Nina Amenta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nina Amenta
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| Alma mater | Yale University University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | 3D surface reconstruction |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer Science |
| Institutions | University of Texas at Austin University of California, Davis |
| Doctoral advisor | Raimund Seidel |
Annamaria Beatrice "Nina" Amenta is an American computer scientist. She is a professor and leads the Computer Science Department at the University of California, Davis. She specializes in computational geometry and computer graphics. Her work helps computers understand and create shapes.
Professor Amenta is especially known for her research in 3D reconstruction. This means she figures out how to build 3D models from many scattered data points. Imagine taking many pictures of an object from different angles. Her work helps computers put those pictures together to make a full 3D shape.
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Early Life and Education
Nina Amenta grew up in Pittsburgh, a city in Pennsylvania. When she went to college, she chose Yale University. She studied something called classical civilization, which is about ancient Greek and Roman history and culture. She graduated from Yale in 1979.
After college, Nina Amenta worked for over ten years. She was a computer programmer, writing code for different projects. Later, she decided to go back to school. She earned her Ph.D. (a high-level degree) in 1994. She got this degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Her special project was about math problems related to geometry and programming. Her teacher for this project was Raimund Seidel.
Career in Computer Science
After finishing her Ph.D., Nina Amenta continued her research. She worked at places like The Geometry Center and Xerox PARC. These are places where scientists do advanced studies.
Later, she became a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2002, she moved to the University of California, Davis. There, she continued teaching and doing research. In 2013, she became the Tim Bucher Family Professor. She also became the head of the Computer Science Department. This means she helps lead the entire department.
What is 3D Surface Reconstruction?
Nina Amenta's most famous work is in 3D surface reconstruction. Imagine you have a lot of tiny pieces of information about an object. These pieces might be like dots in space. Her research helps computers take these dots and figure out the smooth surface of the object.
This technology is very useful. It can help create 3D models of real-world objects. For example, it can be used in medical imaging to create 3D models of organs. It's also used in computer games and movies to make realistic characters and environments.
Contributions and Recognition
Nina Amenta is a respected expert in her field. In 2006, she helped lead a big meeting called the Symposium on Computational Geometry. A symposium is a conference where scientists share their new ideas. She was the co-chair of this important event with another scientist, Otfried Cheong. This shows her leadership in the world of computer science.
