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 & Social Computing

Human-centric design for social analysis.

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Digital Humanities

Revitalizing Heritage via data art & VR/AR.

Recent News

  1. [Feb. 2026] 🎉 Our short paper 'Theory, Experience, and Instinct: How AAA Game Studio UX Leaders Navigate Pre‑Production,'  has been conditionally accepted in the proceedings of the 2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI26) for publication!
  2. [Jan. 2026] 🎉 Our full paper 'TableTale: Reviving the Narrative Interplay Between Data Tables and Text in Scientific Papers,'  has been conditionally accepted in the proceedings of the 2026 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI26) for publication!
  3. [Nov. 2025] 😄 I joined the Crypto FinTech Lab at HKUST as a postdoctoral fellow.
  4. [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.
  5. [Oct. 2025] 🎓 I officially graduated from IIP (Computational Media and Arts) at HKUST and became Dr. Cao 😉.
  6. [Aug. 2025] 🎉 I successfully defended my PhD thesis titled 'Navigating Co-Evolution: A Multi-Level Analysis of Socio-Technical Transitions in NFT Ecosystems.'
  7. [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!
  8. [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!
  9. [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)!
  10. [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)!
  11. [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!
  12. [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.
  13. [Jun. 2024] 🎤 I presented at the PhD Student Forum held by China VIS 2024 in Hong Kong, as a PhD candidate.
  14. [Jun. 2024] 🎉 Our full paper 'VR-Mediated Cognitive Defusion: A Comparative Study for Managing Negative Thoughts,'  is accepted to ACM MM!
  15. [May 2024] 🎉 Our full paper 'NFTracer: Tracing NFT Impact Dynamics in Transaction-flow Substitutive Systems with Visual Analytics'  is accepted to IEEE TVCG!
  16. [Jan. 2024] 🧑‍🏫 I served as a TA for the EMIA 2020 course at HKUST.
  17. [Oct. 2023] 😄 I attended the IEEE VIS conference 2023 in Melbourne, Australia, as a co-author.
  18. [Sep. 2023] 🎤 I presented our paper 'NFTeller: Dual-centric Visual Analytics for Assessing Market Performance of NFT Collectibles'  at the VINCI 2023 conference.
  19. [Sep. 2023] 🧑‍🏫 I served as a TA for the INFH 5000 course at Guangzhou campus of HKUST.
  20. [Sep. 2023] 💬 I visited the Collaborative Interactive Visualization & Analysis (CIVAL) Lab in HKUST Guangzhou, led by Prof. Wei Zeng.
  21. [Jul. 2023] 🎉 Our full paper 'NFTeller: Dual-centric Visual Analytics for Assessing Market Performance of NFT Collectibles'  is accepted to ACM VINCI 2023!
  22. [Jun. 2023] 🎉 Our full paper 'Why Change My Design: Explaining Poorly Constructed Visualization Designs with Explorable Explanations'  is accepted to IEEE VIS 2023!
  23. [Feb. 2023] 😄 I get invited by IEEE BigComp co-chair to chair a session on conference.
  24. [Dec. 2022] 🎉 Our poster 'NFTeller: Dual Centric Visual Analytics of NFT Transactions' get accepted by IEEE BigComp.
  25. [May 2022] 🧑‍🏫 I finished TA duties for CMAA 5008: Visual Communication & Expression in 2022 Fall semester.
  26. [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 Exchange Student

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

    05/2023 - 01/2024

    Collaborative Interactive Visualization & Analysis Laboratory (CIVAL)
    Visiting Student

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

    09/2020 - 10/2025

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

  4. Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

    09/2017 - 11/2018

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

  5. Duke University

    07/2016 - 08/2016

    Summer School: Linguistics and Media

  6. Zhejiang University (ZJU)

    09/2013 - 06/2017

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

Work Experience

  1. Crypto-FinTech Lab, HKUST

    2025.01 — Present | Hong Kong

    Postdoctoral Fellow (Supervised by Prof. Kani Chen)

    - Grant Writing & Research: Co-authored proposals for the Research Impact Fund (RIF), conceptualizing frameworks for digital economies.

    - Visual Analytics & Web3: Designed visual analytics tools to explore decentralized communities and elucidate collective behaviors in digital economies.

  2. VISlab, HKUST

    2020.09 — 2025.01 | Hong Kong

    Researcher / Lab Member (Supervised by Prof. Huamin Qu)

    - Visual Analytics Research: Designed visual analytics tools (NFTeller and NFTracer) to understand and analyze NFT communities.

    - Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Served as a core team member for a QEF funding project focusing on AI-assisted VR applications.

  3. Jazzyear

    2019.11 — 2020.07 | Beijing

    Journalist, Media Department

    - Authored narrative non-fiction bridging humanistic perspectives with complex scientific concepts (e.g., AI, autonomous driving). Conducted in-depth interviews with tech practitioners to produce comprehensive industry analysis reports for venture capitals and tech founders.

  4. Tencent

    2018.08 — 2019.10 | Beijing

    Content Operation, Platform and Content Group

    - Spearheaded content strategy and editorial management for the "Top View" Mini Program and Tencent News App. Conducted executive interviews with global industry leaders and managed KOL relationships to enhance community engagement.

Publication

† - Equal Contribution   * - Corresponding Author(s)

Paper

Art Work

Magazine