About
Lei Zhang is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the HCI group within the Computer Science Department at Princeton University, working with Andrés Monroy-Hernández. He recently completed his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, School of Information, where he was advised by Steve Oney and Anhong Guo. His research focuses on human-computer interaction, particularly in designing and building creativity support tools that enable end-users to craft immersive experiences in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). He invents novel content creation techniques and systems, and studies how they can enhance people's creativity, collaboration, and communication.
Lei’s work has been published at top-tier HCI venues including CHI, UIST, and CSCW. His first-authored papers have received a best paper award at CSCW 2022 and a best short paper award at VL/HCC 2019. Lei interned at Snap Research twice (Summer 2021 & 2022), working with Dr. Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Dr. Rajan Vaish, and Dr. Fannie Liu. He holds a BE in Software Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Outside of work, Lei is passionate about music production, skateboards, and 35mm film photography.
📢 Lei will join New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) as a tenure-track assistant professor, starting Spring 2025. He will be recruiting students at all levels to work on exciting research projects. Please reach out if you are interested.
📩 raynez@princeton.edu
Publications
VRCopilot: Authoring 3D Layouts with Generative AI Models in VR
Jigsaw: Authoring Immersive Storytelling Experiences with Augmented Reality and Internet of Things
VRGit: A Version Control System for Collaborative Content Creation in Virtual Reality
Auggie: Encouraging Effortful Communication through Handcrafted Digital Experiences
Studying the Benefits and Challenges of Immersive Dataflow Programming
Cubicle: An Adaptive Educational Gaming Platform for Training Spatial Visualization Skills
News
08/2024: Relocated to New Jersey. 🏠
06/2024: Officially Dr. Zhang! 🎓
05/2024: I'll present Jigsaw at CHI 2024. 🏄🏻♂️
04/2024: I'm joining NJIT as an Assistant Professor in Spring 2025, after a one-term postdoc at Princeton's Computer Science.