{"681961":{"#nid":"681961","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Thesis on Human-Centered AI Earns Honors from International Computing Organization","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech alum\u2019s dissertation introduced ways to make artificial intelligence (AI) more accessible, interpretable, and accountable. Although it\u2019s been a year since his doctoral defense,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/zijie.wang\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EZijie (Jay) Wang\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019s (Ph.D. ML-CSE 2024) work continues to resonate with researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang is a recipient of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/medium.com\/sigchi\/announcing-the-2025-acm-sigchi-awards-17c1feaf865f\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The award recognizes Wang for his lifelong work on democratizing human-centered AI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThroughout my Ph.D. and industry internships, I observed a gap in existing research: there is a strong need for practical tools for applying human-centered approaches when designing AI systems,\u201d said Wang, now a safety researcher at OpenAI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy work not only helps people understand AI and guide its behavior but also provides user-friendly tools that fit into existing workflows.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E[Related: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/research\/chi-2025\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing Swarms to Yokohama, Japan, for CHI 2025\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang\u2019s dissertation presented techniques in visual explanation and interactive guidance to align AI models with user knowledge and values. The work culminated from years of research, fellowship support, and internships.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang\u2019s most influential projects formed the core of his dissertation. These included:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/cnn-explainer\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECNN Explainer\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: an open-source tool developed for deep-learning beginners. Since its release in July 2020, more than 436,000 global visitors have used the tool.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/diffusiondb\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDiffusionDB\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: a first-of-its-kind large-scale dataset that lays a foundation to help people better understand generative AI. This work could lead to new research in detecting deepfakes and designing human-AI interaction tools to help people more easily use these models.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/interpret.ml\/gam-changer\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGAM Changer\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: an interface that empowers users in healthcare, finance, or other domains to edit ML models to include knowledge and values specific to their domain, which improves reliability.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.jennwv.com\/papers\/gamcoach.pdf\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGAM Coach\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: an interactive ML tool that could help people who have been rejected for a loan by automatically letting an applicant know what is needed for them to receive loan approval. \u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/new-tool-teaches-responsible-ai-practices-when-using-large-language-models\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFarsight\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E: a tool that alerts developers when they write prompts in large language models that could be harmful and misused. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI feel extremely honored and lucky to receive this award, and I am deeply grateful to many who have supported me along the way, including Polo, mentors, collaborators, and friends,\u201d said Wang, who was advised by School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/polochau\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPolo Chau\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis recognition also inspired me to continue striving to design and develop easy-to-use tools that help everyone to easily interact with AI systems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike Wang, Chau advised Georgia Tech alumnus\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fredhohman.com\/\u0022\u003EFred Hohman\u003C\/a\u003E (Ph.D. CSE 2020).\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/alumnus-building-legacy-through-dissertation-and-mentorship\u0022\u003EHohman won the ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2022\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/\u0022\u003EChau\u2019s group\u003C\/a\u003E synthesizes machine learning (ML) and visualization techniques into scalable, interactive, and trustworthy tools. These tools increase understanding and interaction with large-scale data and ML models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChau is the associate director of corporate relations for the Machine Learning Center at Georgia Tech. Wang called the School of CSE his home unit while a student in the ML program under Chau.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang is one of five recipients of this year\u2019s award to be presented at the 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chi2025.acm.org\/\u0022\u003ECHI 2025\u003C\/a\u003E). The conference occurs April 25-May 1 in Yokohama, Japan.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESIGCHI is the world\u2019s largest association of human-computer interaction professionals and practitioners. The group sponsors or co-sponsors 26 conferences, including CHI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang\u2019s outstanding dissertation award is the latest recognition of a career decorated with achievement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMonths after graduating from Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/research-ai-safety-lands-recent-graduate-forbes-30-under-30\u0022\u003EForbes named Wang to its 30 Under 30 in Science for 2025\u003C\/a\u003E for his dissertation. Wang was one of 15 Yellow Jackets included in nine different 30 Under 30 lists and the only Georgia Tech-affiliated individual on the 30 Under 30 in Science list.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile a Georgia Tech student, Wang earned recognition from big names in business and technology. He received the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/student-named-apple-scholar-connecting-people-machine-learning\u0022\u003EApple Scholars in AI\/ML Ph.D. Fellowship in 2023\u003C\/a\u003E and was in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/georgia-tech-machine-learning-students-earn-jp-morgan-ai-phd-fellowships\u0022\u003E2022 cohort of the J.P. Morgan AI Ph.D. Fellowships Program\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with the CHI award, Wang\u2019s dissertation earned him awards this year at banquets across campus. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com\/sites.gatech.edu\/dist\/0\/283\/files\/2025\/03\/2025-Sigma-Xi-Research-Award-Winners.pdf\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech chapter of Sigma Xi presented Wang with the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award\u003C\/a\u003E. He also received the College of Computing\u2019s Outstanding Dissertation Award.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech attracts many great minds, and I\u2019m glad that some, like Jay, chose to join our group,\u201d Chau said. \u201cIt has been a joy to work alongside them and witness the many wonderful things they have accomplished, and with many more to come in their careers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech alum\u2019s dissertation introduced ways to make artificial intelligence (AI) more accessible, interpretable, and accountable. Although it\u2019s been a year since his doctoral defense,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/zijie.wang\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EZijie (Jay) Wang\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019s (Ph.D. ML-CSE 2024) work continues to resonate with researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang is a recipient of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/medium.com\/sigchi\/announcing-the-2025-acm-sigchi-awards-17c1feaf865f\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The award recognizes Wang for his lifelong work on democratizing human-centered AI.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" Zijie (Jay) Wang (Ph.D. ML-CSE 2024) is a recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI)."}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2025-04-22 14:24:46","changed_gmt":"2025-04-22 14:29:07","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-04-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-04-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676903":{"id":"676903","type":"image","title":"Jay-Wang-SIGCHI-Dissertation-Award.jpg","body":null,"created":"1745331896","gmt_created":"2025-04-22 14:24:56","changed":"1745331896","gmt_changed":"2025-04-22 14:24:56","alt":"Zijie (Jay) Wang CHI 2025","file":{"fid":"260750","name":"Jay-Wang-SIGCHI-Dissertation-Award.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/22\/Jay-Wang-SIGCHI-Dissertation-Award.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/22\/Jay-Wang-SIGCHI-Dissertation-Award.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":99526,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/22\/Jay-Wang-SIGCHI-Dissertation-Award.jpg?itok=_QvwIP00"}},"673947":{"id":"673947","type":"image","title":"Farsight CHI.jpg","body":null,"created":"1714954253","gmt_created":"2024-05-06 00:10:53","changed":"1714954253","gmt_changed":"2024-05-06 00:10:53","alt":"CHI 2024 Farsight","file":{"fid":"257404","name":"Farsight CHI.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/05\/Farsight%20CHI.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/05\/Farsight%20CHI.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":139358,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/05\/05\/Farsight%20CHI.jpg?itok=6genJVjw"}}},"media_ids":["676903","673947"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/thesis-human-centered-ai-earns-honors-international-computing-organization","title":"Thesis on Human-Centered AI Earns Honors from International Computing Organization"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50877","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"155","name":"Congressional Testimony"},{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"42921","name":"Exhibitions"},{"id":"42891","name":"Georgia Tech Arts"},{"id":"179356","name":"Industrial Design"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"194248","name":"International Education"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"148","name":"Music and Music Technology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"42931","name":"Performances"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"181991","name":"Georgia Tech News Center"},{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}