Junqiu Zhu Full Researcher, Shandong University

I am a Full Researcher (equivalent to Full Professor in the U.S. academic system) at Shandong University. I am a recipient of the Qilu Outstanding Young Scholar Award. Before joining Shandong University, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2023–2025), and I interned at Meta Zurich in 2022. I received my Ph.D. from Shandong University, China (2017–2022).

Openings: I am always interested in hearing from curious and self-motivated graduate students. If your interests align with my research, please email me with your CV and a brief description of the research questions you would like to explore.

Research Summary

My research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and photorealistic rendering, particularly on visual appearance modeling (as applied in the metaverse and digital human contexts). I am committed to unraveling the intricacies of why the real world appears as it does and how we can model interactions with light in an accurate and effective manner.

Two distinct rendering paradigms have emerged: one focused on studying optical phenomena and physical structures that influence appearance and building models that adhere to physical laws, and the other on integrating data-driven approaches—such as training neural networks on observational data—to enhance the accuracy and realism of digital representations. Ultimately, my goal is to combine these two approaches to recreate the subtle nuances of the real world within digital environments.

My current work addresses several key application areas in rendering, such as:

Appearance Modeling: Developed high-fidelity models for cloth, hair/fur, skin, feathers, and glint, with real-world deployment in production pipelines at Meta, Weta and Tencent—targeting ultimate photorealism across both human and natural appearances.
Frame Extrapolation: Real-time frame rate enhancement techniques optimized for PC and mobile platforms.
Global Illumination: Real-time global illumination solutions for both PC and mobile devices.
Stereo Rendering: Optimized stereo rendering algorithms bridging virtual and real-world visual experiences.
Appearance Aggregation with Geometry Simplification: Accelerating rendering performance while preserving visual fidelity.
Inverse Rendering: Inferring scene materials and lighting from captured imagery.
Simulation Rendering: Integrating physical simulations seamlessly with rendering pipelines.
Scene Representation: Efficient scene representation and reconstruction techniques.

Industry Applications

My research has been translated into practical rendering technologies across consumer devices, film production, and commercial rendering systems. Representative applications include:

  • Meta: A surface-based cloth rendering model deployed in Meta’s released smart glasses.
  • Weta Digital: A yarn-based cloth rendering model used in Avatar: The Way of Water, and a fur aggregation model applied in Cocaine Bear.
  • Chaos Corona 14: Integration of my cloth appearance modeling research into its commercial photorealistic renderer.
  • Tencent: Efficient hair-rendering solutions designed for real-time production applications.
  • Mobile Device Manufacturers: Frame extrapolation and neural material technologies developed for efficient, high-quality rendering on mobile platforms.

These applications reflect my focus on bridging advanced rendering research with real-world production requirements, including visual quality, computational efficiency, hardware constraints, and practical deployment.

Publications

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2019

Academic Services

Professional Service

Conference Organization

  • Diversity Chair, Eurographics ’26
  • Organizer, SHE Lunch, Eurographics ’26
  • Organizer, Women in Rendering Dinner ’25, ’24
  • Panel Organizer, Fairness and Equity amid Unequal Access to Computing Resources, Eurographics ’26
  • Organizer, Qimingxing Computer Graphics Summer Camp ’26, ’25

Technical Papers Committee

  • SIGGRAPH ’26
  • SIGGRAPH Asia ’25, ’24
  • Eurographics ’26, ’25
  • Eurographics Symposium on Rendering (EGSR) ’26, ’25
  • Pacific Graphics ’26, ’25, ’24
  • CAD/Graphics ’26, ’25

Teaching

Courses and Development

  • Computer Networks Fall ’25, Spring ’26
  • Visual Analytics Spring ’26
  • Digital-Human Course Development for the iFLYTEK Classroom Platform ’26

Lectures and Summer Schools

  • Introduction to Physically Based Rendering Symposium on Geometry Processing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ’24
  • Recent Advances in Photorealistic Cloth Rendering SIGGRAPH Asia, The University of Tokyo ’24
  • Lecturer, Qimingxing Computer Graphics Summer Camp ’26 Approximately 100 participants
  • Lecturer, USTC Computer Graphics Summer Camp ’25

Selected Honors and Awards

Research Awards

  • Best Paper Award, Eurographics Symposium on Rendering ’23
  • Best Visual Effect Award, Eurographics Symposium on Rendering ’23
  • Shandong University President’s Award Honorable Mention ’21

Teaching Award

  • Second Prize, Young Faculty Teaching Competition

Research Experience

Full Researcher
Shandong University
2025–present
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of California, Santa Barbara
2023–2025
Research Intern
Meta, Zurich
2022

Education

Ph.D. in Software Engineering
Shandong University
Ph.D. Thesis: Rendering of the Complex Material
2017–2022