Hello.

I'm Junke. I'm an incoming Ph.D. student in Computer Science at DE4M Lab, UT Dallas, advised by Prof. Liang He. Before this, I obtained my Master of Science degree in Computational Design from Carnegie Mellon University in May 2025, and obtained my Bachelor of Architecture degree from Southeast University in June 2023.

My research at the intersection of design and technology reimagines physical environments as active, responsive media. While we spend more time immersed in digital spaces, I believe the tangible world is what truly shapes our experiences. Driven by the belief, I leverage computational design, tangible interaction, and ubiquitous computing within HCI to bridge the digital and physical. To this end, my work spans three interconnected directions:

Spaces that Understand

I explore how everyday environments and objects can sense, reason about, and proactively respond to people's needs through embedded intelligence.

People who Shape

I explore how AI-assisted user participatory design and fabrication tools can empower non-experts to engage in creating and customizing their physical surroundings.

Realities that Blend

I explore how spatial computing can extend the capabilities of physical environments through context-aware virtual augmentation.

News

Aug 2025

Joined DE4M Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas as a Research Assistant, advised by Prof. Liang He.

May 2025

Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with the M.S. in Computational Design.

Sep 2024

Started Research Assistant position at the Design Fabrication Lab, Carnegie Mellon University.

Research Projects

Transformable Furniture Platform
Paper in Progress

Beyond Furniture: A Taxonomy and Personalized Design Platform of Transformable Furniture Made with Digital Fabrication Technologies for Domestic Usage

Junke Zhao, Te-Yen Wu, Liang He

CoFAB
Master's Thesis, 2025

CoFAB: An Integrated Human-AI Collaboration Prototyping and Fabrication System for Designers in Early Design Stages

Junke Zhao (Advisor: Joshua Bard)

Design Projects

View all

Recent Experiences

UT Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas

Research Assistant, Aug 2025 - Present

CMU

Carnegie Mellon University

Research Assistant, Aug 2024 - Jan 2025

Education

CMU

Carnegie Mellon University

Master of Science in Computational Design, Aug 2023 - May 2025

Southeast University

Southeast University

Bachelor of Architecture, Aug 2018 - Jun 2023

ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich

Joint Program, Architecture, Sep 2019 - Jun 2020

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