I am an Assistant Professor of Information Technology at Kennesaw State University. My research lies at the intersection of human-centered AI, computing education, and learning technologies, with a particular focus on designing AI-powered learning experiences for K–12 students and educators.

Prior to joining Kennesaw State University, I was a Research Scientist in Computer Science at North Carolina State University. I earned my Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing from the University of Florida and my M.S. in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. I received my B.S. in Management Science from Anhui University.

Recent Updates

• Upcoming Position: Starting in Fall 2026, I will join Kennesaw State University, Department of Information Technology as a tenure-track assistant professor.

• Presentations (June 2026): I am attending the Festival of Learning 2026 in Seoul, South Korea! I will be presenting an AIED short paper on AI attitude outcomes following a middle school conversational AI learning experience [paper], as well as an interactive demo of BotBuilder, a chatbot development environment for AI literacy and hallucination awareness. I also co-authored an AIED full paper on understanding dialogue patterns using Ordered Network Analysis, led by Shan Zhang [paper].

• Publication (Jan 2026): Three full papers accepted at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2026! (1) a paper led by me on how children detect and mitigate AI hallucinations during chatbot development; (2) a paper led by Sutapa Dey Tithi on the design and impact of interactive worked examples in intelligent tutoring systems; and (3) a paper led by Bahare Riahi on teacher–chatbot interaction and affect in block-based programming.

What I Do

My research intersects the domains of Artificial Intelligence, Human-Computer Interaction, Collaborative Learning, and Computing Education. My overarching goal is to build AI-powered applications that empower all learners to become critical thinkers, effective collaborators, and confident navigators of our digital world.

I pursue this through three core, synergistic directions: first, designing human-AI interactions that make AI systems transparent, build AI literacy, and support learning; second, developing intelligent learner modeling techniques to provide adaptive, personalized support and feedback at scale; and third, investigating and fostering productive collaborative learning among young learners through the analysis of their multimodal interactions.

You can find my research projects here.