Minchen Li 李旻辰

Assistant Adjunct Professor, UCLA Math, MultiPLES Lab
I will join CMU CSD as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor this fall!

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

Research focus: numerical optimization and differentiable simulation for
computer graphics, computational mechanics, and robotics.

Email / Google Scholar / Research Gate / Github / Twitter / Zhihu

Minchen is an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA Department of Mathematics. He was a postdoctoral researcher in the SIG Center for Computer Graphics at the University of Pennsylvania after completing his Ph.D. in the same group, advised by Chenfanfu Jiang. Minchen is a winner of the 2021 ACM SIGGRAPH Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, the 2021 Symposium on Computer Animation (SCA) Doctoral Dissertation Award, and the 2020 Adobe Research Fellowship. His Ph.D. dissertation features the Incremental Potential Contact (IPC) method, which "presents a breakthrough in the notoriously challenging and long-standing problem of robust frictional contact simulation in nonlinear solid dynamics with guarantees of non-intersection" and has led to a series of follow-up works in both academia and industry. Minchen had four successive internships at Adobe Research. He received his M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia in 2018, advised by Alla Sheffer.


The efficacy of solid and fluid simulation methods in the evolving landscape of visual computing, manufacturing, and robotics industries is fundamentally determined by robustness, efficiency, accuracy, and versatility. However, achieving a harmonious balance among these crucial characteristics remains an open challenge. Minchen's research is committed to advancing the frontiers of physical simulation by striving for unprecedented levels of performance in all these areas, leveraging a comprehensive approach that combines numerical analysis, high-performance computing, and machine learning.

Augmented Incremental Potential Contact for Sticky Interactions

Yu Fang*, Minchen Li* (equal contributions), Yadi Cao, Xuan Li, Joshuah Wolper, Yin Yang, Chenfanfu Jiang

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), 2023  


Multi-Layer Thick Shells

Yunuo Chen, Tianyi Xie, Cem Yuksel, Danny M. Kaufman, Yin Yang, Chenfanfu Jiang, Minchen Li

ACM SIGGRAPH 2023  


A Contact Proxy Splitting Method for Lagrangian Solid-Fluid Coupling

Tianyi Xie, Minchen Li, Yin Yang, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2023  


Second-order Stencil Descent for Interior-point Hyperelasticity

Lei Lan, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang, Huamin Wang, Yin Yang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2023  


A Sparse Distributed Gigascale Resolution Material Point Method

Yuxing Qiu, Samuel T. Reeve, Minchen Li, Yin Yang, Stuart R. Slattery, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics, 2022 (presentation at SIGGRAPH 2023)  


Efficient Learning of Mesh-Based Physical Simulation with Bi-Stride Multi-Scale GNN

Yadi Cao, Menglei Chai, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang

International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), 2023  


Reconfigurable Data Glove for Reconstructing Physical and Virtual Grasps

Hangxin Liu, Zeyu Zhang, Ziyuan Jiao, Zhenliang Zhang, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang, Yixin Zhu, Song-Chun Zhu

Engineering, 2023  


TPA-Net: Generate A Dataset for Text to Physics-based Animation

Yuxing Qiu, Feng Gao, Minchen Li, Govind Thattai, Yin Yang, Chenfanfu Jiang

Arxiv 2211.13887  


PlasticityNet: Learning to Simulate Metal, Sand, and Snow for Optimization Time Integration

Xuan Li, Yadi Cao, Minchen Li, Yin Yang, Craig Schroeder, Chenfanfu Jiang

Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), 2022  


Midas: A Multi-Joint Robotics Simulator with Intersection-Free Frictional Contact

Yunuo Chen, Minchen Li, Wenlong Lu, Chuyuan Fu, Chenfanfu Jiang

Arxiv 2210.00130  


A Unified Newton Barrier Method for Multibody Dynamics

Yunuo Chen*, Minchen Li* (equal contributions), Lei Lan, Hao Su, Yin Yang, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2022  


Energetically Consistent Inelasticity for Optimization Time Integration

Xuan Li, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2022  


Affine Body Dynamics: Fast, Stable & Intersection-free Simulation of Stiff Materials

Lei Lan, Danny M. Kaufman, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang, Yin Yang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2022  


Penetration-free Projective Dynamics on the GPU

Lei Lan, Guanqun Ma, Yin Yang, Changxi Zheng, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2022  


The Power Particle-In-Cell Method

Ziyin Qu, Minchen Li, Fernando de Goes, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2022  


An Efficient B-Spline Lagrangian/Eulerian Method for Compressible Flow, Shock Waves, and Fracturing Solids

Yadi Cao, Yunuo Chen, Minchen Li, Yin Yang, Xinxin Zhang, Mridul Aanjaneya, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics, 2022 (presentation at SIGGRAPH 2022)  


Topology Optimization with Frictional Self-Contact

Zeshun Zong*, Xuan Li* (equal contributions), Jianping Ye, Sian Wen, Yin Yang, Danny M. Kaufman, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang

Arxiv 2208.04844  


Complex Locomotion Skill Learning via Differentiable Physics

Yu Fang*, Jiancheng Liu*, Mingrui Zhang* (equal contributions), Jiasheng Zhang, Yidong Ma, Minchen Li, Yuanming Hu, Chenfanfu Jiang, Tiantian Liu

Arxiv 2206.02341  


A Large-Scale Benchmark for the Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations

Zizhou Huang, Teseo Schneider, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang, Denis Zorin, Daniele Panozzo

Arxiv 2112.05309  


A Barrier Method for Frictional Contact on Embedded Interfaces

Yidong Zhao*, Jinhyun Choo* (equal contribution), Yupeng Jiang, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang, Kenichi Soga

Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering (CMAME), 2022  


BFEMP: Interpenetration-Free MPM-FEM Coupling with Barrier Contact

Xuan Li*, Yu Fang* (equal contribution), Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang

Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering (CMAME), 2021  


Codimensional Incremental Potential Contact

Minchen Li, Danny M. Kaufman, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2021  


Guaranteed Globally Injective 3D Deformation Processing

Yu Fang*, Minchen Li* (equal contribution), Chenfanfu Jiang, Danny M. Kaufman

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2021  


Intersection-free Rigid Body Dynamics

Zachary Ferguson, Minchen Li, Teseo Schneider, Francisca Gil-Ureta, Timothy Langlois,
Chenfanfu Jiang, Denis Zorin, Danny M. Kaufman, Daniele Panozzo

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2021  


Medial IPC: Accelerated Incremental Potential Contact With Medial Elastics

Lei Lan*, Yin Yang* (equal contribution), Danny M. Kaufman, Junfeng Yao, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2021  


Soft Hybrid Aerial Vehicle via Bistable Mechanism

Xuan Li*, Jessica McWilliams* (equal contribution), Minchen Li, Cynthia Sung, Chenfanfu Jiang

IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2021  

Best Paper Award in Mechanisms and Design


Lagrangian-Eulerian Multi-Density Topology Optimization with the Material Point Method

Yue Li*, Xuan Li*, Minchen Li* (equal contribution), Yixin Zhu, Bo Zhu, Chenfanfu Jiang

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering (IJNME), 2021  


Robust and Accurate Simulation of Elastodynamics and Contact

Minchen Li

Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 2020  


Incremental Potential Contact: Intersection- and Inversion-free, Large-Deformation Dynamics

Minchen Li, Zachary Ferguson, Teseo Schneider, Timothy Langlois, Denis Zorin, Daniele Panozzo, Chenfanfu Jiang, Danny M. Kaufman

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2020  


AnisoMPM: Animating Anisotropic Damage Mechanics

Joshuah Wolper, Yunuo Chen, Minchen Li, Yu Fang, Ziyin Qu, Jiecong Lu, Meggie Cheng, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2020  


IQ-MPM: An Interface Quadrature Material Point Method for Non-sticky Strongly Two-Way Coupled Nonlinear Solids and Fluids

Yu Fang*, Ziyin Qu* (equal contribution), Minchen Li, Xinxin Zhang, Yixin Zhu, Mridul Aanjaneya, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2020  


A Massively Parallel and Scalable Multi-GPU Material Point Method

Xinlei Wang*, Yuxing Qiu* (equal contribution), Stuart R. Slattery, Yu Fang, Minchen Li, Song-Chun Zhu, Yixin Zhu, Min Tang,
Dinesh Manocha, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2020  


Hierarchical Optimization Time Integration for CFL-rate MPM Stepping

Xinlei Wang*, Minchen Li* (equal contribution), Yu Fang, Xinxin Zhang, Ming Gao, Min Tang, Danny M. Kaufman, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics, 2020 (presentation at SIGGRAPH 2020)  


A Hybrid Material-Point Spheropolygon-Element Method for Solid and Granular Material Interaction

Yupeng Jiang, Minchen Li, Chenfanfu Jiang, Fernando Alonso-Marroquin

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering (IJNME), 2020  


Decomposed Optimization Time Integrator for Large-Step Elastodynamics

Minchen Li, Ming Gao, Timothy Langlois, Chenfanfu Jiang, Danny M. Kaufman

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2019  


Silly Rubber: An Implicit Material Point Method for Simulating Non-equilibrated Viscoelastic and Elastoplastic Solids

Yu Fang, Minchen Li, Ming Gao, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2019  


CD-MPM: Continuum Damage Material Point Methods for Dynamic Fracture Animation

Joshuah Wolper, Yu Fang, Minchen Li, Jiecong Lu, Ming Gao, Chenfanfu Jiang

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2019  


OptCuts: Joint Optimization of Surface Cuts and Parameterization

Minchen Li, Danny M. Kaufman, Vladimir G. Kim, Justin Solomon, Alla Sheffer

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH Asia), 2018  


FoldSketch: Enriching Garments with Physically Reproducible Folds

Minchen Li, Alla Sheffer, Eitan Grinspun, Nicholas Vining

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2018  


Resolving Fluid Boundary Layers with Particle Strength Exchange and Weak Adaptivity

Xinxin Zhang, Minchen Li, Robert Bridson

ACM Transactions on Graphics (SIGGRAPH), 2016  


A Tutorial on Backward Propagation Through Time (BPTT) in the Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) RNN

Minchen Li

Technical Report, 2016  


Prototyping Decomposed Cloud Software: A Case Study on 3D Skeletal Game Engine

Minchen Li, Wei Cai, Ke Wang, Hong Ji, Victor C.M. Leung

IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom), 2015  


MCG Test-bed: An Experimental Test-bed for Mobile Cloud Gaming

Wei Cai, Conghui Zhou, Minchen Li, Xiuhua Li, Victor C.M. Leung

ACM MobiSys Workshop on Mobile Gaming (MobiGames), 2015  



Instructor, University of California, Los Angeles

 • Math 164: Optimization (Fall 2022)
 • Math 151A: Applied Numerical Methods (Fall 2021)
 • Math 32A: Calculus of Several Variables (Summer 2021)


Teaching Assistant, University of Pennsylvania

 • EAS 205: Scientific Computing (Spring 2020)
   Instructor: Chenfanfu Jiang
 • CIS 563: Physics-Based Animation (Fall 2019)
   Instructor: Chenfanfu Jiang

Teaching Assistant, University of British Columbia


I love travel, photography, and films.