Timothy Chan

Timothy Chan is known for contributions to computational geometry and algorithms, including output-sensitive algorithms for convex hull computation and improved bounds for geometric optimization problems. He developed what is known as Chan's algorithm for computing the convex hull of a set of points in two or three dimensions with optimal output-sensitive complexity. He has published extensively in top theoretical computer science venues including SODA and STOC.

Timothy Chan is a Canadian computer scientist and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has held positions at several institutions over his career and is affiliated with the theoretical computer science group at UIUC. He received his PhD from the University of British Columbia under the supervision of David Kirkpatrick.

Chan's algorithm, published in the mid-1990s, computes the convex hull of a set of n points in the plane with running time that depends on the output size h (the number of points on the hull). The algorithm achieves O(n log h) time complexity, which is optimal for output-sensitive convex hull computation. It combines techniques from gift wrapping and divide-and-conquer approaches.

Timothy Chan has been recognized in the theoretical computer science community for his algorithmic contributions, including his work on geometric data structures and optimization. He has served on program committees for major conferences in computational geometry and algorithms. His papers have appeared in prestigious venues such as the ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA) and the IEEE Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS).