Hi! I'm Xiaoyu Liu, a second-year Ph.D. student in Computer Science at University of Maryland, College Park. I'm advised by Dr. Zhicheng Liu at Human-Data Interaction Group. My research interests include human-computer interaction, information visualization, computer graphics and their integration with AI-powered systems and techniques.
Previously, I received dual B.S. degree in Computer Science from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Electrical & Computer Engineering from UM-SJTU Joint Institute (Shanghai Jiao Tong University).
Infographics: What Do We Mean and What Do They Show?
Xiaoyu Liu, Vishnu Sreekanth, Vraj Patel, Shalin Muzumdar, Diego Lopez, Fumeng Yang, and Zhicheng Liu
Under review at CHI '26
Towards Measuring Data Visualization Design Diversity
Hannah K. Bako, Xiaoyu Liu, Arshnoor Bhutani, John Hooker, Ariya Mehra, and Zhicheng Liu
Under review at CHI '26
To Chat or to Quiz?: Examining the Pedagogical Benefits and Risks of AI Tutors in Facilitating High School Science Learning from Videos
Xiaoyu Liu, Xinyi Lu, Soobin Jeon, Yunyan Li, Joshua Littenberg-Tobias, Shawn Y. Stevens, Ying Xu, and Xu Wang
Under review at CHI '26
MIWA: Mixed-Initiative Web Automation for Better User Control and Confidence
Weihao Chen, Xiaoyu Liu, Jiacheng Zhang, Ian Iong Lam, Zhicheng Huang, Rui Dong, Xinyu Wang, and Tianyi Zhang
UIST '23・ PDF
Presentation
| May 2025 | UMD Human-Computer Interaction Lab 42nd Annual Symposium |
Teaching
| Sep. 2024 – May 2025 |
Teaching Assistant; CMSC 425: Game Programming |
| Sep. 2020 – Aug. 2021 |
Academic Writing Center Consultant; UM-SJTU Joint Institute |
Awards
| Apr. 2021 |
Honorable Mention, 2021 COMAP Mathematical Contest in Modeling |
| Apr. 2021 |
First Place, 2019-2020 UM-SJTU JI Academic Writing Contest – Official page |
| Dec. 2019 |
Best Presentation Award, 2019 UM-SJTU JI Winter Design Expo |
| Mar. 2018 |
First Prize, 33rd Shanghai Adolescents Science & Technology Innovation Contest |
Outside of research, I enjoy graphics design, illustration, game design (Unity), 3D modeling and rendering (Blender), fiction writing, literary translation, music creation and mixing, and nature / astro photography. View my graphics portfolio here. Listen to my composition here.
My first 3D render was made using Bryce 5 on Sep. 8, 2009 with my first laptop, which marks the (earliest documented) beginning of my human-computer interaction. Prior to 2025, I was a video content creator experimenting with music visualization, singing voice synthesis and 3D animation.
