Margaret Hillengas

Mardy Hillengas is a lecturer in architecture and directs the Scan-Lab for Empathy In Point Clouds, where she leads advanced reality capture projects that blend architectural precision with cutting-edge visualization techniques. She has managed complex field operations and data workflows, specializing in LiDAR scanning, photogrammetry, and drone-based data collection. Her leadership in coordinating large-scale documentation efforts has been integral to projects such as the scanning and analysis of the Ciudadela and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacán, Mexico. These efforts involved close collaboration with site archaeologists and national heritage organizations to digitally preserve and analyze culturally significant structures.

Mardy’s expertise extends to point cloud registration, data alignment, and the integration of diverse datasets to create accurate digital reconstructions. Beyond heritage documentation, her work applies reality capture technologies to architectural research, contributing to immersive storytelling through computational design and visualization tools.

Her background in traditional art informs her design approach, bringing a refined understanding of form and detail to digital modeling. Mardy holds a master of architecture degree from the Taubman College of Art and Architecture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and dual bachelor of arts degrees in History and Studio Art from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.