Hey, I’m Leon Zhao — a human-computer interaction researcher with a background in engineering and design.
But the 15-year-old me wouldn’t have seen this coming.
In high school, I loved both physics and art but struggled to find ways to connect them. When I started college, my dream was to work in animation. I spent late nights learning Blender and founded WashU’s first animation club.
But along the way, I stumbled into something unexpected: I didn’t just want to animate digital worlds. I wanted to build ways to interact with them.
That curiosity led me into extended reality (XR), then to robotics, and eventually to human-computer interaction (HCI). I became fascinated by how the digital and physical could be woven together — not just through pixels, but through sensors, motors, and even sewing machines.
I entered engineering without much technical background and often felt like I was catching up. But that same uncertainty pushed me to explore, combine, and reframe.
Today, I finally find myself in spaces where design and engineering meet. What ties it all together isn’t just tech — it’s a desire to make interactions more intuitive, more embodied, and more felt.
Sept 2025 – Dec 2026
Aug 2021 – May 2025
Jun – Aug 2023
