Erzhen Hu

I am Erzhen Hu, a third-year Ph.D student in Computer Science at the University of Virginia, advised by Prof. Seongkook Heo. Before that, I obtained M.S. in Statistics from University of Virginia, and B.A. in Sociology from Shanghai University.

My research involves developing and evaluating new interactive systems for distributed/hybrid meetings, such as digitalizing proxemic interactions to improve ad-hoc and focused conversations and enhancing AI-enabled augmented communication. I mainly study three topics:

• Digital Proxemics: Rethink socio-spatial theories for small-group conversations and turn-taking
• AI-Augmented Communication: Use deep learning and generative AI Methods to enhance object-oriented conversations in video-conferencing and live-streaming contexts
• AR/VR for Remote Collaboration: Adaptive user interfaces for remote collaboration

• May 2023: Excited to start a research internship with Microsoft Research (EPIC Group).
• Mar 2023: I will be presenting OpenMic at the Video Sharing session and ThingShare at the Human-AI collaboration session on Apr 25th (Tue). Check out the CHI 2023 program!
• Jan 2023: Two first-author papers accepted at CHI 2023
• Nov 2022: Serving as CHI 2023 Late-Breaking Work (LBW) Program Committee member
• Oct 2022: Reviewed CHI 2023 papers (1*special recognition) and SVed at UIST 2022
• May 2022: Presented FluidMeet paper at CHI 2022 in New Orleans.
• Mar 2022: Presented FluidMeet at the Virtual Social Presence Seminar. You can watch the recorded 40-min talk here.