Profile
Shano Liang(She/Her)
PhD Candidate in Computational Media
HCI · Game Studies · Data Visualization · Interactive Media
PhD candidate and HCI researcher specializing in interactive media, data visualization, serious games, and experience-centered interaction design. Skilled in media experience analysis, qualitative and quantitative methods, game-informed prototyping, AR/VR, tangible and physical computing, interactive visualization, study infrastructure, and 2D/3D art. Experienced in research and translating critical analysis into interactive artifacts that examine how people feel, interpret, and act through media systems.
Education
PhD
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Computational Media
Worcester, MA, USA
Master of Science
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Interactive Media & Game Development
Worcester, MA, USA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA)
Animation & Game Arts
Wuhan, Hubei, China
Experience
Research Assistant
WPI Computer Science Department
Conducted research projects and publications in human-computer interaction (HCI) and data visualization. Received an Honorable Mention Award for Best Paper at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). Joined the WPI VIEW Lab in December 2024 as an interdisciplinary research member to explore visualization infrastructure development, and experiential and playful interactive visualization.
Teaching Assistant
WPI Interactive Media & Game Development
Assisted instructors and provided mentorship and learning support to students across multiple IMGD courses, including IMGD-2740 (3D Environmental Modeling), IMGD-2500 (Design of Tabletop Strategy Games), and IMGD-4099-D01 (Ethics of Creative AI).
Teaching Assistant
WPI Academic & Research Computing (ARC)
Provided AR/VR training and technical consultation to students and faculty. Led and facilitated the creation of 3D virtual tours.
Senior Member
WPI Intentional Design Studio
Supported and participated in the development of VR/AR applications and educational games. Provided mentorship and technical support to students, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment.
Contract Game Developer
Petricore, Inc.
Designed, modeled, and textured high-poly 3D assets for 3D environments and level layouts for the game Battle Billiards.
Invited Faculty Advisor
Computer Graphics Society at No.1 Middle School Affiliated to Central China Normal University (CCNU)
Invited to design and deliver introductory courses on digital arts, 2D/3D modeling, and visual design for high school students. Guided students through hands-on creative projects, fostering their technical skills and artistic expression.
Company Founder and Lead Producer
Wuhan KBOOM Network Tech Co. Ltd.
Led and developed an award-winning board game collaboratively with my team. Founded a game company to turn game development into a startup. Partnered with over a dozen well-known game stores in Wuhan, and over 500 copies of the game were sold in physical form in Wuhan city.
Service
Program Committee Associate Chair, ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play 2026, Work-In-Progress (WiP) Subcommittee (CHI PLAY WIP '26)
Conference Reviewing, ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '26)
Conference Reviewing, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2026 (CHI '26)
Journal Reviewing, Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds (JGVW)
SIG Organizer, the Transnational lgbTq+ SIG of ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2025 (CHI '25)
Conference Reviewing, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2025 (CHI '25)
Conference Reviewing, ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play 2025 (CHI PLAY '25)
Conference Reviewing, alt.chi of ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2025 (alt.CHI '25)
Journal Reviewing, Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds (JGVW) Special Issue
Workshop Organizer, the Queer Play Workshop of ACM Foundations of Digital Games 2024 (FDG '24)
Conference Reviewing, ACM Foundations of Digital Games 2024 (FDG '24)
Conference Reviewing, ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play 2023 (CHI PLAY '23)
Graduate Student Representative, WPI School of Arts & Sciences Student Advisory Council
Awards
MIT Reality Hack Art Grant
MIT Reality Hack. $500 Art Grant awarded for creative project at MIT Reality Hack.
Award of Honorable Mention for Best Paper (1st author)
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2025 (CHI '25)
WPI Research Assistant
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
WPI Teaching Assistant
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
2nd Place, Game Jam Competition in Shanghai
China Indie Game Alliance (CIGA), 48-Hour Rapid Indie Game Development Competition
1st Place, Culture Creative Design Competition for College Students in Hubei Province
Hubei Provincial Education Bureau. 80,000 CNY (~$11,428) awarded.
Outstanding Graduation Project
Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA). 5,000 CNY (~$714) awarded.
1st Place, Institutional Outstanding Graduation Work
Joint Exhibition of National Top Institutions of Higher Learning in Fine Arts, and Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA). 1 selected from ~2,000 graduation works.
National Scholarship
Hubei Provincial Education Bureau, and Hubei Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA). 1st in the Institute department; 3rd in the Institute. 20,000 CNY (~$2,857) awarded.
3rd Place, Hubei Provincial "Chuangqingchun" College Student Entrepreneurship Competition
Hubei Provincial Government Joint Departments, China. 10,000 CNY (~$1,428) awarded.
Skills
Digital Art, Animation, & Audio
- 2D Art (Adobe Creative Suite such as Photoshop and Illustrator)
- 3D Art (Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Maxon Zbrush)
- PBR Workflow (Adobe Substance 3D Suite such as Substance Painter and 3D Designer)
- Film Making & Animation (Adobe After Effects, Media Encoder, Flash)
- Skeletal/Bone Animation (Live2D, Spine 2D, DragonBones)
- Audio (Adobe Audition and FL Studio)
Programming & Web Development
- Python, C#, C++, TypeScript, JavaScript
- Web frameworks & APIs (reVISit, Vega, Node.js, Three.js, D3.js, Jupyter Notebook, Figma)
- Cloud & DevOps (Unity Cloud, GitHub)
Creative Coding & Interactive Media
- Game Engines (Unity and Unreal)
- XR/AR/VR frameworks (AR Foundation, OpenXR, XR Toolkit, Vuforia, Oculus Integration)
- Media & AI Tools (Processing, OpenCV, OpenAI API)
Physical & Tangible Computing
- Arduino, Raspberry Pi, sensor integration
- Digital fabrication (3D printing, laser/vinyl cutting, CNC)
- Electronic prototyping
Fine Art
- Digital painting, glue printing, gouache painting, photography
- Deco art, visual communication art, experimental short film
Others
- Bartending (trained), cartography (entry level), cooking (Wuhan cuisine)
Interests
Research Interests
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Player-Computer Interaction
- Human-AI Interaction
- Human-centered Computing
- Interactive Media & Games
- Data Visualization
- Critical Computing
- Affective Computing
- Tangible Embodied Interaction
- Critical Game Design
- Alternative Computing
- Inclusive & Accessible Computing
- Psychology in Interactive Media
- Marginalized Group, Queer, Trans Game Studies
Creative Interests
- Video Game Development, especially modern/high-resolution pixel art and indie games
- Broader Interactive Media/System Development, especially playful and experiential prototyping
- Interactive Installations
- Immersive Room-Scale Experiences
- Escape Rooms & Jubensha / Group Sensemaking / Murder Mystery Games
- Alternative Game Controller Design, especially alt.ctrl GDC
- Graphic / Web / Poster Design
- Role-playing Game Writing, especially Dungeons & Dragons mod, world-building, scripts, plot writing, and Mandarin game hosting
Teaching Interests
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Research & Inquiry Methodology, including HCI, Game Studies, Critical Studies, and Humanities
- Immersive Experience Design & Prototyping
- Game Design Practice
- Serious Games & Simulators
- Interactive Data Visualization
- Novel Interface in Interactive Media
- 3D/2D Game Art & Workflow
- Animation, Post-effects, & Filmmaking
- Games / Interactive Media History
- Accessibility in Interactive Systems
- Ethics of Interactive Media
- Alternative Controllers for Interactive Media