allô. I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Media Arts and Technology at the University of California Santa Barbara. I work with Professor Jennifer Jacobs in the Expressive Computation Lab. I develop action-oriented systems for digital fabrication applications informed by craft workflows through collaboration with domain experts and artifact production.

I also make art and perform with various materials.

You can reach out to samuelle.bourgault [at] gmail.com

education

2019_2025 (exp) ︎︎︎ Ph.D. in Media Arts and Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2019_2022 ︎︎︎ Master of Science in Media Arts and Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2016_2019 ︎︎︎ Bacchelor of Fine Arts in Computation Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN

2011_2015 ︎︎︎ Bacchelor of Engineering in Physics Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, CAN

2013_2014 ︎︎︎ International Student Exchange, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,  NM, USA


publications

Moyer, Bourgault, Frost, and Jacobs, Don't Mesh Around: Streamlining Manual-Digital Fabrication Workflows with Domain-Specific 3D Scanning, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. [To appear in ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) October, 2024]

Bourgault, and Jacobs, Millipath: Bridging Materialist Theory and System Development for Surface Texture Fabrication, DIS 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark. doi: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3661599

Toka*, Frost*, Bourgault, Farber, Friedman-Gerlicz, Paek, Lee, Wiley, Jacobs,  Practice-driven Software Development: A Collaborative Method for Digital Fabrication Systems Research in a Residency Program, DIS 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark. doi: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643834.3661522

Moyer, Bourgault, Frost, and Jacobs, Throwing Out Conventions: Reimagining Craft-Centered CNC Tool Design through the Digital Pottery Wheel, CHI 2024, Hawai’i, USA. doi:  https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642361 ︎ Best  Paper Award

Toka*, Bourgault*, Friedman-Gerlicz, Jacobs, An Adaptable Workflow for Manual-Computational Ceramic Surface Ornamentation, UIST 2023, San Francisco, USA. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3586183.3606726

Bourgault, Wiley, Farber and Jacobs, CoilCAM: Enabling Parametric Design for Clay 3D Printing Through an Action-Oriented Toolpath Programming System, CHI 2023, Hamburg, Germany. doi:  https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580745 ︎ Best Paper Honorable Mention

Bourgault and Jacobs, Preserving Hand-Drawn Qualities in Audiovisual Performance Through Sketch-Based Interaction, Journal of Computation Languages, 2023, Elsevier (Extended Version of the VL/HCC paper) doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cola.2022.101186

Bourgault and Jacobs, Preserving Hand-Drawn Qualities in Audiovisual Performance Through Sketch-Based Interaction, VL/HCC 2021, St. Louis, MO, USA (Virtual Event) doi: 10.1109/VL/HCC51201.2021.9576315

Benabdallah*, Bourgault*, Peek, and Jacobs, Remote Learners, Home Makers: How Digital Fabrication Was Taught Online, CHI 2021, Tokyo, Japan (Virtual Event) doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445450 ︎ Best Paper Honorable Mention

Bourgault, Forgues and Jacobs, Experimenting with Robotic Softness, ISEA 2020, Montreal, CAN (Virtual Event). Available here.

Khaled, Sych, Bourgault, and Barr, NEO//QAB: Creating a World Through Speculative Play, ISEA 2020, Montreal, CAN (Virtual Event).


other writings

BourgaultDeveloping Action-Oriented Systems for Manual-Computational Craft Workflows, UIST 2023 Adjunct, Doctoral Symposium, San Francisco, USA. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3586182.3616708

Bourgault and E, Exploring the Horizon of Computation for Creativity, XRDS 29, 4 (Summer 2023), doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3596921

Bourgault, Frost, Wiley, Farber, and Jacobs. Demonstration of CoilCAM: an Action-Oriented Toolpath Programming System for Clay 3D Printing. CHI 2023 Extended Abstracts, Hamburg, Germany. doi: https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3583921


exhibitions

2024 ︎︎︎ Materials Collection, Center for Craft, Asheville, NC, USA

2024 ︎︎︎ soft AI+M, EoYS 2024 in Media Arts and Technology, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2023 ︎︎︎ ISEA 2023, Forum des Images, Paris, FR

2022 ︎︎︎ PHUSIS: Projet Emergent, perte de signal, Montreal, QC, CAN

2022 ︎︎︎ Eco(Systems) of Hope @ Anteism Books, Montreal, QC, CAN  [as somme]

2022 ︎︎︎ SYMADES, EoYS 2022 in Media Arts and Technology, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2019 ︎︎︎ ELEKTRA XX at Oboro, Montreal, QC, CAN [as somme]

2019 ︎︎︎ Sight+Sound, Eastern Bloc, Montreal, QC, CAN

2019 ︎︎︎ ICRA-X: Robotic Art Program, ICRA 2019, Montreal, QC, CAN

2018 ︎︎︎ You are here, Computation Arts Graduation Show, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN  [as somme]

2018 ︎︎︎ Winter Programming 2018, VAV Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN

2018 ︎︎︎ Art Crush in Time, Art Matters 2018, Galerie Articule, Montreal, QC, CAN

2017 ︎︎︎ Mutek - Next Era, Maison du développement durable, Montreal, QC, CAN

2017 ︎︎︎ May Contain, Computation Arts Graduation Show - Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN


performances

2021 ︎︎︎ Mutek with GOLPESAR (Rouzbeh Shadpey), Cinquième Salle, Montreal, QC, CAN

2019 ︎︎︎ sun sets, OFFTA 2019, Édifice Wilder—Espace danse, Montreal, QC, CAN

2019 ︎︎︎ RIPA 2019, Fonderie Darling, Montreal, QC, CAN

2018 ︎︎︎ pedagogy, Art Matters 2018, Espace Projet, Montreal, QC, CAN

2018 ︎︎︎ IN BLOOM, Eastern Bloc, Montreal, QC, CAN


talks

2024 ︎︎︎ Leah Buechley’s Computational Fabrication class, University of New Mexico, Virtual Event

2024 ︎︎︎ DIS 2024, IT University, Copenhagen, DK

2024 ︎︎︎ UCSD Vis Arts Seminar Series, University of California San Diego , Virtual Event

2024 ︎︎︎ Open Source Arts Contributors Conference, Denver, USA

2024 ︎︎︎ ATLAS Colloquium, Boulder, USA

2023 ︎︎︎ Doctoral Symposium, UIST 2023, Fairmont, San Francisco, USA

2023 ︎︎︎ Focus Québec, ISEA 2023, Forum des images, Paris, FR

2023 ︎︎︎ CHI 2023, HHC, Hamburg, GE

2021 ︎︎︎ VL/HCC 2021, Virtual Event

2021 ︎︎︎ CHI 2021, Virtual Event

2020 ︎︎︎ ISEA 2020, Virtual Event

2019 ︎︎︎ MIAN – International Marketplace for Digital Art, Centre Phi, Montreal, QC, CAN

academic service

2025 ︎︎︎ Associate Chair for CHI 2025, Paper Track

2025 ︎︎︎ Associate Chair for TEI 2025, Paper Track

2024 ︎︎︎ Associate Chair for DIS 2024, Pictorials Track

2024 ︎︎︎ Reviewer for IEEE VR 2024

2023 ︎︎︎ Guest Editor for the XRDS Magazine, Summer 2023 edition

2023 ︎︎︎ Reviewer for CHI 2023, SCF 2023

2022 ︎︎︎ Reviewer for UIST 2022, SCF 2022 and C&C 2022

2021 ︎︎︎ Reviewer for DIS 2021


work

2024_ ︎︎︎ Research Scientist/Engineer Intern with Rubaiat Habib, Li-Yi Wei, Wilmot Li, Adobe Research, Adobe Inc, Seattle, WA, USA

2020_ ︎︎︎ Graduate Student Researcher with Professor Jennifer Jacobs, Expressive Computation Lab, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

2017_2019 ︎︎︎ Research Assistant with Professor Rilla Khaled, Technoculture, Art, and Games (TAG), Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN

2017_2019 ︎︎︎ Research Assistant with Professor Jason Lewis, Obx Labs, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN

2017_2019 ︎︎︎ Teacher Assistant in Creative Computing with Professor Pippin Barr, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, CAN

2018 ︎︎︎ Lead Programmer and Programming Instructor for Skins 6.0 Workshop, The Initiative for Indigenous Future, Montreal, QC, CAN and Kanaeokana, Honolulu, HW, USA


notable awards

2021 ︎︎︎ Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowships, Canada

2020 ︎︎︎ William and Meredith Saunderson Prizes for Emerging Artists from the Hnatyshyn Foundation

2019 ︎︎︎ Chancellor’s Fellowship from the University of California Santa-Barbara

2019 ︎︎︎ Master’s Scholarship, Fond de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture

2019 ︎︎︎ Computation Arts Prize at Concordia University Convocation

2017 ︎︎︎ Public Award at Mutek Next Era Competition

2014 ︎︎︎ Feynman Award for best student in Contemporary Physics from University of New Mexico Albuquerque

2014 ︎︎︎ Roger-Lessard Scholarship for best student in Mathematics from Polytechnique Montreal

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