Sida Dai
- Ph.D.
Sida is currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. He earned his Ph.D. in the Planning, Design, and Built Environment program from Clemson University in 2021. After completing his doctorate, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Computing and as a lecturer at the School of Architecture, both at Clemson University. His research intersects artificial intelligence (AI), structural engineering, and human-computer interaction (HCI) within an architectural context. Sida has explored the application of reinforcement learning in architectural design to optimize building performance.
His work also includes research focusing on repairable, tessellated structures to improve building sustainability and the development of technologies for tangible interaction and interactive built environments. He has hosted workshops globally on origami and computational design, and has been instrumental in developing multiple tangible interactive technologies, some of which were featured in an exhibition at the National Museum of American History. He has published works in international conferences such as ACM TEI, ACM IUI, CAADRIA, and Structures Congress.
Interactive Built Environment, Computational Design, AI-Aided Design, Tangible Interaction, Structure Design
ARCH 5756: Advanced Design Laboratory
ARCH 2015/16: Architecture Design Labs
Sida Dai, Jasmine Davidson, Brygg Ullmer, Winifred Elysse Newman, Miriam K Konkel. "Generative AI syntheses of platform, content, visuals, and kinetics for cyberphysical computationally-mediated posters and broader applications" , IUI’24: 29th Annual ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, March 18 - 21, 2024, Greenville, South Carolina. USA.
Sida Dai, Anastasia Maurina, Alvin Fernandez Komar. "Blending Crafts and Algorithm: A New Model for Teaching Computational Origami in Architecture" , Conference on the Integrated Education, June 10–12, 2024, San Francisco, CA. USA
Sida Dai*, Brygg Ullmer, Winifred Elysse Newman. "MorphMatrix: A Comprehensive Toolkit Facilitating Shape-Changing Interface Design" , TEI’24: International Conference on Tangible Embedded and Embodied Interaction, February 11–14, 2024, Cork, Ireland. ACM (*Contact Author)
Brygg Ullmer, Sida Dai, Alexandre Gomes de Siqueira, Millon McLendon IV, Laila Shafiee, Winifred Elysse Newman, Miriam K Konkel. "Variations on a Hexagon: Iterative Design of Interactive Cyberphysical Tokens and Constraints" , TEI’24: International Conference on Tangible Embedded and Embodied Interaction, February 11–14, 2024, Cork, Ireland. ACM
Yiyun Liu, Sida Dai*, Carlos R Barrios Hernandez, Mostafa Alani, Nyoman Dewi Pebryani. "Manufacturing Methodology for Precast Concrete Tiles with Morphing Shapes" , SIGRADI’23: The Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics Conference, November 29–20, 2023, Maldonado, Uruguay (*Contact Author)
Sida Dai, Michael Kleiss, Mostafa Alani, Nyoman Dewi Pebryani. "Reinforcement Learning-Based Generative Design Methodology for Kinetic Facade." In 2022 Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia Conference (CAADRIA). 2022.
Alani, Mostafa, Michael C. Kleiss, Muwafaq Shyaa Alwan, and Sida Dai. "Dynamic Environmental Plugins: Programmable Architectural Elements Reactive to Socio-environmental Conditions." In Distributed, Ambient and Pervasive Interactions. Smart Environments, Ecosystems, and Cities: 10th International Conference, DAPI 2022, Held as Part of the 24th HCI International Conference, HCII 2022, Virtual Event, June 26–July 1, 2022, Proceedings, Part I, pp. 363-371. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022.
Crocker, Grace F.*, Sida Dai*, Brandon E. Ross, Michael Carlos Kleiss, Pinar Okumus, Negar Elhami-Khorasani, and Seth Moore. "Failure Modes of 3D-Printed Tessellated-Tile Beams." In Structures Congress 2022, pp. 364-376. 2022. (Co-First Author)
Crocker, Grace F., Katie E. Bender, Riley Blasiak, James Lang, Seth Moore, Olivia Wright, Sida Dai et al. "Undergraduate Student Experience in a Multidisciplinary Architecture-Civil Engineering Research Project." In 2022 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Southeastern Section Conference. 2022.
Sida Dai and Michael Kleiss. "Shape Grammars in Computational Generative Design for Origami" In 2020 Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia Conference (CAADRIA). 2020.
Education
Ph.D., Clemson University;
M.Arch, University of Virginia;
B.Arch, Huaqiao University
