Projects

Click the project gallery above to learn about my research and projects in more detail.

About Me

My name is Woojin, and I am a 3rd year PhD student in Computer Science at Cornell Tech. I am a member of the XR Collaboratory.

My current research in human-computer interaction focuses on the intersection of technology and neurodivergence / mental health. I primarily work on the development and design process of 3D user interfaces and interactions for virtual and augmented reality applications (VR / AR). My past projects have spanned various application areas such as at-home healthcare, architectural design, music, and more.

Previously, I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as a member of the Berkeley EECS Honors Program. I worked under the supervision of Prof. Bjoern Hartmann in the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, Prof. Luisa Caldas in the XR Lab, and Dr. Allen Yang in the FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality

After finishing my undergraduate in 2021, I deferred my PhD admission to take a gap year. Post COVID burnout, I wanted to catch my breath and work on recuperating my mental health. I later interned as a technical exhibit designer at the National Museum of Mathematics. I was also fortunate enough to have the means to travel to various parts of the world.

Personal

I am a leftist, anti-capitalist, and ideologically communist.

I support the Palestinian fight for liberation against the Israeli occupation and genocide in Gaza.

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I advocate for labor rights, especially in relation to protecting workers from exploitation, discrimination, and manipulation. I currently organize for Cornell's Graduate Student Union at Cornell Tech, Cornell's NYC graduate tech campus in partnership with the Israel Technion Institute of Technology.

Identities

I feel pretty gender-fluid nowadays. In my explorations of gender identity and expression, I have found that I can take things slowly, at my own pace, without feeling much gender dysphoria. I acknowledge that this privileges me relative to many trans / nonbinary folks. since I can often mask as a cisgender man in unsafe environments to avoid microaggressions, abuse, etc.

I believe in and practice ethical non-monogamy, more specifically polyamory

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I self-identify as neurodivergent.

I self-identify with cyclothymia, a type of mood disorder (received a psychiatric diagnosis in 2021). My cyclothymia manifests itself in regular episodes of depression and occasional hypomania, usually beyond my control.

I also self-identify with traits characteristic of AuDHD - autism spectrum disorder (ASD) co-occurring with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I am actively working with my health practitioners to seek an official evaluation. I am hoping to better understand what such an evaluation process looks like from a health professional / specialist. I would also like to think critically about comparing medical and self diagnosis in relation to external validity / refutability as well as barriers such as high costs, cultural stigmas, and generational differences in mental health awareness / access.

I acknowledge that I self-identify with AuDHD traits as a speaking individual without co-occurring intellectual disabilities. I am able to mask many of my AuDHD-related communication behaviors situationally, privileging me relative to many other folks with AuDHD, autism, or ADHD. This has made it especially difficult for me to figure out whether identifying with AuDHD felt right for me. I feared delegitimizing or drawing inaccurate comparisons to the experiences and accommodations of other AuDHD folks who do not share my privileges. Only recently have I been able to overcome this stigma on what autism and ADHD must publicly present as, able to internalize that these conditions exist on spectrums. I am able to feel more secure in this inclusive model of self-identification nowadays, without feeling the pressure to justify or explain my experiences unless requested.

My ability to mask my gender and disability identities is the only way I have found to take care of myself in many social settings, especially for surviving traditional work/academic environments that do not accommodate sensitively for these identities. However, masking also comes at a cost for me. Beyond finding it hard to be my true self around most people, I also know that masking often leads to extreme exhaustion and intensifies flare-ups of co-morbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, and chronic pain that, at their worst, can incapacitate me. I thank my physical therapist, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist for enabling me to exist through the stresses and challenges of this PhD program.