Hi there. I’m a third-year PhD candidate in Information Studies at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies. My research focuses on human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) in contexts of language diversity. I apply social science theories and mixed methods to examine human's communicative agency when their interpersonal communications are mediated by language technologies such as machine translation and large language models.

I have a education background that allows me to integrate my interests in both language and technology. Prior to Maryland, I obtained my MS in Applied Data Science and MA in Linguistic Studies with a graduate certificate in Language Teaching from Syracuse University. I completed my undergraduate studies at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) with a Bachelor of Management in Information Management and System, BA in English, and a minor in Finance. I also spent a wonderful semester as an international visiting student in management information systems at the University of North Carolina Wilmington during my undergrad.

I enjoy many other things outside work. My current obsessions are knitting and crocheting. I keep finding beautiful patterns that I want to make things from, and sometimes I design patterns myself as well. When I do take a break from yarn work or shopping around a yarn store, I also read, write, journal, walk, cook, bake, visit museums, sketch, enjoy good TV shows, and photograph my life. I'm from Ganzhou, China and have lived in Shanghai and Syracuse, NY before moving to the DMV area. I can be reached at yxiao[at]umd[dot]edu.