Hong Qin, professor of Computer Science at Stony Brook University, has been awarded the 2025 Tosiyasu L. Kunii Distinguished Researcher Award, the highest honor presented by Shape Modeling International (SMI). The award was announced during the SMI 2025 conference held from October 29 to November 2 in Hangzhou, China.
The Kunii Award recognizes researchers with distinguished careers who have made substantial, long-term contributions to shape modeling. This recognition follows Qin's 2024 selection as a Solid Modeling Pioneer. With over 450 published papers in top-tier international conferences and journals, Qin's research bridges computational physics and geometric design, applied mathematics, and computer-aided geometric design, advancing how computers visualize and manipulate complex 3D shapes.
"Receiving the Tosiyasu L. Kunii Award is particularly meaningful because it comes from the community that has been my academic home since the mid-90s," said Qin. "While the award recognizes individual research, it reflects three decades of collaboration with my students and colleagues at Stony Brook and around the world."
Qin's work spans geometric and solid modeling, computer graphics, and physics-based shape design and dynamic simulation. His contributions have established foundational principles for digital shape representation that influence both academic research and industrial applications. Beyond his technical achievements, Qin has supervised more than 30 PhD students, many of whom now hold senior academic positions worldwide.
"This recognition underscores the impact of Qin’s contributions to visual computing," said Samir Das, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science. "His ability to connect foundational research with real-world applications strengthens our department’s work in this area and creates opportunities for our students to work on challenges that shape the future of the field."
The Tosiyasu L. Kunii Distinguished Researcher Award was established in honor of the SMI conference’s founding chair. Qin received the 2025 award at the SMI conference in Hangzhou, China. His work continues to advance visual computing, with applications ranging from medical imaging to autonomous systems.
By: Yuganshu Jain