Rate My Professor Stephen Baek

Stephen Baek serves as the Quantitative Foundation Associate Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia School of Data Science, holding tenure since joining in 2021. He also maintains an associate professor appointment by courtesy in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Prior to UVA, Baek was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Iowa from 2015 to 2021, where he founded and directed the Visual Intelligence Laboratory, focusing on computational geometry, vision, and machine learning. His academic journey began with a B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University in 2009, for which he received the Best Thesis Award. He earned his Ph.D. in the same field from Seoul National University in 2013, garnering the Best Thesis Award and the Grand Prize from the Delcam Korea & Society of CAD/CAM Engineers Best Graduate Thesis Awards. Following his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Machinery Design at Seoul National University from 2013 to 2015.

Baek's research centers on geometric data analysis, statistical shape modeling and analysis, deep learning on non-Euclidean domains, data-driven design and engineering, digital human modeling, geometric deep learning, and scientific machine learning. He directs the Visual Intelligence Laboratory at UVA, advancing applications in areas such as energetic materials, lung cancer survival prediction, body shape analysis, and performance in sports and manufacturing. Key publications include 'PARC: Physics-aware recurrent convolutional neural networks to assimilate meso scale reactive mechanics of energetic materials' in Science Advances (2023), 'Body shape matters: Evidence from machine learning on body shape-income relationship' in PLOS ONE (2021), 'Deep learning for synthetic microstructure generation in a materials-by-design framework for heterogeneous energetic materials' in Scientific Reports (2020), and 'Deep segmentation networks predict survival of non-small cell lung cancer' in Scientific Reports (2019). Baek has earned prestigious honors, including the Quantitative Foundation Endowed Professorship (2024), Outstanding Mentoring Award from the School of Data Science (2024), Shannon Center Mid-Career Fellow (2023), Supervisor of the Year Award from the University of Iowa (2021), Defense Innovation Award (2020), and University of Iowa Innovator Award (2019). He holds editorial roles as a board member for Scientific Reports and Associate Editor for the Journal of Computational Design and Engineering. Baek has taught advanced courses, including on physics and deep neural networks in India through the Global Initiative of Academic Networks in 2025.