Hi 🌵, I'm Kiki ｜ 张欣琪

A passionate software engineer and researcher

🐰 Xinqi Zhang | Kiki | 张欣琪·予嫣 🎓 Ph.D. Student @ Santa Clara University

🩵 Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) | Adaptive User Interfaces | Gen-AI assisted Creativity & Design | AI Agents
✨ Designing technology to serve people — empowering learning, well-being, and storytelling

About Me

I’m a Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Santa Clara University, advised by Prof. Kai Lukoff. My research explores how Generative AI reshapes interactive system design, particularly how designers and developers prototype, collaborate, and reason about interfaces when AI is in the loop.

My work sits at the intersection of HCI, AI-assisted prototyping, and adaptive interfaces, with a focus on:

• Generative Interfaces (Gen-UI): Rethinking the design–development divide, vibe-coding, and AI-mediated UI prototyping workflows
• Adaptive & Context-Aware Interfaces: Personalization, mixed-initiative systems, and human-AI collaboration for learning and well-being
• Digital Well-Being & Intent-Aware Systems: Designing tools that support focus, agency, and mindful technology use on content platforms
• Augmented Reality for Education & Cultural Storytelling: Context-aware AR experiences that support situated learning and heritage preservation

Previously, I worked as a Full-Stack Software Engineer at Microsoft and interned at Amazon Web Services. This industry background strongly informs my research practice—I build real, deployable systems to study human-AI interaction in the wild.

Current Projects

• FocusMode

An AI-powered Chrome extension exploring adaptive, intent-aware interfaces for distraction-free web and YouTube experiences

• AI-Assisted Prototyping & Vibe-Coding Studies

Empirical and design research on how Generative AI changes UI prototyping, authorship, and designer–developer collaboration

• Thámien Ohlone AR Tour

A location-based AR storytelling experience sharing Indigenous Ohlone history and culture at Santa Clara University

Value

"Technology should serve people first."

I'm passionate about designing meaningful systems that spark reflection, empower learning, and create positive impact — blending technology, anthropology, and art.

I keep a "white-belt mentality" — always learning from everyone, everywhere.

Let's build tech that matters 🚀

Technologies & Tools

Research        ████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒   45%  
Coding          █████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒   30%  
Writing         ████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒   20%  
Community       █▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒   5%  

🐰	Languages: JavaScript, C#, Java, Python, C++ Frameworks: React, .Net Tools: Git, Docker, Unity Databases: MySQL, MongoDB Others: AWS, Azure