About me

Hey, I'm Yifan. I am a postdoctoral fellow and multidisciplinary researcher at the HKUST Crypto-FinTech Lab.

I just finished my Ph.D. in Computational Media and Arts from the Individualized Interdisciplinary Program (IIP) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). I was a member of the VISlab while I was working on my PhD, co-supervised by Prof. Huamin Qu and Prof. Yang Wang.

I work in an interdisciplinary field that combines data science and social computing. I employ computational approaches, including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Visual Analytics, to develop innovative empirical instruments for the social sciences and humanities. My current research concentrates on three primary domains:

  • Web3 and Digital Economies: Examining socio-cultural dynamics, trust development, and collective economic behaviors in decentralized communities and blockchain ecosystems.
  • Visual Analytics: Making new interactive tools to help people understand complex data structures, such as huge transaction networks and broken narrative hints.
  • Digital Humanities: Using data art and immersive technology (like VR and AR) to safeguard and give new life to Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

My Research Interests

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Web3 & Digital Economies

Decentralized communities & trust formation.

Data Science
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Social Computing

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Visual Analytics

Interactive systems for complex networks.

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HCI & Methodology

Human-centric design for social analysis.

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Digital Humanities

Revitalizing Heritage via data art & VR/AR.

Recent News

  1. [Nov. 2025] 😄 I joined the Crypto FinTech Lab at HKUST as a postdoctoral fellow.
  2. [Oct. 2025] 🎤 I presented our full paper, 'The Jade Gateway to Trust: Exploring How Socio-Cultural Perspectives Shape Trust Within Chinese NFT Communities,' during the 'User Experiences in Online Communities' session at the ACM CSCW Conference.
  3. [Oct. 2025] 🎓 I officially graduated from IIP (Computational Media and Arts) at HKUST and became Dr. Cao 😉.
  4. [Aug. 2025] 🎉 I successfully defended my PhD thesis titled 'Navigating Co-Evolution: A Multi-Level Analysis of Socio-Technical Transitions in NFT Ecosystems.'
  5. [Apr. 2025] 🏆 Our full paper 'ClueCart: Supporting Game Story Interpretation and Narrative Inference from Fragmented Clues,'  accepted at CHI'25 has won a Best Paper Award!
  6. [Jan. 2025] 🎉 Our full paper 'ClueCart: Supporting Game Story Interpretation and Narrative Inference from Fragmented Clues,'  has been conditionally accepted in the proceedings of the 2025 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI25) for publication!
  7. [Dec. 2024] 🎉 Our full paper 'The Jade Gateway to Trust: Exploring How Socio-Cultural Perspectives Shape Trust Within Chinese NFT Communities,'  has been accepted in the proceedings of the 27th ACM SIGCHI Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (CSCW24)!
  8. [Nov. 2024] 🎉 Our full paper 'Centennial Drama Reimagined: An Immersive Experience of Intangible Cultural Heritage through Contextual Storytelling in Virtual Reality,'  has been accepted for publication in the Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH)!
  9. [Oct. 2024] 🏆 Our full paper 'VR-Mediated Cognitive Defusion: A Comparative Study for Managing Negative Thoughts,'  at MM'24 has been nominated for best paper awards!
  10. [Oct. 2024] 🎤 I presented our full paper 'NFTracer: Tracing NFT Impact Dynamics in Transaction-flow Substitutive Systems with Visual Analytics'  during the 'Applications: Sports, Games, and Finance'  session at IEEE VIS Conference.
  11. [Jun. 2024] 🎤 I presented at the PhD Student Forum held by China VIS 2024 in Hong Kong, as a PhD candidate.
  12. [Jun. 2024] 🎉 Our full paper 'VR-Mediated Cognitive Defusion: A Comparative Study for Managing Negative Thoughts,'  is accepted to ACM MM!
  13. [May 2024] 🎉 Our full paper 'NFTracer: Tracing NFT Impact Dynamics in Transaction-flow Substitutive Systems with Visual Analytics'  is accepted to IEEE TVCG!
  14. [Jan. 2024] 🧑‍🏫 I served as a TA for the EMIA 2020 course at HKUST.
  15. [Oct. 2023] 😄 I attended the IEEE VIS conference 2023 in Melbourne, Australia, as a co-author.
  16. [Sep. 2023] 🎤 I presented our paper 'NFTeller: Dual-centric Visual Analytics for Assessing Market Performance of NFT Collectibles'  at the VINCI 2023 conference.
  17. [Sep. 2023] 🧑‍🏫 I served as a TA for the INFH 5000 course at Guangzhou campus of HKUST.
  18. [Sep. 2023] 💬 I visited the Collaborative Interactive Visualization & Analysis (CIVAL) Lab in HKUST Guangzhou, led by Prof. Wei Zeng.
  19. [Jul. 2023] 🎉 Our full paper 'NFTeller: Dual-centric Visual Analytics for Assessing Market Performance of NFT Collectibles'  is accepted to ACM VINCI 2023!
  20. [Jun. 2023] 🎉 Our full paper 'Why Change My Design: Explaining Poorly Constructed Visualization Designs with Explorable Explanations'  is accepted to IEEE VIS 2023!
  21. [Feb. 2023] 😄 I get invited by IEEE BigComp co-chair to chair a session on conference.
  22. [Dec. 2022] 🎉 Our poster 'NFTeller: Dual Centric Visual Analytics of NFT Transactions' get accepted by IEEE BigComp.
  23. [May 2022] 🧑‍🏫 I finished TA duties for CMAA 5008: Visual Communication & Expression in 2022 Fall semester.
  24. [June 2022] 🎉 I passed the PQE exam and became a PhD candidate for the Individualized Interdisciplinary Program, HKUST.
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Resume

Education

  1. University of Waterloo

    10/2024 - 03/2025

    The Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business & the Games Institute
    Remote Oversea Exchange

  2. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

    09/2020 - Present

    Individualized Interdisciplinary Program (Computational Media and Arts)
    Ph.D. candidate

  3. Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

    08/2017-11/2018

    Faculty of Social Science, School of Journalism and Communication
    M.A. in Globalization and Communication

  4. Duke University

    07/2016-08/2016

    Course: Linguistics and Media

  5. Zhejiang University (ZJU)

    09/2013-06/2017

    School of Humanities, School of Chinese Language and Literature/Chu Kochen Honors College
    B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature
    Honors: The Third-class Scholarship in 2014 & the First-class Scholarship in 2015 & the Second-class Scholarship in 2016

Work Experience

  1. Jazzyear Journalist Media Department.

    2019.11 — 2020.06 | Beijing

    - Brand building.

    1. Interview practitioners within science & technology industries and collect first-hand insights from AI/automatic driving/data processing etc. industries

    2. Write comprehensive industry analysis for CEO/PE from science & technology industries

    3. Write non-fiction stories featured as humanistic and also scientific to gain public acceptance

    4. Pitch Jazzyear Contents to targeted boutique clients (Founders of Technology Firms and Venture Capitals)

    - Business cooperation.

    1. Accomplish and publish marketing articles according to PR's requirement

    2. Facilitate co-founder, business manager and FA group reach potential clients

  2. Tencent (0700 HK Equity) Content Operation-Level_2-1 Internet Portal Department.

    2018.08 — 2019.10

    - Media operation:

    1. WeChat Official Account "Quanmeipai": topic selection meeting host, manuscript review and edit, public opinion monitor

    2. Tencent News APP media channel: content monitor and audit

    3. "Top View" applet: information operation, UGC content review; from 0 to 1 to build "Top View" WeChat Official Account

    4. Interview Harry Edelson, the Chairman of the Advisory Board for Arcis Capital Partners; Pierre S. duPont, the heir of Du Pont family; Yuquan Wang, Venture Capitalist; Fan He, Professor from Peking University.

    - Brand building and user operations:

    1. "Top View" applet related PR work: KOL development and maintenance, PR draft review and write, peer and cross-border cooperation

    2. Build Tencent News: Innovation Operations Department Communication Package: organize online activities associating with Economic & Technology Topics; plan, invite and organize related issues, personal interviews, online community enhancement, promotion, retention, etc.

    - Coaching and training interns

Publication

† - Equal Contribution   * - Corresponding Author(s)

Paper

Art Work

Magazine