Applied Math Seminar

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Math and Geometry at McNeel

Speaker: Sam Potter, Robert McNeel & Associates

Location: Warren Weaver Hall 1302

Date: Friday, November 13, 2026, 2:30 p.m.

Synopsis:

Robert McNeel & Associates is a small software company, based in Seattle, with employees worldwide. Its main product is Rhinoceros 3D, used in architecture, engineering, industrial design, and many other smaller niche industries. I will discuss McNeel and Rhino broadly, and then talk in more detail about the work I do as one of a small team of CAD kernel engineers working on Rhino's propriertary, 25 year old CAD kernel. The bulk of this work involves an effort to modernize and improve Rhino's kernel (used by hundreds of thousands of people daily) to ensure that it helps Rhino stay relevant for the next 25 years. A key part of our approach is a shift towards verified numerical methods, chief among which is interval arithmetic. Simultaneously, this involves introducing an extensive and systematic approach to testing. As a case study, I will explain my current approach to computing verified Hausdorff distances between curves as a part of regression testing a newly rewritten intersection kernel (this latter rewrite being my main focus at McNeel). Time permitting, I will also showcase a few unrelated side projects taking place at McNeel. This talk is meant to give a
high-level overview of the kind of work taking place on the kernel team at McNeel.