PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Derek Nowrouzezahrai

Derek Nowrouzezahrai is a computer graphics and AI researcher whose work connects machine learning with the simulation and rendering of physical worlds. He earned engineering and computer science degrees from Waterloo and Toronto, then worked at Université de Montréal, Disney Research Zurich and McGill. His research ranges from neural representations for real-time 3D shapes to fluid simulation and studies of physical structure in video diffusion. Mila named him in 2023 to lead its Ubisoft–Mila chair on responsible AI for video games. As of October 2026, he is a full professor at McGill, directs the Centre for Intelligent Machines, co-directs the Graphics Lab and holds a Canada CIFAR AI Chair.

Timeline

  1. 2005–2010

    Waterloo and Toronto degrees

    He earns a B.A.Sc. in computer engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2005, an M.Sc. in computer science from the University of Toronto in 2006, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Toronto in 2010.

  2. By 2017

    McGill and Disney Research

    By 2017, he is an associate professor at McGill and directs its Graphics & Imaging Lab. Before McGill, he is an associate professor at the University of Montreal and a postdoctoral researcher at Disney Research Zurich, where he also lectures at ETH Zurich. He also works at Microsoft Research, Amazon.com, Electronic Arts and Research in Motion.

  3. 2021

    Neural geometric level of detail

    In 2021, he coauthors Neural Geometric Level of Detail, which introduces an octree-based neural signed-distance representation for implicit 3D shapes and enables real-time rendering.

  4. 2023

    Ubisoft-Mila research chair

    In 2023, Mila names him to lead the first Ubisoft–Mila Industrial Research Chair, Scaling Game Worlds With Responsible AI, which uses data-driven tools to empower video-game artists. He also coauthors Differentiable Visual Computing for Inverse Problems and Machine Learning, a paper on methods that analyze geometry, simulate physical media and render worlds.

  5. 2024

    Neural implicit fluid simulation

    In 2024, he coauthors Neural Implicit Reduced Fluid Simulation, which combines a neural representation of fluid shapes with a neural ordinary differential equation for dynamics in a reduced latent space. The method captures scenarios such as droplet collisions, crown splashes and fluid sloshing in a container.

  6. October 2025

    Hierarchical differentiable fluid simulation

    In October 2025, he coauthors Hierarchical Differentiable Fluid Simulation, which reduces memory use for fluid control. Its algorithm optimizes bulk forces at reduced resolution, then refines local details over sub-domains while preserving differentiability.

  7. June 2026

    Physics in video diffusion

    In June 2026, he coauthors The Invisible Hand of Physics: When Video Diffusion Models Know More Than They Show. The study finds that physical plausibility is linearly decodable from diffusion-transformer states across IntPhys and InfLevel.

  8. As of October 2026

    McGill professor and CIM director

    As of October 2026, he is a full professor in McGill's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, directs the Centre for Intelligent Machines, co-directs the Graphics Lab and holds a Canada CIFAR AI Chair.

Career

  1. NowMcGill UniversityAssociate professor
  2. Université de MontréalAssociate professor
  3. The Walt Disney CompanyPostdoctoral researcher
  4. ETH ZurichLecturer

Education

  1. 2010University of TorontoPh.D. in computer science
  2. 2006University of TorontoM.Sc. in computer science
  3. 2005University of WaterlooB.A.Sc. in computer engineering

From the biography.

  1. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes McGill University. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes McGill University. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes McGill University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. 19% of people shaping AI who founded a dated organization have founded two or more, waiting a median of 7 years before a secondIncludes McGill University. Across 1,136 people shaping AI who founded or co-founded a dated company, standalone lab or nonprofit, 221 (19%) founded at least two organizations, accounting for 36% of all 1,421 founding events.

Sources and credits

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  1. Derek Nowrouzezahrai - GI`17 conferences.graphicsinterface.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. [2101.10994] Neural Geometric Level of Detail: Real-time Rendering with Implicit 3D Shapes arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Professor Derek Nowrouzezahrai awarded the first Ubisoft-Mila research Chair mila.quebec. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. [2312.04574] Differentiable Visual Computing for Inverse Problems and Machine Learning arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Derek Nowrouzezahrai | Mila mila.quebec. Checked 21 October 2026.