Core Principles
- Integration should feel intuitive rather than invasive.
- Augmentation should affirm identity rather than erode it.
- Interaction should foster connection rather than isolation.
HCI · Data Science · XR · Philosophy · Linguistic
Designing augmentation that amplifies human perception & identity — not fragments it.
I aimed to build neuroadaptive and mixed-reality systems that extend human capabilities while preserving phenomenological unity. Currently preparing PhD applications.
- University of Rochester
- BEAR Lab · XR
- CHI 2025 LBW
About
Rooted in philosophy since middle school, I explore how perception shapes reality and how technology can extend human senses, actions, and meaning—without compromising selfhood.
Philosophical Framing
Rooted in subjective idealism’s belief that perception grounds reality, my work—drawing on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology (1945) —advances augmentation-with-integration, enhancing human capabilities while sustaining embodied unity.
Research Directions
Split from my Statement of Purpose into two complementary tracks.
Embodied Augmentation & Phenomenological Integration
- Create XR systems (AR/VR/MR) that extend human perception and action—e.g., gravity manipulation, wall-climbing， third limb metaphors—while preserving bodily coherence and affordance.
- Ensure technological augmentation collaborates harmoniously with biological intelligence to preserve the unity of self, perception, and movement.
- Research question: How can avatars/exoskeletal metaphors communicate augmented capability intuitively without alienating the self?
Origin: RA experience at BEAR Lab (leaded by Prof. Yukang Yan) projects in Unity exploring extraordinary capabilities and alternate-reality experiences.
Selected Highlights
Short teasers, with visual slots ready for images or diagrams.
XR Capability Metaphors -- Intuitive avatar design guideline
paper in submit CHI 2026
Develop and validate design guidelines so avatars can intuitively communicate their augmented abilities and corresponding interactions—at a glance. Unity prototypes enabling users to enhance climbing, alter gravity and body size, and manipulate electricity — probing how capability cues can remain intuitive and comfortable.
PrototypeDreamory — CHI 2025 LBW
expended to long paper, paper in submit CHI 2026
AI-assisted bedtime storytelling and meaning-making to support emotional reframing before sleep, paving the way for BCI-integrated affective XR.
Publication
Facial Expression manipulation
paper in submit CHI 2026
How to adjust facial expression scale in VR that could bring confidence and socially comfortableness
PrototypeMore context from my Statement of Purpose
Believing perception shapes reality, I pursue neurotechnology to transcend sensory limits. Non-invasive BCIs can make systems responsive to intention and affect, while AI adds empathy and meaning-awareness to interactions.
Contact
Happy to chat about PhD fit, collaborations, or shared interests.
Get in touch
- Email: jtang41@u.rochester.edu
- GitHub / Portfolio: My git only have some of my projects
- CV: you can check my CV here, called 'CV 2025', and some other DMST projects
Open to
- PhD positions in HCI, XR, BCI
- Neuroadaptive & affective interface research
- Ethical augmentation & embodied design