Yunchen Yu (Blaire)

PhD Candidate, Cornell University

About Me

I am a PhD Candidate at Cornell University, advised by Prof. Steve Marschner. My current research focuses on realistic appearance modeling of materials and physically based rendering using wave optics. Before coming to Cornell, I pursued my undergraduate study at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where I received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Computer Science. I worked with Prof. Ankur Mehta and Prof. Marcus Roper during my time at UCLA.

Selected Publications

Appearance Modeling of Iridescent Feathers with Diverse Nanostructures

Yunchen Yu, Andrea Weidlich, Bruce Walter, Eugene d'Eon, Steve Marschner

A Full-Wave Reference Simulator for Computing Surface Reflectance

Yunchen Yu, Mengqi Xia, Bruce Walter, Eric Michielssen, Steve Marschner

Rapid Design of Mechanical Logic with Quasi-Static Electromechanical Modeling

Wenzhong Yan*, Yunchen Yu*, Ankur Mehta

Analytical Modeling for Rapid Design of Bistable Buckled Beams

Wenzhong Yan, Yunchen Yu, Ankur Mehta

Industry Experience

Real-Time Rendering Group, NVIDIA Research

Research Intern
May 2024 — Aug 2024

Teaching Experience

CS 4620, Cornell University

Teaching Assistant
Fall 2023

CS 1112, Cornell University

Teaching Assistant
Fall 2022, Spring 2023

Education

  • Ph.D. in Computer Science
    Cornell University
    2020 — present
  • B.S. in Applied Mathematics B.A. in Linguistics and Computer Science
    University of California, Los Angeles
    2017 — 2020

Awards

  • Sherwood Prize, UCLA
    To recognize overall outstanding achievement and exceptional performance in mathematics at the undergraduate level.
  • College Honors, UCLA
    Awarded to undergraduate students upon successful completion of the College Honors program.
  • Summa Cum Laude
    Latin honors awarded to undergraduate student according to overall grade-point average (GPA) at graduation.

Language

  • Mandarin (Native)
  • English (Professional)