Minchen Li

Minchen Li

Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science (Computer Science Department). Formerly an Assistant Adjunct Professor at UCLA's Mathematics Department. Holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania's SIG Center for Computer Graphics, followed by a postdoctoral position there. Research focuses on physics-based simulation, integrating numerical analysis, high-performance computing, and machine learning. Notable contributions include the IPC method for frictional contact simulation and large-scale material point methods.

Education

• Ph.D., Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania (2020)
• M.Sc., Computer Science, University of British Columbia (2018)
• B.Eng., Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University (2015)

Research Interests

Advances in physical simulation for visual computing, robotics, and manufacturing. Specializes in robust and efficient methods for solid/fluid dynamics, contact modeling, and GPU acceleration. Combines numerical analysis with machine learning to address challenges in simulation accuracy and versatility.

Awards

• 2021 ACM SIGGRAPH Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
• 2024 SCA Early Career Researcher Award

Advising & Labs

Leads the Simulation Intelligence Group (SIG) at CMU Graphics Lab. Advises PhD students Guying Lin, Juntian Zheng, Michael Liu, and Zhaofeng Luo. Collaborates with industry and academic partners on projects like VR-based modeling systems and scalable simulation frameworks.