Joshuah Wolper
He/Him
I am gay and I am a computer graphics and simulation researcher.//
I’m a PhD student and Harlan Stone Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania studying computer graphics and physical simulation. I graduated in 2017 from Swarthmore College with a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Computer Science, and ever since I’ve hoped to pursue scientific computing and modeling with a social conscience. I’m forever fascinated and motivated by the natural world, and my current research focuses on modeling natural phenomena such as fracture and topology change using the Material Point Method. MPM is so exciting to me because it can be used both to make beautiful animations for VFX in movies as well as to model real-world scenarios like avalanches and landslides in order to predict and avoid these types of gravitational hazards.
Though I had a positive reception when I came out in 2012 (my entire nuclear family is queer, but that’s another story), I’ve grown so aware of just how crucial visibility is, and now that I’m deeper into STEM, I’m so excited to be a part of this movement and hope we can serve as a beacon of the future for those still questioning or not ready to come out. We exist, and we exist in STEM!