Runhua ZHANG | 张润花
🧑🎓 PhD Student, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
📮 Let’s Talk: runhua.zhang@connect.ust.hk
👋 Hi, I’m Runhua, a first-year PhD student at VisLab and the HCI Initiative of HKUST. I am enrolled in the Individualised Interdisciplinary Program (IIP), under the supervision of Prof. Huamin QU and Prof. Xiaojuan MA. My research interests lie in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), with a recent focus on exploring the intersection of HCI, Visualisation, and Design. I’m excited to dive deeper into specific topics (like Storytelling) where I hope to make meaningful contributions soon.
Before joining HKUST, I received an M.A. in Design (Best Thesis Award), under the supervision of Prof. Qi WANG, at CDI (Center for Digital Innovation), College of Design and Innovation(D&I), Tongji University, and a B.E. in Industrial Design (Best Thesis Award) at School of Engineering, Sichuan University.
Latest News
🍻 [12/2024] I was invited to be a reviewer for CSCW 2025!
🍻 [10/2024] I was invited to be a reviewer for ChineseCHI 2025!
🍻 [10/2024] I was invited to be a reviewer for CHI 2025! Excited to do some service to our community!
🇭🇰 [09/2024] Began my PhD journey at HKUST!
🏆 [07/2024] Graduated from College of Design and Innovation (D&I), Tongji University, and won the Outstanding Graduate Honor in Shanghai, China.
🏆 [06/2024] My master’s thesis earned the Best Thesis Award at D&I, Tongji University!
😎 [10/2023] Excited to share that I was awarded the National Scholarship (1%) at Tongji University. This was my fourth time winning this award.
✍️ [10/2023] Our paper “Textile-sensing Wearable Systems for Continuous Motion Angle Estimation: A Systematic Review” was accepted by IJHCI. I am the first author of this work.
✍️ [08/2023] Our paper “EmTex: Prototyping Textile-Based Interfaces through An Embroidered Construction Kit” was accepted by UIST’23.
✍️ [07/2023] Our poster “A Tailored Textile Sensor-based Wrap for Shoulder Complex Angles Monitoring” was accepted by Ubicomp/ISWC’23. I am the co-first author of this work!
✍️ [07/2023] Our poster “LayTex: A Design Tool for Generating Customized Textile Sensor Layouts in Wearable Computing” was accepted by Ubicomp/ISWC’23.
✍️ [07/2023] Our paper “Designing Smart Legging for Posture Monitoring based on Textile Sensing Networks” was accepted by IJHCI.
Publications
Before starting my PhD, I cultivated my interest in HCI by exploring a range of topics. My previous projects spanned: 1) tangible interfaces using e-textiles, with applications in wearables, health, and toolkits; 2) personal informatics (under review); and 3) serious games (under review).
During my master’s studies, these varied explorations helped me develop solid understanding and skills in HCI domain, but also made it challenging for me to give a quick, definitive answer when asked, “What is your research focus?“—a question that comes up frequently. In such moments, I often recall the encouraging words from Prof. Qi WANG, my master’s supervisor: “As a master’s student, you don’t need a series of consecutive papers to earn your degree. Just do what you enjoy.” Besides, I am also deeply grateful to Prof. Pengcheng AN and Prof. Teng HAN for their hands-on and inspiring guidance, which was instrumental at the very beginning of my HCI research journey.
With this mindset, I plan to continue keeping my curiosity throughout my PhD studies, while gradually honing in on a more focused research direction over the next few years.
Academic Services
Reviewer @ CSCW 2025
Reviewer @ ChineseCHI 2025
Reviewer @ CHI 2025
Education
[09/2024 – present]
[09/2021 – 06/2024]
[01/2023 – 07/2023]
[09/2017 – 06/2021]
PhD student in indvidualised Interdisciplinary Program (IIP), HKUST, Hong Kong SAR 🇭🇰
Master of Art in Design, College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, Shanghai 🇨🇳
Exchange Program, School of Arts, Design and Architecture (ARTS), Aalto University 🇫🇮
Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Design, School of Engineering, Sichuan University 🇨🇳
My friends 😎
Jiaqi (Flora) GAN (My best friend. Developer at Oracle, Graduate at Dartmouth College. Her expertise in coding had saved me time and time again. I am so proud of being her best friend.)
Tianzhan (The best designer I know)
Yao WANG ( Post-doc at University of Stuttgart. He really helped me a lot when I knew very little about HCI and Visualisation. Congrats to Dr. Wang on earning his doctoral title on November 5th, 2024!)
Yuying TANG (Guess what!?)