In his PhD, he worked very early on the concept of abstract machines for portable compilers and operating systems.

[7] In the late 1990s, he launched the first project on crowd simulation of virtual humans,[8] initiating a new field of animation that now attracts many researchers.

Rendering of tens of thousands of agents, collision detection and generation of varieties of individual people became important issues.

Thalmann is also recognized in the area of Virtual Rehabilitation, a term he coined with Professor Grigore Burdea of Rutgers University (US).

Thalmann received an Honorary Doctorate (Honoris Causa) from Paul-Sabatier University in Toulouse, France, in 2003.