Zekun Chang is a designer, researcher, and engineer.

She is a 2nd year Ph.D. student in the College of Computing and Information Science at Cornell University, advised by Professor Francois Guimbretiere. Her research interests revolve around the interdisciplinary field of digital fabrication in soft materials, transformable mechanisms (Kiri-/Ori-gami), smart textiles, and human-computer interactions. She is aimed to develop computational fabrication systems for materials with programmed behaviors.

Biography

Prior to Cornell, she worked as an HCI researcher in the Kawahara Lab at the University of Tokyo and completed her MA degree in the Design Products program at the Royal College of Art. 

Working at UTokyo has exposed her to cutting-edge technologies and fundamental science which initiated her career as an HCI researcher. Having explored the force behaviors associated with origami geometry and shape transition, she successfully published papers on this theme at CHI 2019, CHI 2020, and ICRA 2022 alongside her colleagues at the University of Tokyo. 

Before extending her role to a researcher and an engineer, she has established her practice as a multidisciplinary experience designer. She studied product design in the Industrial Design Department at the Beijing University of Technology (BA), where she was equipped with rational design practice, relevant fundamental knowledge, and solid software skills. After her BA degree, she moved to London where she completed her MA degree in Design Products at the Royal College of Art. There, she has developed her interest in designing for invisible interactions and her practice to a multidisciplinary approach. After graduating in 2016, she co-founded Aline Studio Shanghai with her RCA colleague Xinglin Sun. She applied the belief in the power of mixed media interaction to brand communication. Aline Studio Shanghai has planned and executed dozens of pop-up stores and events for brands such as Tmall, Taobao, Alipay, Zhihu, and KEEP. Meanwhile, Aline Studio Shanghai was committed to designing novel products and interactive installations to tell brand stories. As a designer, her work has been internationally exhibited.