Brown CS Master’s Student Yumeng Ma Receives An NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- Posted by Robayet Hossain
- on Aug. 27, 2024
Brown CS Master’s student Yumeng Ma (advised by Brown CS faculty member Jeff Huang) has just received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her work in human-computer interaction, specifically at the intersection of human-AI interaction and accessibility. The award is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, and aims to recognize and support outstanding graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Previously, Yumeng received concurrent Bachelor of Science degrees in computer science and psychology from Arizona State University, where she first became interested in human-computer interaction. At Brown, Yumeng became involved in projects within Jeff’s Brown HCI Lab.
Yumeng’s current research is on developing a proactive context-aware system that helps blind and low-vision individuals navigate and explore their surroundings by leveraging the combined use of large language models and vision questioning models. Her interest is in creating and researching interactive social and visual systems that improve user experience, accessibility, and mental health.
“Due to my personal experiences, I am passionate about designing and expanding accessible technology to empower people of all abilities,” Yumeng says. “I’ve always wanted to pursue research that will really make an impact on people’s lives.”
Yumeng will be taking her NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to the University of Washington in the fall semester, where she is starting her PhD in Computer Science and Engineering, supported by a Paul G. Allen Fellowship as well.
“Receiving this fellowship means a lot to me,” Yumeng adds. “It’s reassuring to know that my work resonates with others and that there’s genuine support for my ideas.”
Approximately 24 of the other NSF winners attended Brown as undergraduate students. Yumeng joins nine other prior Brown CS winners of the fellowship, the most recent winner being Lucy Qin.
For more information, click the link that follows to contact Brown CS Communications Manager Jesse C. Polhemus.
