Hi, i'm Chau Vu

A software engineer and academic researcher from Los Angeles and Hanoi. Senior undergraduate ('26) studying Computer Science at Pomona College.

I aim to augment human experiences and abilities through multisensory and meaningful technologies that capture—and even challenge—our reality. My research is thus situated in the areas of human-AI interaction, multisensory/spatial systems, 3D graphics and computational social science.

Applications I developed range from augmenting our 3D graphics experiences with GPU-powered ray tracing at Microsoft, to enhancing human creativity, education, and data reflection with novel tools and theoretical design frameworks. Honored to have published and received Best Paper awards at premier research venues for Human-Computer Interaction including UIST and ACM CHI.

Much heart ♡



Publications

  • Computational Scaffolding of Composition, Value, and Color for Disciplined Drawing

    Jiaju Ma, Chau Vu*, Asya Lyubavina*, Catherine Ma, Jingyi Li.

    Best Paper (Top 1%) at UIST 2025

    Details (Abstract)

  • Understanding Temporality of Reflection in Personal Informatics through Baby Tracking

    Julianne Louie*, Tara Mukund*, Chau Vu* , Daniel Epstein, and Alexandra Papoutsaki.

    Honorable Mention Best Paper (Top 5%) at CHI 2025

    Details

Industry

Microsoft

Software Engineering Intern

May - Aug 2025

I spent my 2025 summer in the beautiful Microsoft Redmond campus, working on state-of-the-art GPU-powered ray-tracing features.

github page (inspired by a sakura forest)

Awards

Research awards

I'm honored to have published and received Best Paper awards at premier academic conferences in human-computer interaction (See Publications above). My work would not have been possible without the support of my advisors at Pomona College & UC Irvine: Prof. Alexandra Papoutsaki, Prof. Jingyi Li, Prof. Daniel Epstein, and collaborators at Stanford University (PhD Jiaju Ma).


Google Product Inclusive & Equity Summit Winner (2023)

Selected among 60 student leaders to attend the first Google Product Inclusion & Equity Summit, where I presented tech initiatives & design methodologies aimed at creating products for marginalized communities with Google researchers.


Rockoff Foundation Research Fellowship (2023)

Awarded the Rockoff Foundation Research Fellowship, I co-host the symposium "History of Assistive Technologies" with Professor Angelina Chin, Pomona History Department.

Details


Other academic awards

2022 - Pomona International Scholarship (the highest scholarship covering the full cost of the undergraduate program)

2023 - Google Conference Scholarship (scholarship covering full cost to Grace Hopper Conference 23)

2024 - Best Insights Main Prize at UCLA Datafest (top 2 out of 48 teams)

2024 - Pomona College Scholar (awarded to students with high GPA)

2025 - UIST Conference Travel Scholarship (scholarship covering full cost to UIST in Busan, Korea)


Programming


Visit GitHub for a full list of my projects here. I love building and stay hands-on with programming across my projects, whether research- or non-research-related.

languages: Java; Python; C++; JavaScript; HTML; CSS; Haskell; SQL

technologies: Web development (ReactJS, NodeJS, MongoDB, Flask, Django); Arduino; XR development (Unity); Postgres; Pytorch (FastAI); Git

UX: Qualitative Research; Thematic analysis; Surveys; Interviews; Prototyping (Figma)

learning: Direct3D, HLSL

Misc

Outside of work, you will find me thrifting, getting lost in movies (check out my Letterboxd), and vlogging with my digicam when I travel (IG: @whereschau)