Hongye Liu

Dr. Hongye Liu is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science. She joined the Illinois Department of Computer Science after years of research in Biomedical informatics at Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals in the Boston Longwood Medical area.

Her educational background includes a B.E. in Precision Machinery and Instrumentation from the University of Science and Technology of China and a PhD from MIT in computer aided design for 3-D Printing. Her academic journey reflects her belief that 'learning is a lifelong journey' and 'there are always surprises and we must embrace changes.'

Dr. Liu's research focuses on understanding the needs of students with disabilities and broadening their participation in STEM fields. She is passionate about mentoring undergraduate students and developing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approaches for STEM education. Her work specifically targets making mathematics and other STEM content more accessible in college engineering courses.

Her publication record shows a clear evolution from biomedical informatics to educational research, with recent publications heavily concentrated on accessibility in engineering education. Her work bridges computer science education with practical applications that improve learning experiences for all students, particularly those with disabilities.

She has received several awards for her contributions to diversity and inclusion:

• 2nd Best DEI paper award in NEE session at ASEE Conference 2025
• Best DEI paper award in NEE session at ASEE Conference 2022
• 2nd best DEI paper and 3rd best paper in NEE session at ASEE Conference 2021

As Principal Investigator, Dr. Liu leads multiple projects including the SIIP project 'UDL based best practices including utilizing Canvas for the needs of students with disability' and the GIANT project 'Developing tools to make Mathematics and other STEM contents more accessible in college engineering courses.' She actively mentors undergraduate researchers and serves on committees focused on broadening participation across campus.

Dr. Liu leads the UDL and Accessibility Research Lab, collaborating with faculty across engineering disciplines to develop inclusive learning environments and tools that support diverse student needs.