Lab News

• [Jan 2026] Two full papers on AI peer learning in STEM education and AI in mental health have been accepted by ACM CHI'26!
• [Aug 2025] Received a three-year NSF grant to examine how to enhance AI literacy and resilience through intergenerational digital storytelling among older adults!
• [Apr 2025] Received a grant from COVA CCI (Commonwealth Cyber Initiative) to examine integrated security and privacy solutions for multi-modal AI.
• [Mar 2025] Received SEED Funding from William & Mary to explore K-12 teachers' capacity to integrate AI into Virginia Disciplinary Standards of Learning.
• [Jan 2025] Received a grant from The General Assembly of Virginia to design an interactive AI-enabled learning system for Alzheimer's Disease awareness and care.
• [Dec 2024] Our paper "MetaAgents: Large Language Model Based Agents for Decision-Making on Teaming" got accepted by CSCW'25 (Bergen, Norway)!
• [Aug 2024] Received a 3-year NSF RITEL grant (~$900,000) to develop LLM-powered systems for fostering mathematical modeling competencies through collaborative learning!
• [May 2024] Three papers focused on LLM × HCI got accepted by ICML! Topics include trust in LLM, Emotions in Generative AI, and competition dynamics of LLM-based agents.
• [Apr 2024] Dr. Zhang received the 2024-25 W&M FRC Faculty Research Grant for research on the ethics of Generative AI and LLMs in CS education.
• [Apr 2024] Congrats to Wenhan Lyu and Yimeng Wang (1st year PhD students) for their paper "Evaluating the Effectiveness of LLMs in Introductory Computer Science Education" accepted at L@S '24!
• [Jan 2024] Our paper "Profiling the Dynamics of Trust & Distrust in Social Media" was accepted to CHI'24!
• [Sept 2023] Awarded grants from Microsoft Research (emotional intelligence + LLMs) and The Society of 1918 (conversational AI for mental health).
• [Apr 2023] Our CHI'23 paper "What Do We Mean When We Talk about Trust in Social Media?" won a Best Paper Award! 🏆
• [Apr 2023] Our CHI'23 paper "Synthetic Lies: Understanding AI-Generated Misinformation" received a Best Paper Honorable Mention! 🏅
• [Aug 2022] Dr. Zhang was named a "Rising Star in EECS" 2022!