JIAYIN (KAY) LU 卢嘉茵
Applied Mathematician & Computational Artist & Freelance Photographer
Welcome!
欢迎来访!
My passion lies in mathematics and computation. I appreciate the beauty in mathematics, and the power of efficient algorithms and computations.
I am currently a postdoc in Applied Mathematics at UCLA, working with Prof. Chenfanfu Jiang and the Artificial Intelligence & Visual Computing laboratory. My current research focuses on bridging computational geometry, high-performance computing, and machine learning to advance mesh generation. I am developing parallel and learning-based frameworks for generating adaptive, high-quality geometry meshes that power applications in computer graphics, virtual reality and scientific computing.
In January, 2024, I graduated with a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University. In my graduate research, I developed mathematical models, designed numerical simulations, published computer software libraries, and make tangible impacts in different scientific domains, including computational geometry, material science, and quantitative biology.
You can read more about my work in the Research section.
I am also a longtime art enthusiast. In my free time, I like to explore expressive ways to combine my areas of interest together, for example, to use 3D printing/laser cutting to create mathematical art. In my graduate study, I have also co-designed and co-instructed a course on Generative Art and Scientific Visualization. In this way, I hope to share the fun and beauty of mathematical art with others.
Fun fact
I am currently developing a new course, Math + Code + Art, to be offered at UCLA Mathematics in 2026. I am mentoring a team of undergraduate mentees to co-develop the course. Some topics include spirograph and fractal generation, translating music data into visual art, training neural networks to map sound to color, style transfer for paintings, Voronoi-based generative art, algorithmic image collages, 3D mathematical modeling and 3D printing.
Hobbies
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Art - Check out my Art section! For example...
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Photography - Check out my Flickr portfolio!
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3D printing - Download my designs for free at Thingiverse!
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Painting & Drawing
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Ice skating - I can spin!
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Exploring the nature
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Daydreaming :)
My journey
Bertrand Russell once said, “Mathematics, rightly viewed, processes not only truth, but supreme beauty.” This is also how I feel about mathematics: romantic, beautiful and extremely useful in explaining, modeling and improving our world.
My love for mathematics started with my love for artistic expressions. Since my sophomore year, I have been creating 3D printing designs and I found my inspirations from mathematics. My first 3D printing project was the Surprise Box. I used Mathematica to model a heart shape using the cartesian expression of cardioid and added some flowers by modifying Mathematica code published by János Karsai, an applied mathematician at the University of Szeged. I was stunned by the fact that we can use mathematics and computation to model real life objects so beautifully, with perfect symmetries and precisely defined shapes. I also started wondering: What else can I do with mathematics? Can I try to understand the world in a mathematical way? Can I make contributions to our society using mathematics?
Since then, my appreciation for mathematics has been growing exponentially, and it prompted me to pursue a career in the interdisciplinary field of applied mathematics!
~~~ Never be so busy that you forget to be kind; Nor so focused that you close your heart to the quiet, beautiful things in life. ~~~