Chu Li

About

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at the University of Washington, advised by Jon E. Froehlich. My research explores the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI) and urban science. My work has been published at CHI, UIST, ASSETS, and IEEE VIS, including a Best Paper Award at CHI 2026.

During my Ph.D., I was a visiting scholar at Igarashi Lab at the University of Tokyo and City Form Lab at MIT, and completed research internships at Microsoft Research and Adobe.

Prior to my Ph.D., I was trained in architecture, urban planning, and design. I hold an M.S. in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University and an M.S. in Information Science from the University of Toronto. I practiced as an urban designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and as a product designer at Samsung.

Research

My research focuses on developing technology that helps diverse communities understand, visualize, design, and navigate their cities, with the long-term goal of empowering communities in shaping their own environment.

Overview of research themes

Below are my selected publications.

2026

Teaser figure for LandmarkLens: Predicting and Presenting Effective Landmarks for Mixed-Reality Urban Exploration

UIST 2026 (To Appear)

LandmarkLens: Predicting and Presenting Effective Landmarks for Mixed-Reality Urban Exploration

Chu Li, Yotam Sechayk, Jared Hwang, Jon E. Froehlich, Takeo Igarashi

Teaser figure for MaterialVellum: Steering Generative AI by Leveraging Expressive Material Affordances to Form Design Constraints

UIST 2026 (To Appear)

MaterialVellum: Steering Generative AI by Leveraging Expressive Material Affordances to Form Design Constraints

Chu Li, Nicolai Marquardt, Hugo Romat, Ken Hinckley, Nathalie Riche, Kwon Ko, Fanny Chevalier

Teaser figure for GeoVisA11y: An AI-based Geovisualization Question-Answering System for Screen-Reader Users

CHI 2026Best Paper Award

GeoVisA11y: An AI-based Geovisualization Question-Answering System for Screen-Reader Users

Chu Li, Rock Yuren Pang, Arnavi Chheda-Kothary, Ather Sharif, Henok Assalif, Jeffrey Heer, Jon E. Froehlich

2025

Teaser figure for Accessibility for Whom? Perceptions of Mobility Barriers Across Disability Groups and Implications for Designing Personalized Maps

CHI 2025

Accessibility for Whom? Perceptions of Mobility Barriers Across Disability Groups and Implications for Designing Personalized Maps

Chu Li, Rock Yuren Pang, Delphine Labbé, Yochai Eisenberg, Maryam Hosseini, Jon E. Froehlich

2024

Teaser figure for AltGeoViz: Facilitating Accessible Geovisualization

IEEE VIS 2024

AltGeoViz: Facilitating Accessible Geovisualization

Chu Li, Rock Yuren Pang, Ather Sharif, Arnavi Chheda-Kothary, Jeffrey Heer, Jon E. Froehlich

Teaser figure for LabelAId: Just-in-time AI Interventions for Improving Human Labeling Quality and Domain Knowledge in Crowdsourcing Systems

CHI 2024

LabelAId: Just-in-time AI Interventions for Improving Human Labeling Quality and Domain Knowledge in Crowdsourcing Systems

Chu Li*, Zhihan Zhang*, Michael Saugstad, Esteban Safranchik, Minchu Kulkarni, Xiaoyu Huang, Shwetak Patel, Vikram Iyer, Tim Althoff, Jon E. Froehlich

Teaser figure for “I never realized sidewalks were a big deal”: A Case Study of a Community-Driven Sidewalk Accessibility Assessment using Project Sidewalk

CHI 2024

“I never realized sidewalks were a big deal”: A Case Study of a Community-Driven Sidewalk Accessibility Assessment using Project Sidewalk

Chu Li*, Katrina Ma*, Michael Saugstad, Kie Fujii, Molly Delaney, Yochai Eisenberg, Delphine Labbé, Judy L. Shanley, Devon Snyder, Florian P. Thomas, Jon E. Froehlich

2023

Teaser figure for BusStopCV: A Real-time AI Assistant for Labeling Bus Stop Accessibility Features in Streetscape Imagery

ASSETS 2023

BusStopCV: A Real-time AI Assistant for Labeling Bus Stop Accessibility Features in Streetscape Imagery

Minchu Kulkarni, Chu Li, Jaye Jungmin Ahn, Katrina Ma, Zhihan Zhang, Michael Saugstad, Kevin Wu, Yochai Eisenberg, Valerie Novack, Brent Chamberlain, Jon E. Froehlich

CV

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