Hello! I'm YY.

I am a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher and an architect. Currently, I am a PhD student at Northwestern University Technology and Social Behavior program (joint degree in Computer Science and Communication).

Short Bio
From 2021 to 2024, I was doing research with Columbia University HCI labs and Snap HCI research group. I graduated from Columbia University with M.S. in Computer Science and thesis in HCI. From 2019 to 2021, I curated my own interdisciplinary exploration across social sciences, computer science, design, and research at Columbia University. From 2013 to 2018, I worked as an Architect at Meier Partners in New York. I am a licensed Architect in New York State and hold a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute. In between things, I explore entrepreneurship by building two startups. In my free time, I enjoy nature, art, and random ideas.

Research Interests Last updated: March 2026
My research asks what assistive technologies could become if designed around people's unique cognitive processes rather than around the tasks they are expected to complete.

• Process-oriented technology paradigms : Developing theoretical frameworks and technological paradigm shifts that center diverse perceptual processes and cognitive strategies in assistive technology design, drawing on Capabilities Approach theory and critical disability scholarship.
• Analogical problem-solving under uncertainty : Investigating how people navigate uncertainty with partial or conflicting information, and how AI systems can scaffold the transition from exploration to decision-making, through the lens of analogical reasoning.
  
  

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