computational geometry and architecture, and sharing my journey as a designer, engineer, and scientist. I also enjoyed talking about a few of my personal hobbies and how they connect to my work. Dr Gene Ting-Chun Kao, an R&D engineer from Stockholm and ITECH alumnus, discusses 3D computational geometry, architecture, and how engineering is like cooking and art. ...

Finally! After a long journey, I now officially hold the title of Doctor of Sciences (Dr. sc. ETH Zürich). My PhD dissertation, titled “Stability Assessment of Discrete Shell Structures during Assembly,” is now available online and can be freely accessed. Read the dissertation → Thanks to my supervisors and reviewers: Philippe, Stelian, Tom, and Jan for their guidance. My family members Bonnie and Genie for their endless support. More thanks in the acknowledgement section of the thesis.

I am happy to share that I defended my PhD research at ETH Zürich last Thursday, March 9th! Many thanks to all my supervisors and reviewers — Prof. Dr Philippe Block, Prof. Dr Stelian Coros, Dr Tom Van Mele, and Prof. Dr Jan Knippers — for their endless support! Time flies! It has been a wonderful 4.5 years since I joined the Block Research Group, ETH Zurich in September 2018. I gained rich experience, learnt so much knowledge, and overcame several challenges. I enjoyed doing advanced interdisciplinary research in NCCR Digital Fabrication and Institute of Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich. I was also fascinated by the courses I took during my Computer Science CAS degree at D-INFK, ETH Zürich, parallel to my PhD studies. ...

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as R&D Engineer II at Ansys! I will be working in the Meshing Development Unit, focusing on 3D Geometry Processing and Computational Geometry topics. I am incredibly excited to be part of a team dedicated to cutting-edge research and development in these fields. After 4.5 wonderful years in Zürich — first at ETH Zürich pursuing my PhD on the stability assessment of discrete shell structures, and then defending it successfully in March 2023 — this move to Stockholm marks an exciting new chapter both professionally and personally. ...

I am excited to open source our latest exciting research in Python — Coupled Rigid-Block Analysis (CRA) for the COMPAS framework. CRA is a new method to measure structural stability statically and can be used to design complex discrete-element assemblies. It can be applied to many research fields like designing architecture, furniture, 3D puzzles, toys, or even robotic assembly planning. You are welcome to use our code, star our repo, cite our work, and contribute! ...

I am thrilled to share our latest exciting research — Coupled Rigid-Block Analysis (CRA) — published in the SCI journal Computer-Aided Design. CRA is a new method to measure structural stability statically and can be used to design complex discrete-element assemblies. It can be applied to many research fields like designing architectures, furniture, 3D puzzles, toys, or even robotic assembly planning. Please see our open-access paper for more details! ...

很開心受邀到 離島人 | Humans Offshore Podcast 分享在 ETH Zürich 做跨領域研究的經驗！ In this episode I talked about my interdisciplinary journey bridging architecture, digital fabrication, and computer science — what brought me from Taiwan to Stuttgart and then to ETH Zürich, and what it means to work at the intersection of design and engineering. 建築設計、數位製造與電腦科學的跨領域研究 — 高鼎鈞 (EP052) #旅居瑞士 #ETH #數位製造 #建築設計 ...

I was part of the teaching team at MIT Design-Build Workshop 2019 in Shanghai for a month, a joint workshop from MIT Architecture, ETH Zurich Block Research Group, and Tongji University. The workshop explores robotic additive manufacture and assembly of novel shell structures. More information can be found here on the BRG website. Teaching materials can also be found on our GitHub repo. With students from both Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tongji University, we built two projects. ...