Carving without Stop

XSynth: GenAI-Empowered Shared Mental Model Building for Conceptual Design Collaboration in Extended Reality

Yaning Li, Ziyao He, Shumin Li, and Dakuo Wang. 

Keywords: AI4Design, LLMs, XR, Collaborative Design, Design Cognition, Engineering Design Theory, Creativity-Support Tool

Submitted to ACM CHI 2026 [Paper PDF] | Internship @ NEU HAI Lab

First Round of Review: 3ARR, 1RR, Super excited!

Pre/Absece: Prompting Cultural Awareness and Understanding for Lost Architectural Heritage in Virtual Reality

Yaning Li, Ke Zhao, Shucheng Zheng, Xingyu Chen, Chenyi Chen, Wenxin Dai, Weile Jiang, Qi Dong, Yiqing Zhao, Meng Li, Lin-Ping Yuan. 

Keywords: TeleAbsence, VR, Digital Storytelling, Cultural Heritage

Submitted to ACM CHI 2026 [Paper PDF] | Internship @ HKUST VIS Lab & Virtual Reality Technology Course Project

LacAIDes: Generative AI-Supported Creative Interactive Circuits Crafting to Eliven Traditional Lacquerware 

Yaning Li, Yutong Chen, Yihan Hou, Chenyi Chen, Jingxuan Han, Yihan Han, Wenxin Dai, Youyou Li, Xinke Tang, Meng Li, Qi Dong, Hongwei Li 

Keywords: AI4Design, Creativity-Support Tool, Digital Making/Fabrication, Cultural Heritage

Submitted to ACM CHI 2026 [Paper PDF] | Design Thinking and Practices Course Project

Material-Driven Design and Fabrication of Devices for Direct Ecological Interventions: Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities 

Yaning Li,  Yuexi Chen, Bob Tianqi Wei, Ziqian Yu, Chengjun Li, Yue Yang, Ziyao He, Tingyu Cheng, Zeyu Yan, Di Wu, Tianyu Yu, Yuecheng Peng, Eldy Lazaro Vasquez, Dinesh K. Patel, Huaishu Peng, Nivedita Arora, Aditi Maheshwari, Josial Hester, Andreea Danielescu, Pedro Lopes, Vikram Iyer, Meng Li, Guanyun Wang, Fiona Bell, Hiroshi Ishii, Lining Yao, Qiuyu Lu

Keywords: Materials Design & Fabrication, Sustainability

Submitted to ACM CHI 2026 | Inspired by My Materials Design Course Project, Red Dot Design Award Project & ACM CHI24 Experience

Reducing Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety with an LLM-based Embodied Conversational Agent in Social VR: A Longitudinal Study

Mengxu Pan, Panxin Liu, Jinda Zhang, Yutong Cao, Viduni Ariyawansa, Yaning Li, Bingsheng Yao, Dakuo Wang, Philippe Pasquier, Alexandra Kitson, Mirjana Prpa. 

Keywords: VR, LLMs, Learning Sciences & Educational Technology

Submitted to ACM CHI 2026

Navigating the Role of Generative AI in Shaping Self-Efficacy and Design Thinking Process of Novice Designers: A Case Study in Sustainable Design Education

Meng Li, Yaning Li, Chenyang He, Houxiang Wang, Jiaqian Zhong, Shengxin Jiang, Mingtao He et al.

(Meng Li is my advisor and the course instructor that I've TA'd; I am the leading contributor and student first-author of this paper.)

Keywords: AI4Design, Collaborative Design, Design Cognition, Design Education

International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI), 2025 [Paper PDF]

Reality as Imagined: Design and Evaluation of a TeleAbsence-Driven Extended Reality Experience for (Re) Interpreting Urban Cultural Heritage Narratives across Time 

Yaning Li, Sirui Wang, Ximu Sun, Lei Yang, Yuexi Chen, Tingting Zhu, Ke Zhao, Yiqing Zhao, Meng Li, RAY LC 

Keywords: TeleAbsence, XR, Digital Storytelling, Generative AI, Cultural Heritage

International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI), 2025 [Paper PDF]

UrbanTeleAbsence: XR-based Spatiotemporal Storytelling of Urban Cultural Heritage Across Physical Reality and Collective Imagination 

Yaning Li, Sirui Wang, Ximu Sun, Lei Yang, Yuexi Chen, Tingting Zhu, Ke Zhao, Meng Li, RAY LC

Keywords: TeleAbsence, XR, Digital Storytelling, Generative AI, Cultural Heritage 

Submitted to IEEE VR 2026 (XR Gallery) 

Enhancing Young Generation’s Heritage Identity Through Emotional Responses to Virtual Cultural Heritage Experience: A Design Case with Azheke Community and Visitors at Hani Rice Terraces in China 

Yaning Li, Ruoyu Qiu, Ziyao He, Xue Wu, Teng Han, Xin Tong, Yiqing Zhao, Meng Li 

Keywords: VR, Participatory Design, Indigenous Community, Cultural Heritage 

International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI), 2025 [Paper PDF]

The Effects of Short-term Meditation on the Creativity of Novice Designers: A Pilot Design Task Study using TTCT-Figural Assessment 

Yaning Li, Yu Zhang, Yumeng Yang, Zihan Tang, Zhenxian Hu, Chengxi Xie, Ziao Pan, Chengye Chen, Tuoda Qi, Zhixian Zhu, Qian He, Shumin Li, Yuan Yin, Ji Han, Peter Childs, Gaetano Cascini, Meng Li

Keywords: Design Cognition, Neuroscience, Design Education

AHFE 2024 (Best Student Paper Award at Top-tier Conference in the Ergonomics & Human Factors Engineering Field) [Paper PDF]

The Effects of Short-Term Meditation on Mood-Related Attention During Online Learning: A Pilot EEG and Eye-Tracking Study (Design Psychology Course Project)

Yaning Li, Yu Zhang, Xi Qian, Binbin Ye, Yibo Zhao, Dechen Wu, Zushi Liu, Bingmin Guo 

Keywords: Neuroscience, Learning Sciences & Educational Technology

IEA 2024 (Top-tier Conference in the Ergonomics & Human Factors Engineering Field) [Paper PDF]

"If I were in Space": Understanding and Adapting to Social Isolation through Designing Collaborative Storytelling 

Qi Gong, Ximing Shen, Yaning Li, Ziyou Yin, RAY LC 

Keywords: VR, Collaborative Storytelling, Social Good 

ACM DIS 2025 [Paper PDF]

Virtual Assessment: Using In-game Behaviors During Immersive Role-Play for Contextually Relevant Assessment of Fear of Intimacy 

Yijun Qian, Yaning Li, Luoying Lin, Zhimeng Wang, Julian Lai, Xin Tong, Meng Li, RAY LC 

Keywords: VR, Psychological Disorder, Game

Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2025 [Paper PDF]

Exploring the Dynamics of User Experience and Interaction in XR-Enhanced Robotic Surgery: A Systematic Review 

Yaning Li, Meng Li, Shucheng Zheng, Luxi Yang, Lanqing Peng, Chiyang Fu, Yuexi Chen, Chenxi Wang, Chenyi Chen, Bingyan Li, Boyuan Xiong, Sofia Breschi, Yawei Liu, Mohammad Shidujaman, Pietro Piazzolla, Yu Zhang, Elena De Momi, Daan van Eijk 

Keywords: XR, Surgical Training, User Experience Studies

Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2025 [Paper PDF]

Virtual Reality in Heritage Education for Enhanced Learning Experience: A Mini Review and Design Considerations 

Yiqing Zhao*, Yaning Li*, Tianchen Dai*, Carla Sedini, Xue Wu, Weile Jiang, Ji Li, Kaiyi Zhu, Binqing Zhai, Meng Li, RAY LC (*equal contribution, I am the first student author)

Keywords: VR, Heritage Education, Informal Learning, User Experience Studies

Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2025 [Paper PDF]