Matthias Zwicker

Matthias Zwicker is the Elizabeth Iribe Chair for Innovation and the Phillip H. and Catherine C. Horvitz Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, where he currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Computer Science. He joined UMD in March 2017 as the Reginald Allan Hahne Endowed E-Nnovate Professor in Computer Science. Prior to UMD, he was a professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland (2008-2017), Assistant Professor at UC San Diego (2006-2008), and a post-doctoral associate at MIT (2003-2006).

• PhD from ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2003)

Matthias Zwicker's research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and computer graphics, with the goal of enabling next-generation AR/VR and computer graphics applications. His work spans several key areas including point-based graphics, gradient-domain rendering, image processing, and 3D reconstruction. He has made significant contributions to surface splatting, texture synthesis, and denoising techniques. His recent work increasingly integrates deep learning approaches with traditional computer graphics techniques.

Zwicker's recent publications (2021-2022) show a strong trend toward integrating deep learning with computer graphics, particularly in 3D reconstruction, rendering, and animation. His work increasingly focuses on neural radiosity, point cloud processing, and differentiable rendering techniques. There's a clear emphasis on improving perceptual quality in graphics applications, with many papers addressing challenges in AR/VR systems. His research group frequently publishes at top venues including SIGGRAPH, CVPR, and ICCV.

• BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARD! at VISAPP 2018

As an active member of the UMD community, Zwicker has served as a University Senator for the CS department, as a faculty co-lead in developing the new Immersive Media Design major, and as a faculty mentor in the Gemstone Honors Program. His service includes conference leadership roles such as papers co-chair for IEEE/Eurographics Symposium on Point-Based Graphics, Eurographics, and Eurographics Symposium on Rendering.

Zwicker leads research in the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering at UMD (room 5244). His work builds on his previous leadership of the Computer Graphics Group at the University of Bern, where he served as head of the group and as director of undergraduate and graduate studies. His research continues to push boundaries in the integration of AI and graphics for next-generation visual computing applications.