DrNico Pietroni

My research focuses on Computer Graphics and Geometry Processing. The primary goal of my recent research is to develop new geometry processing algorithms targeted at specific cross-disciplinary applications (such as computationally aided fabrication and architectural design), often resulting in solutions with more general appli- cability.

n 2009 I obtained a PhD in computer science at the University of Genova (Italy) under the supervision of Paolo Cignoni, Fabio Ganovelli, and Enrico Puppo. During my PhD, I proposed novel methods for interactive physically-based fracture animation and real-time texture synthesis. Subsequently, during my postdoc at New York University, I proposed novel methods for mesh processing and analysis. I applied my experience in funda- mental geometry processing to a broader range of applicative domains to design a set of novel geometric tools that can be used in architecture and digital fabrication pipelines. In another project, I contributed to the design of novel instruments for semi-interactive modelling and an innovative method for the design of elastic properties or to optimize the structural properties of 3D-printed shapes. I am currently exploiting my experience in geometry processing to design a new set of intelligent tools to support artists and modellers to bring functional forms to reality. My research activity is reinforced by long-lasting scientific collaborations with prestigious IT laboratories worldwide, such as the Department of Computer Science of New York University, the Interactive Geometry Lab of ETH, The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) and the National Research Council of Italy. I published the results of my research in the major conferences and journals of the field (such as ACM Siggraph / ACM Transactions on Graphics, IEEE Transaction of Visualization and Computer Graphics, Eurographics / Computer Graphic Forum), as well as European and US patents. These contributions have had a significant impact, as evidenced by three Software Awards from the Geometry Processing community for co-authoring two open-source software projects: the geometric processing library Libigl (2015), the mesh-processing suite MeshLab (2017), and Hexalab (2022).

I teach courses in fields related to Computer Graphics and 3D Shape Modelling, at various levels. In 2014, I worked as an additional lecturer for the undergraduate course of 3D modelling at the University of Pisa. In 2014, 2015, and 2018, I delivered advanced training courses for Canon Research Australia, focusing on Digital Shape Manipulation, 3D Reconstruction, and 3D Graphics on the Web.

 Since 2018, I coordinated and taught courses on Computer Graphics (attended by about 120 students) and Computer Animation (attended by about 100 students) at the University of Technology Sydney. In 2018 also held a course on Interactive Media (attended by around 270 undergraduate students). My lectures often feature live coding sessions, which I have found to be highly engaging for students while providing them with the opportunity to immediately apply newly learned con- cepts in practice. Over the course of my career, I have co-supervised many master’s students and 11 PhD students.

During my research career, I had the privilege of collaborating with experts from different fields, such as manu- facturing and construction engineers, mathematicians, surgeons and talented artists. This experience has been a constant source of exciting challenges and potentiality for the applications of geometry-processing-based solu- tions.