Dr. Kam-Ming Mark Tam is Assistant Professor of Architectural Structures at the University of Hong Kong.  He specialises in the integration of structural design with computational geometry modelling, optimisation methods, and Machine Learning (ML) techniques based on Geometric Deep Learning (GDL) and Reinforcement Learning (RL).  His interdisciplinary research is dedicated to developing performance-driven conceptual structural design methods and harnessing digital manufacturing processes to optimise performance through the strategic deployment of material and geometric complexities.

Dr. Tam recently completed his doctoral research at ETH Zürich, where he was advised primarily by Prof. Philippe Block and secondarily by Prof. Andreas Krause. His dissertation, entitled ‘Learning Discrete Equilibrium: Trans-topological Inverse Pattern and Force Design Using Machine Learning & Automatic Differentiation,’ advanced the application of ML in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction, and was nominated for the prestigious ETH medal for its excellence.  Specifically, the doctoral research, benefiting from the guidance of GDL specialist Prof. Michael Bronstein, developed novel GDL methodologies for versatile learning and modelling of hierarchical discrete data structures, such as meshes and reticulated structures.  It  also integrated GDL with RL to enable performance-driven sequential decision processes on these structures.

Prior to his doctorate, Dr. Tam earned a Master of Engineering (MEng) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Master of Architecture (MArch) with Structural Engineering Certification and a Honours Bachelor of Architectural Studies (HBAS) with Economics Minors from the University of Waterloo.   At MIT, he developed robotic-enabled additive manufacturing (AM) techniques and fabrication-aware structural optimisation methods for designing AM-produced structures at full scale under the tutelage of Prof. Caitlin Mueller.  A key contribution was his work on Stress Line Additive Manufacturing, which earned the Tsuboi prize for the best paper presented at the 2015 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures conference. Professionally, Dr. Tam played a key role in collaborations with AM startup Branch Technology during his tenure as Integration Engineer at Thornton Tomasetti CORE Studio.  His efforts were crucial to the realisation of OneC1TY located in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the  world’s longest spanning AM-produced lattice pavilions.