Xie Zhang
The University of Hong Kong, China
Xie Zhang is a computer scientist from China who works on physics-informed neural networks that reconstruct 3D body geometry from thermal radiation for privacy-preserving indoor sensing.
the artwork
由气成形
Mandarin - From Qi to Form - 2026 - digital
audio commentary
What draws me to this science is a quiet wonder: faint heat from the human body can be used to reconstruct a person’s full 3D form with physics-informed neural networks. I made this artwork as a visual mirror of my research: on the left, thermal hues stand for Qi, warmth felt rather than seen; on the right, the wireframe mesh that my method reconstructs. The nearly touching fingertips hold the moment of change. The uniform background reminds us that whatever shape the body takes, and however we choose to see it—traditional or scientific—all these views play out in the same universe.
Xie Zhang
The change from invisible thermal radiation to 3D body geometry
mathematics in Chinese culture
In China, mapping the invisible body is an old cultural practice. Traditional medicine traces meridians (经络)—pathways of Qi—while physicians and artists recorded them on silk scrolls, making felt warmth and pulse into visible form. Today my computer science research extends that lineage: I capture body heat as thermal radiation and reconstruct 3D geometry with neural networks. The materials change—from brush on silk to code on a grid—but the gesture remains: translate what is hidden into something we can study, share, and wonder at.
Xie Zhang
