Hello, I’m Irene Hou! I’m a second-year Cognitive Science PhD student in The Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), advised by Dr. Philip Guo. I am also a recipient of the 2025 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP).

My research interests span Human-Computer Interaction, Human-Centered AI, and computing pedagogy. I study how generative AI systems in disciplines such as computing, science, and design can democratize learning and creativity. I’m particularly interested in computing for non-experts and participatory approaches to AI.

In 2025, I was a visiting researcher at ETH Zürich in Dr. April Wang’s PEACH lab. Before my PhD, I was a Research Lead in Dr. Stephen MacNeil’s HCI Lab, and UX Lead at FluentPet in collaboration with the Comparative Cognition Lab. I received my B.S. from UCSD in Cognitive Science (Design and Interaction) with a minor in Computer Science. Outside of my research, I’m a fiction writer/poet and was one of America’s youngest published authors at age 14.