Christopher Batty

Prior to pursuing an academic career, Professor Batty was a Research & Development Software Engineer at former Winnipeg-based visual effects studio Frantic Films, where he developed artist-friendly software tools for the physics-based animation of fluids and solids. During his Ph.D. he spent internships at both Intel’s Applications Research Lab in California, and New Zealand’s Weta Digital, the visual effects studio behind Avatar and The Lord of the Rings. He has also collaborated with Ottawa-based computer graphics software company Exocortex Technologies on the development of spatially adaptive fluid animation techniques. During his sabbatical in 2017, he spent time visiting Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Professor Batty’s research interests lie in the areas of computer graphics and scientific computing. In particular, his work focuses on physics-based animation, which combines elements of mechanics, geometry, numerical methods, and computer animation to approximate and predict the motion of objects and materials, with applications to entertainment and visual effects.