Biography:Theodore Kim

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Theodore Kim
Alma materCornell University (B.S.)
UNC Chapel Hill (Ph.D.)
AwardsNSF CAREER Award (2016)
Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement (2013, 2023)
Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (2024)
Scientific career
FieldsComputer science
American Studies
InstitutionsYale University
T. J. Watson Research Center
UCSB
University of Saskatchewan
Rhythm & Hues Studios
Evans & Sutherland
Doctoral advisorMing C. Lin

Theodore Kim is a two-time Academy Award-winning computer scientist and full Professor of Computer Science at Yale University,[1] where he is also an affiliate of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race & Migration (ER&M).[2] He is a member of the Computer Graphics Group with Julie Dorsey and Holly Rushmeier.[3]

He is known for his contributions to computer graphics, computer animation, solid mechanics, computational fluid dynamics, and fractal geometry.[1][3] His team's works have been featured in The Washington Post[4] and The Guardian among others.[5]

Education

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Cornell University[6] with a minor in English Literature[7] and interned at Evans & Sutherland[8] and Rhythm & Hues Studios.[9] He received a PhD in Computer Science from UNC Chapel Hill in 2006, under the supervision of Ming C. Lin for his dissertation "Physically-based simulation of ice formation."[10]

Career

He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at IBM TJ Watson Research Center in 2007 and a Post-Doctoral Associate at Cornell University from 2008-2009. From 2009-2011, he was an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan, and from 2011-2015 a faculty member at UCSB in the Media Arts and Technology Program and the Department of Computer Science. He was a Senior Research Scientist at Pixar Research from 2015-2019 and received screen credits in Cars 3, Coco, Toy Story 4, and Incredibles 2. He has been a Yale faculty member since 2019.

Awards

He received a Technical Achievement Award at the 2013 Scientific & Technical Academy Awards with Nils Thuerey, Markus Gross and Doug James, "for the invention, publication and dissemination of Wavelet Turbulence software"[11] which enabled "fast, art–directable creation of highly detailed gas simulation, making it easier for the artist to control the appearance of these effects in the final image."[11]

He received a second Technical Achievement Award with David Eberle, Fernando de Goes and Audrey Wong[12] in recognition of their contributions to Pixar’s Fizt2 physics simulation system, which provides "a high-performance solver with novel and stable implicit physics and robust collision. The design of this system enables artist workflows to easily apply soft-body dynamics to a broad range of interacting animated characters and objects."[12][13]

He is also the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award[14] and was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering in 2024.[6]

Public writing

His public writings on labor, race, and technology have appeared in the Los Angeles Times,[15][16] Scientific American,[17] Time,[18] San Francisco Chronicle,[19] and Washington Post.[20]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Theodore Kim ∣ Professor ∣ Yale Engineering". https://engineering.yale.edu/research-and-faculty/faculty-directory/theodore-kim. 
  2. ↑ "Theodore Kim ∣ American Studies". https://americanstudies.yale.edu/people/theodore-kim. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Theodore Kim ∣ Computer Graphics Group". https://graphics.cs.yale.edu/people/theodore-kim. 
  4. ↑ Ortega, Lizette (November 30, 2024). "Animations of coiled hair for Black film characters improve with new algorithms". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/11/30/coily-hair-animation-black-film-characters/. 
  5. ↑ Oladipo, Gloria (February 7, 2025). "‘This is Black hair’: technological advances are making waves in animation". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/feb/07/black-hair-animation-technology. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Theodore W. Kim - Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering". 2024. https://ctcase.org/bios/theodore-w-kim/. 
  7. ↑ "Member Profile: Theodore Kim ∣ ACM SIGGRAPH". https://www.siggraph.org/inside-siggraph/member-profiles/profile/?member=theodore-kim. 
  8. ↑ "T. Kim, Computer Graphics, Etc.". https://www.tkim.graphics/. 
  9. ↑ "Theodore Kim ∣ For Humanity". https://forhumanity.yale.edu/theodore-kim. 
  10. ↑ Kim, Theodore Won-Hyung (May 2006). Physically-based simulation of ice formation (PhD thesis). UNC Chapel Hill.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "The 85th Scientific & Technical Awards 2012 ∣ 2013". February 9, 2013. https://www.oscars.org/sci-tech/ceremonies/2013. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Scientific & Technical Awards ∣ 2023". February 24, 2023. https://www.oscars.org/sci-tech/ceremonies/2023. 
  13. ↑ Shelton, Jim (Mar 8, 2023). "It’s two Oscars and counting for Yale computer scientist Theodore Kim". Yale News. https://news.yale.edu/2023/03/08/its-two-oscars-and-counting-yale-computer-scientist-theodore-kim. 
  14. ↑ Estrada, Andrea (May 31, 2013). "UCSB Media Arts and Technology Scholar Receives Harold J. Plous Award". UC Santa Barbara News & Events - The Current. https://news.ucsb.edu/2013/013542/ucsb-media-arts-and-technology-scholar-receives-harold-j-plous-award. 
  15. ↑ Kim, Theodore (June 26, 2022). "Op-Ed: The rise of tech unions shows workers reckoning with reality". The Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-06-26/apple-union-tech-labor-us. 
  16. ↑ Kim, Theodore (May 14, 2023). "Can today’s AI truly learn on its own? Not likely". The Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-14/ai-google-chatgpt-code-emergent-properties. 
  17. ↑ Kim, Theodore (August 18, 2020). "The Racist Legacy of Computer-Generated Humans". Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-racist-legacy-of-computer-generated-humans/. 
  18. ↑ Kim, Theodore; Oh, Yoehan; Tran, Jacinda S.. "The Vietnamese Computer Scientist Who Made Toy Story Possible". Made by History at Time. https://time.com/6974656/toy-story-vietnam-war/. 
  19. ↑ Kim, Theodore (April 6, 2022). "Amazon warehouse workers unionized. It’s time tech workers do the same". The San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Amazon-warehouse-workers-unionized-It-s-time-17061848.php. 
  20. ↑ Kim, Theodore (December 8, 2021). "Racism in our curriculums isn’t limited to history. It’s in math, too.". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/08/racism-our-curriculums-isnt-limited-history-its-math-too/. 



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