Yuchen Yao

Address: 30 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China 100084 | Phone: 86 18968395449 | E-mail: yuchen_yao_thu@163.com

Education

Tsinghua University, Xinya College

Major: Creative Design and Intelligent Engineering

Beijing, China

Expected 06/2024

Dual Degree: Bachelor of Engineering in Automation, from the School of Information Science and Technology

Bachelor of Arts in Product Design, from the Academy of Arts & Design

GPA: 3.77/4

Relevant Courses: Foundation of Artificial Intelligence, Numerical Analysis and Algorithms, Data Structures, Fundamentals of Analog Electronics, Fundamentals of Mechanical Design, Digital Electronics, Design Project in Electronic Technology, Measurement and Test Technology, Theory of Automatic Control, Signals and System Analysis, Fundamental of Machine Manufacturing, Operations Research, Innovative Design and Design Practice, Advanced Design Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice, Product Design, Experience Design, Interaction Design, Design Method and Service System, Ergonomics Application, Society Investigation

Research

Pervasive Human-Computer Interaction Lab, Tsinghua University

Undergraduate Research Fellow, Supervisor: Dr. Yuntao Wang

Beijing, China

08/2022-Present

* Carry out human-computer interaction research, focus on platform development and user experimentation for affective computing projects

* Conduct literature review, update research findings during group meetings, and design the user experiment pipeline for verifying the hypothesis

* Summarize the research results and contribute to writing two research papers “UnlockFear: Predicting Fine-Grained Fear of Heights with Physiological Signals in VR” and “G-VOILA: Enabling Gaze and Voice Information Retrieval Using LLMs”, both articles are submitted for publishing

The Future Lab, Tsinghua University

Undergraduate Research Fellow, Supervisor: Prof. Yingqing Xu

Beijing, China

03/2022-07/2022

* Conducted design and manufacturing practices, primarily focused on creating new interfaces for emerging spatial media technologies

* Carried out literature research, and engaged in technical experimentation and circuit design, culminating in the fabrication of a frameless ink screen technology prototype

Internships

Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA)

Interaction Design Intern, Innovation Engineering Group

Beijing, China

11/2022-04/2023

* Worked on three user experience (UX) design projects and collaborated with front-end, back-end, and algorithm engineers to complete the projects

* Participated in the web UX design of “AimWriting”, an AI writing teaching system that aims to help teachers and students living in poverty areas, achieved an artistic and user-friendly webpage design, and the “AimWriting” project has partnered with more than 10 schools and helped over 10,000 students and teachers in China

* Involved in “ASL Sign Search”, a sign language accessible translation engine’s product management, user experience, and user interface design work, communicated with algorithm engineers in the Intelligent Multimedia Group to confirm the database requirements, interactive functions, and product form of the sign language translation engine for implementation

* Focused on the UX design of "Kosmos", a conversational multimodal big language model, working with the engineering team, product manager, and team managers of the Machine Learning Group to discuss the UX flow, interface design, and future features of the conversational AI product, and the "Kosmos" was successfully launched internally at MSRA

Beijing Nolibox Technology Co., Ltd.

Intelligent Design Intern, AI & Design Lab

Beijing, China

08/2021-09/2021

* Worked as an intelligent design intern and an assistant to the Chief Technology Officer for the Design Knowledge Graph project, assisted in the advancement of the creation of the design knowledge graph, and focused on quantifying design that could enable graphic design to be accomplished with the assistance of algorithms

* Wrote a categorization structure of elements for the design knowledge graph and corresponding attribute documents, created a complete set of descriptive specifications to quantify graphic design

* Communicated with the algorithm and designer teams to plan a design knowledge graph test project, prepared the design material library and corpus, defined the test objectives and methodology, and successfully realized the expected results

Projects

An Augmented Reality (AR) Headset for Better Learning Engagement in Hearing Impaired Children's Class

Individual Project & Capstone Project

Beijing, China

08/2023-Present

* Collaborate with China Deaf, conducting expert interviews and shadowing studies on the education of deaf children

* Conduct technical experiments to achieve shared visual fields and intent analysis based on AR displays

* Work on product design, create a precise prototype and follow by user testing

A Real-time Sign Language Translation System for Deaf Individuals' Remote Calls

Internship Project

Beijing, China

12/2022-04/2023

* Undertook the position of a product manager intern and coordinated the team for weekly meetings and project planning

* Took responsibility for UX design, collaborated with engineers to refine the feature list, and finalized the user interface design

* Assisted in website development and functional testing, culminating in the completion of the product prototype.

An Art Installation Presenting Visual Concertos for Deaf People

Team Project

Beijing, China

03/2021-05/2021

* Explored an idea of a visualized concerto for deaf people in The Future Laboratory at Tsinghua University

* Conducted technical experiments to transform symphonic music into a light performance

* Completed the device's structure design, crafted a refined prototype, and presented it at a course-related exhibition

Honors & Awards

Zhang Ronghua Scholarship, Tsinghua University

Gold Medal, International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition

Social Work Excellence Award, Tsinghua University

Technology Innovation Excellence Award, Tsinghua University

Tsinghua-Toyota Scholarship, Tsinghua University & Toyota Motor Corporation

Best Communication Award, Imperial College London - Royal College of Art Design for Global Challenges Winter School

Outstanding Student Leader Award, Tsinghua University

Award for Excellence in Literature and Art, Tsinghua University

Qu Yuzhi Scholarship, Tsinghua University

Outstanding Member of Communist Youth League, Tsinghua University

Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, Tsinghua University

Gold Medal, The 29th International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

12/2023

11/2023

10/2020, 10/2021, 10/2022 & 10/2023

10/2022 & 10/2023

12/2020 & 12/2022

02/2022

10/2022

10/2022

12/2021

10/2021

10/2020

07/2018

Extracurricular Activities

China Rehabilitation Research Center for Hearing and Speech Impairment

Volunteer & Teacher

Beijing, China

09/2023-11/2023

* Participated in leading classroom teaching activities, including language training, physical training, social training, etc., accumulating over 30 hours

* Led a university student volunteer activity program, guiding students to understand the rehabilitation training process for deaf children and establishing channels for collaboration between schools and research institutes

Student Council, Xinya College, Tsinghua University

President

Beijing, China

06/2021-06/2022

* Oversaw the operation of the student council, organized and coordinated meetings and activities of the departments and student clubs at Xinya College

* Promoted a series of changes and improvements within my term, including establishing a questioning and feedback system, planning recreation and sports events during school breaks, and creating systems of joint meetings of study committees

* Managed Xinya College’s social media platform and reviewed all the articles before publishing on the social media platform

* Organized annual student events, such as cultural events during Chinese traditional holidays, student council meetings, welcome reception for new students, recruitment of student council and student clubs, etc.

Imperial College London - Royal College of Art Design for Global Challenges Winter School

Participant & Group Project Leader

Online

01/2022-02/2022

* Participated in the Design for Global Challenges winter school online course and learned conceptual, analytical, and problem-solving skills through case studies and projects

* Led a group project to focus on developing a soft robot companion for depressed people during the COVID-19 pandemic, conducted the final presentation, and the group project received the Best Communication Award

Languages & Skills

Language: English (Proficient, TOEFL: 112), Chinese (Native)

Programming: Machine Learning, Signal Processing, Embedded System

Modeling: Rhinoceros, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, KeyShot, 3D printing, Metalworking, Laser Cutting

User Research: User Interview, Contextual Inquiry, Storyboarding, Journey Mapping, Wireframing