Yichao Shi is a dedicated PhD student in the Architecture Design Computation program at Georgia Institute of Technology. With a strong academic background, Yichao earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Architectural Engineering from Tongji University and an M.Arch in Architectural Design from University College London (UCL). Yichao's research interests encompass shape syntax in architectural design, digital heritage, computer graphics, cognitive science, and human-computer interaction. Having gained valuable experience as a teaching assistant in courses such as D&R Studio: Landhuggers, Yichao is an active member of the Shape Computation Lab at Georgia Tech. Additionally, Yichao serves as a Graduate Research Associate in the Flourishing Communities Collaborative Lab, where they work to advance the field of architecture through innovative research and collaboration.

Athanassios (Thanos) Economou is a Professor at the School of Architecture in the College of Design and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Economou’s teaching and research are in shape grammars, computational design, computer-aided design, and design theory, with over sixty published papers in these areas. He is the Director of the Shape Computation Lab, a research group that explores how the visual nature of shape can be formally implemented with new technologies to enable new paradigms in CAD, design automation, visual scripting, and creative design. Recent projects include the Shape Machine, a new computational technology that allows shape embedding in CAD systems, funded by Georgia Research Alliance and NSF-iCorps Sites, and the Courtsweb, the most significant visual database on Federal Courthouses, funded by GSA and US.Courts. Design projects from his studios at Georgia Tech have received prestigious awards in international and national architectural competitions. He has been invited to give talks, seminars, and workshops at several universities including MIT, Harvard, TU Vienna, U. Michigan, KAIST, Chiao Tung U Taiwan, Emory, Seoul National U, Cambridge U, Tsinghua U, UCLA, NTUA, U.Thessaly, U.Aegean, among others. Dr. Economou holds a Diploma in Architecture from NTUA, Athens, Greece, an M.Arch from USC, and a PhD in Architecture from UCLA.

Dr. Tzu-Chieh Kurt Hong is an assistant professor of the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Kansas teaching courses in digital fabrication studios, algorithmic modeling, parametric design and computer programming in design studies. His research focuses on the areas of shape grammars, visual computing, generative modeling, parametric design, and computer-aided design. From 2016 to 2022, Kurt was a research scientist at the Shape Computation Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology working with Dr. Athanassios Economou on the Shape Machine, a new shape-rewrite computational technology, designing and implementing its geometry kernel, data representation and system architecture. Kurt received his Ph.D. degree in Architecture (Design Computation) from the Georgia Institute of Technology; a Master of Science degree in Architecture and Design (MS.Arch) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); a Master of Architecture (M.Arch); a Master degree in Electronics Engineering (MSEE) and a Bachelor degree in Electronics Engineering (BSEE) from the National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan).

James Park is an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Montana State University. His research and teaching are in the areas of shape computation, building typology, formal specification of shapes, parametric modeling, and urban morphology. He holds a B.S.Arch. and an M.Arch. from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Heather Ligler is an architect, design researcher, and faculty of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University where she is Assistant Professor and Foundations Coordinator. Heather’s teaching and research are in the areas of shape grammars, rule-based design, and design history/theory. Her work focuses on computation as a medium to rewrite design narratives and to animate the future of architecture. She has previously held positions as core faculty of the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing at Pennsylvania State University, as an instructor at Georgia Institute of Technology, and as a practitioner, primarily with John Portman and Associates. Ligler holds a dual BArch and BInteriorArch from Auburn University and an MS and PhD in Architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology.

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