Member Profile: Bing-Yu Chen (Robin)
1. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?
I currently hold two positions. I have been a Distinguished Professor at National Taiwan University for over 21 years, and I am also serving as a Deputy Minister at the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan, a role I’ve held for about six months.
2. What was your first job?
My first job was as an Assistant Professor at National Taiwan University.
3. Where did you complete your formal education?
I completed my formal education at the University of Tokyo.
4. How did you first get involved with ACM SIGGRAPH?
My first involvement with ACM SIGGRAPH was as a presenter while I was still a student.
5. What is your favorite memory of a SIGGRAPH conference?
My favorite memory is seeing several impressive demos in the E-Tech area.
6. Describe a project that you would like to share with the ACM SIGGRAPH community.
Legolization: Optimizing LEGO Designs – In this project, we developed a force-based analysis to estimate the physical stability of sculptures, enabling the automatic generation of a LEGO brick layout from a given 3D model. This layout considers color information, workload (measured by the number of bricks), and physical stability.
7. If you could have dinner with one living or non-living person, who would it be and why?
I would choose Professor Tomoyuki Nishita, my PhD advisor, as we rarely have the opportunity to share a meal together nowadays.
8. What is something most people don’t know about you?
I’m an introvert.
9. From which single individual have you learned the most in your life? What did they teach you?
My teachers in the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Taiwan University taught me how to conduct quality research and be a good advisor.
10. Is there someone in particular who has influenced your decision to work with ACM SIGGRAPH?
No.
11. What can you point to in your career as your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was when my students organized a party to celebrate my 20 years of teaching at National Taiwan University, and more than 100 alumni came back to join the celebration.