I am working in CAN/RIACA since begin october in order to coordinate
the new Computer Algebra information network. I am a French speaking
belgian born in Brussels and I made my studies
in mathematics at the ``Université Catholique de Louvain'', in
Louvain-La-Neuve.
I have been a researcher on the other side of the linguistic boarder, in the Vision
lab of the K.U.Leuven and I got an individual grant from the ``Human Capital and
Mobility'' program of the EEC to work 2 years in the math department
of the University of Rennes (France). My math PhD is about the exact computation
of ``Aspect graphs'' using methods from real algebraic geometry and tools
from Computer algebra. To say a bit more about it, an ``Aspect graph'' is a
viewer-centered representation of objects that is useful for
automatic visual recognition. An ``Aspect graph'' describes a
3-D object
with all its topologically stable image contours (or ``aspects'')
as well as the
visual events between the ``aspects''. I worked on the exact
computation of the Aspect graph of 3-d objects bounded by piecewise smooth
algebraic surfaces
in the framework of
semi-algebraic sets. During my stay in Rennes, I also got the pleasure to
organize a conference about the ``mathematics for vision.''
I am now doing my best in CAN so that all you always wanted to know about Computer
algebra can be easily browsed on Internet.
I Hope to meet you very soon in the new ``Computer algebra
Cyberspace''...
Thierry Van Effelterre, CAN/RIACA
email: vaneff@can.nl