Mackenzie Li

Hey there! I’m a researcher, designer, and engineer based in Cambridge, MA, specializing in immersive technologies, user experience design, and XR development.

Mixed Reality

Museum of Memory -- Shakespearean Echoes from Diaristic Art to Virtual Reality Odyssey
#Virtual Reality #GenAI
Dear Shelly, -- Come Out of Your Shell
#Virtual Reality #Psychotherapy
Future In-Formation -- Story Told by the Data
#Mixed Reality #Attention Economy
XR Icesheet Visualizer-- Understanding Effect of Climate Change Using XR
#Virtual Reality #Augmented Reality #Climate Change
Younique.XR -- XR Hyper-Realistic Ikebana Experience
#Virtual Reality #Gaussian Splat #Experience Design
Future In-Formation - Story Told by the Data
#Mixed Reality #Attention Economy
Persona.AI - Upload Consciousness
#AGI #Mixed Reality #Interaction Design

Interactive Arts

Career Radar - Expedite your career shift
#Data Visualization #User Experience Design
Signals of Sentiment - When Robot Cry
#Useless Machine #Interactive Robot
Syna - Visualize the Invisible
#Brain–Computer Interface
#Product Design
Safe, Touch - Stances Implied by the Leaf
#Interactive Plant
The Windshield -- How much do we truly 'know'
#Interactive Projection
Closer, Louder - To Speak and Be Heard
#Audiovisual #Sound Installation
ViBot - An Ode to Human-Machine Interaction
#Audiovisual #Art Installation
The Color of (Re-)Rendering - Towards False Memory
#Brain–Computer Interface
#Interactive Art Installation
Closer, Louder - To Speak and Be Heard
#Audiovisual #Sound Installation

Publication

Built to Order: A Virtual Reality Interface for Assigning High-Level Assembly Goals to Remote Robots
SUI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction
https://doi.org/10.1145/3607822.3618005
We developed a user interface that simplifies the control of robots in manufacturing environments by utilizing Virtual Reality (VR). This allows users to assign and monitor high-level, goal-based instructions for remote assembly tasks, thereby circumventing the need for extensive, robot-specific training.

Education

Harvard University
MASTER IN DESIGN ENGINEERING
2023 — Present
Focus on exploring innovative ways to improve existing processes or systems, by leveraging technology and human-centered design principles.
Columbia University
M.S. COMPUTER SCIENCE
2020 - 2022
Studied computer science in Vision, Graphics, Interaction, and Robotics Track at Columbia Engineering.
New York University
M.S. COMPUTER SCIENCE
2017 - 2020
Studied computer science and game engineering at Tandon School of Engineering.

Experience

To me, designing a program and making an artwork are the two sides of the same coin. I believe hackers and artists yearn for the freedom fueling both technical innovation and artistic creativity.

Interaction Researcher
The Glimpse Group,
Manhattan, NY
Jun 2022 =- Dec 2022
Researched and developed novel interaction techniques in VR using Unity 3D, geared towards multiplayer collaboration, especially focused on enhancing 3D navigation and annotation capabilities.
Researcher
Computer Graphics and User Interfaces Lab
at Columbia University
Sep 2020 - Dec 2022
Worked on interdisciplinary research projects across various domains, such as geographical study, journalism, medical training, and industrial manufacturing.
Researcher
Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural Computing at Columbia University
Jul 2021 – Dec 2022
Studied how to use physiological data from the non-invasive Brain-computer interface(BCI) and Mixed Reality(XR) devices to facilitate our everyday lives.
AR Engineer
Skyline Technology USC LLC,
Manhattan, NY
Mar 2021 - Jun 2022
Developed an Augmented Reality (AR) application for Optical See-Through (OST) devices like HoloLens2 and NReal, designed to enhance communication and workflow efficiency in fintech companies.