Shilin Zhu

Shilin Zhu

Research Scientist

Pixar Animation Studios

The Walt Disney Company

shilin@pixar.com

Biography

I am a Research Scientist at Pixar Animation Studios. My job is to create lifelike pictures by innovating new computer technology, build tools to make artists life easier, and work with other Disney subsidiaries (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Industrial Light & Magic, and Disney Research Studios) to push our picture quality to a new level. Contributing technology for storytelling gives me lots of joy in my life. As part of The Walt Disney Company, I believe any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. We stand behind every pixel on the screen.

I received my Ph.D. in Computer Science (Google PhD Fellow) at University of California, San Diego in 2021. My research stands at the intersection of graphics, vision, and photography, sometimes powered by magical machine learning. I have published more than 40 academic papers which are recognized worldwide in Computer Science related fields.

On the production side, my work on efficient path sampling for rendering has been deployed to the visual effect pipeline of Weta Digital (now Weta FX) to produce Avatar sequels and future live action films.

I am deeply honored to have worked with talented people at other institutions including Apple (2018), Disney Research (2019), Walt Disney Imagineering - Theme Parks (2019), and Weta Digital (2021).

To see what films I contributed to, enter IMDb.

Interests
  • Computer Graphics
  • Computer Vision
  • Visual Effects
  • Machine Learning
Education
  • Doctor of Philosophy, 2021

    University of California, San Diego

  • Master of Science, 2019

    University of California, San Diego

  • Bachelor of Science, 2016

    University of Science and Technology of China

Film Credits

*
Elemental (2023)

Elemental (2023)

Software Research & Development - Research

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Software Research & Development - Research

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
Research Scientist
Pixar Animation Studios
Jan 2022 – Present Emeryville, California
 
 
 
 
 
Research Intern
Pixar Animation Studios
Jun 2021 – Sep 2021 Emeryville, California
 
 
 
 
 
Rendering Research Intern
Weta Digital VFX
Feb 2021 – Jun 2021 Wellington, New Zealand
 
 
 
 
 
Lab Associate Intern
Disney Research
Jun 2019 – Sep 2019 Glendale, California
 
 
 
 
 
R&D Imagineer Intern
Walt Disney Imagineering
Jun 2019 – Sep 2019 Anaheim, California
 
 
 
 
 
R&D Intern
Apple
Jun 2018 – Sep 2018 Cupertino, California