I am Chi-Lan Yang (楊期蘭/ヤン チーラン), an assistant professor doing Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW) research at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo. I collaborate closely with the Cyber Interface Lab and the Interactive Intelligent Systems Lab at the University of Tokyo (Join us if you find the research topics interesting!). My research employs concepts/theories and research methods from the field of psychology and communication to address information science research questions.

My recent research focuses on exploring how people express themselves and perceive others through the mediation of intelligent information technology for the purpose of (1) building and maintaining different types of social relationships and (2) facilitating meaningful interaction. For instance, how machine learning (AI)-infused communication channels influence the way we express, perceive emotion, and make attributions when communicating online; how generative AI influences the perceived meaningfulness of social interaction online. The overall goal is to discover various ways to support communication and relationship maintenance by leveraging intelligent technologies. 

During my Ph.D., I was mentored by Prof. Takuji Narumi (advisor) and Prof. Hideaki Kuzuoka (co-advisor) at the Cyber Interface Lab, the University of Tokyo. My doctoral research explores and supports remote communication among distributed members in workplaces through CMC technologies. Specifically, we found that various online social cues, including un/available cues, online representation, contextual information, and technical issues, can influence how people form impressions of their remote colleagues, especially their weak ties. The overall goal of this line of research is to reshape the attribution process between remote interlocutors and better support online relationship building by designing computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies. [Project page] : )

Apart from research activities, I explore a different world by reading novels, writing popular science about HCI topics, sketching, and searching for hot springs in Japan ♨️.