Carlos Brito-Pacheco
About me
I am currently a research engineer at INRIA Paris working on cardiac hemodynamics, in the COMMEDIA team.
Before that, I did my Ph.D. at the Laboratoire Jean Kuntzmann in Grenoble under the supervision of Charles Dapogny, Eric Bonnetier and Rafael Estevez, where I developed numerical methods for surface shape and topology optimization and created a C++ finite element code called Rodin.
Research Interests
- Shape and topology optimization
- Development of easy-to-use HPC tools for FEM based codes
- Meshing
- Multiphysics systems
News
- [November 2025] I started a position as a research engineer at INRIA.
- [December 2024] I have succesfully defended my PhD in Grenoble. Thank you to everyone who was involved in this adventure and who supported me !
Thesis
My thesis is available here.
It focused on the optimization of regions embedded within surfaces in \( \mathbb{R}^d \). It revisited classical shape optimization tools—such as Hadamard’s boundary variation technique and the topological derivative—and adapted them to a novel differential geometry framework tailored for surface-based problems.
A significant contribution was the development of a numerical strategy based on the level set method combined with precise geometric meshing, allowing for the tracking of evolving regions on curved surfaces under complex velocity fields, including large deformations and topological changes.
The work addressed the optimization of regions supporting specific boundary conditions (Dirichlet, Neumann, Robin) in PDE-constrained physical models. Applications included:
- Thermal management in cooling systems
- Clamp-locator and structural support design
- Acoustic cloaking
To support these developments, an open-source C++20 library was implemented for surface-based shape optimization. The thesis discussed the library’s design principles, syntax, and implementation examples, along with directions for future improvements.
Publications
JSC
JACT
Projects
Some ongoing projects that I am working on or have worked on in the past.
Rodin
Link to project here.
Rodin is a lightweight and modular finite element framework which provides many of the associated functionalities that are needed when implementing shape and topology optimization algorithms. These functionalities range from refining and remeshing the underlying shape, to providing elegant mechanisms to specify and solve variational problems.
Conference talks
- CANUM 2024. Optimisation de la forme et de la topologie des régions avec conditions aux limites
- WCSMO 2023. Shape and topology optimization of the regions supporting boundary conditions
Other talks
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