I support the Palestinian fight for liberation against the Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza.

I advocate for labor rights. I currently organize for Cornell's Graduate Student Union at Cornell Tech (Cornell's NYC graduate campus).

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Yikes... Moving on for now...

I feel pretty gender-fluid nowadays. In my explorations of gender identity and expression, I have found that I can take things slowly, at my own pace, without feeling much gender dysphoria. I acknowledge that this also gives me a great deal of privilege relative to many trans / nonbinary folks, since I can easily mask as a cisgender man in unsafe environments to avoid microaggressions, abuse, etc.

I identify as neurodivergent. My cyclothymia (mood disorder) manifests itself in cyclical episodes of depression and hypomania, usually beyond my control.

I also self-identify with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I acknowledge that I am a speaking Autistic individual without co-occurring intellectual disabilities, allowing me to successfully mask many of my autism-related social behaviors situationally, giving me a great deal of privilege relative to many other Autistic folks.

This has made it especially difficult for me to realize that I may be or may be allowed to identify as Autistic, in fears of drawing unfair comparisons to the experiences of other Autistic folks who do not hold these privileges. Only recently have I been able to overcome this stigma on what autism must look like, to internalize that autism is a spectrum that comes in many forms, and to feel secure in the inclusive model of self-identification.

My ability to mask my gender and disability identities is the only way I have found to take care of myself in many social settings, especially for surviving traditional work environments (much of academia) that do not accommodate sensitively for these identities. However, masking also comes at a cost for me. Beyond finding it hard to be my true self around most people, I also know that masking often intensifies flare-ups of my co-morbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. I currently subsist in grad school with the help of psychiatric medication, regular therapy, and other self-care strategies.

Academic

I am a leftist, anti-capitalist, and ideologically communist.

I am a 3rd year PhD student in Computer Science at Cornell Tech.

I am advised by Prof. Shiri Azenkot in the Enhancing Ability Lab. I am also a member of the XR Collaboratory.

My current research in human-computer interaction focuses on the intersection of extended /virtual / augmented reality (XR / VR / AR) and mental health + accessibility. My past projects have spanned various application areas such as healthcare, music, and architecture.

Reflections

I feel grateful to be working in this space alongside like-minded collaborators towards what we hope can be meaningful social change. Yet I have learned to feel even more gratitude for people who see things differently, those who cannot help but express surprise, doubt, fear, worry, or criticism in the face of this research field. After all, XR has become largely synonymous with the metaverse and other dystopian visions of late-stage capitalism. I resonate with the opinion that big tech companies and leadership in recent years have done little to inspire hope in collective good, social safety nets, or prioritization of people over profits. I deeply admire those who refuse to just idolize modern day technology. We cannot let "innovation" whitewash or excacerbate the troubling flaws in our current exploitative systems that continue to fail vulnerable populations.

At the same time, I try to remind myself how XR and technology can allure us with the hope of a better future. For example, I love how XR can blend the physical and virtual worlds of its users, enabling immersive social interaction and expressive collaboration. I appreciate that XR interfaces exist in the same 3D world as us, making digital technology more intuitive and natural for us to use. I enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of XR; it can extend to nearly any social context, including the healthcare and accessibility settings I work in today. I hope to continue working on XR projects with the aim of helping those in need or directly building up the skills to do so.

Previously, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as a member of the Berkeley EECS Honors Program. I worked under the supervision of Prof. Bjoern Hartmann in the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, Prof. Luisa Caldas in the XR Lab, and Dr. Allen Yang in the FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality

After finishing my undergraduate in 2021, I deferred my PhD admission to take a gap year. Post COVID burnout, I wanted to catch my breath and work on recuperating my mental health. I later interned as a technical exhibit designer at the National Museum of Mathematics. I was also fortunate enough to have the means to travel to various parts of the world.