Dietrich Geisler
              Phong lighting model built in Gator

About


I’m Dietrich Geisler, a graduating-this-year (Tentative May 2024) PhD student in Computer Science at Cornell University. I work with the Capra research group led by Adrian Sampson.

I’m going on the teaching academic job market to start in Fall 2024. Primarily interested in teaching-focused positions

My research goals are focused on the development of Domain Specific Languages, with an emphasis on helping the programmer more easily write readable and correct programs.

My current research is on exploring bindings (which are mechanisms to transfer data between two devices) and the language design around improving heterogeneous (multi-device) binding analysis. In particular, I’m working with Oliver Daids (a third-year PhD) on developing Caiman, a declarative decomposable language semantics for heterogeneous communication and a exploration-focused optimizing compiler.

I was the instructor of record for CS 1110 Fall 2022 and Summer 2022.

My previous research is primarily on developing the Gator language for geometric programming. Our OOPSLA 2020 paper preprint on Gator can be found here. Gator is designed to help Graphics programmers reason about the geometry of the program through annotations and compiler typechecking. The primary contribution of Gator is the introduction of a type structure around Reference Frames, an idea rooted in geometry. I also worked with Tess on the Slang graphics language.