Nancy Hitschfeld Kahler
+Lab founder | Full Professor Universidad de Chile
+Lab
Department of Computer Science
University of Chile
Nancy Hitschfeld Kahler is a full professor at the Department of Computer Science of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the University of Chile, with a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich in 1993 and an M.Sc. from the University of Chile in 1987. His career includes numerous contributions in the field of computation, especially in areas such as meshing, computational geometry, and data processing on graphics processing units (GPU).
Over the past few years, Hitschfeld Kahler has been actively involved in cutting-edge research, co-authoring papers such as “An evaluation of GPU filters for accelerating the 2D convex hull” (February 2024) and “POLYLLA: Polygonal meshing algorithm based on terminal-edge regions” (February 2022).
In addition Hitschfeld Kahler has held administrative roles at the University of Chile, being the first female academic hired at the DCC and its director. Her commitment to gender equity in computing is reflected in her participation in the Adelina Gutiérrez Network, an initiative that addresses obstacles for women in academia.
She teaches several courses, including “GPU Computing,” “Computational Geometry,” and “Design and Programming Methodologies,” demonstrating her dedication to the training of new generations. Among her distinctions are the Best DCC Teacher Award in 2013 and the Best Nvidia Paper Award in 2014. She also supervises more than 100 engineering theses, 30 master’s theses, and 6 Ph.D. theses.
Hitschfeld Kahler stands out not only for his academic excellence, but also for her vision on the role of computing in society, advocating to bring it closer to the most vulnerable classes and motivate new generations through passion for the discipline. Her legacy ranges from technical-scientific contributions to his work in promoting equity and education in computing.
- Polygon/polyhedron meshes
- Computational geometry
- GPU computing
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Doctor's degree Technischen Wissenschaften, 1993
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-Zurich (ETH-Zurich)
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MSc in Computer Science, 1987
University of Chile
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BSc in Computer Science, 1984
University of Chile