Yixuan ("Janice") Zhang

Ph.D.

Pronounce as [y-ee] [sh-oo-en] [j-AH-ng]
Preferred name: Janice

Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science
William & Mary



[March 2025]
I received a SEED Funding from William & Mary to explore the Capacity of K-12 Teachers to Integrate AI into Virginia Disciplinary Standards of Learning, along with Dr. Meredith Kier and Dr. Lindy Johnson from school of Education.
[Feb 2025]
Our paper, titled "Understanding the Practices, Perceptions, and (Dis)Trust of Generative AI among Instructors: A Mixed-methods Study in the U.S. Higher Education" was accepted by top-tier journal--Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence!
[Jan 2025]
Received a grant from The General Assembly of Virginia to design an interactive AI-enabled learning system to support Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (ADRD) Awareness, Early Detection, and Care through community health workers, with Dr. Alicia Hong.
[Jan 2025]
Our CHI'25 paper "Understanding Attitudes and Trust of Generative AI Chatbots for Social Anxiety Support" (led by PhD student Yvonne Wang) got accepted! See you in Yokohama, Japan!
[Dec 2024]
Our paper titled "MetaAgents: Large Language Model Based Agents for Decision-Making on Teaming" got accepted by CSCW'25 (Bergen, Norway)!
[Aug 2024]
Received a 3-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL) program (~$900,000) to develop novel LLM-powered systems to foster mathematical modeling competencies through collaborative learning, with Dr. Ziyu Yao (George Mason University), and Dr. Jennifer M Suh (George Mason University).
[May 2024]
Three papers focused on LLM X HCI got accepted by ICML! The topics include trust in LLM, Emotions in Generative AI, and competition dynamics of LLM-based agents.
[April 2024]
I received the 2024-25 W&M FRC Faculty Research Grant for research on the ethics of Generative AI and LLMs in CS education.
[Jan. 2024]
Our paper, "Profiling the Dynamics of Trust & Distrust in Social Media" was accepted to CHI'24!
[Nov. 2023]
I'll be serving as the Publication Co-Chair at ACM DIS'24 and an Associated Chair (AC) in the Program Committee at CHI'24 (LBW).
[Oct. 2023]
I received a Learn, Discover, Innovate grant from the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation (STLI), William & Mary to examine how to ethically leverage LLMs in computer science education.
[Sept. 2023]
I was awarded a grant from Microsoft Research to explore the interplay of emotional intelligence and LLMs.
[Sept. 2023]
I was awarded a grant from The Society of 1918, William & Mary, to study how well conversational AI supports the mental health needs of women.