Leah Chong

Leah Chong is an Assistant Professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a BS from Rice University (2017), MS and PhD from Carnegie Mellon University (2020-2022), and previously worked as a postdoctoral associate at MIT's Ideation Lab. Her research focuses on human-AI collaboration in engineering design, exploring how computational tools impact designer cognition and creativity, and developing frameworks for effective human-centered design.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Rice University (2017)
• Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2020)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University (2022)

Research Interests: Dr. Chong investigates AI-assisted decision-making, artificial empathy in design, and qualitative design methodologies. Her work combines computational modeling with human-subject experiments to understand how AI integration influences design processes, creativity, and decision-making. Key themes include trust dynamics between humans and AI, confidence calibration, and optimizing collaborative workflows.

Awards:

• ASME Design Theory and Methodology Best Paper Award
• Carnegie Mellon's Milton Shaw Ph.D. Research Award
• Carnegie Mellon Presidential Fellowship

Research Group: Dr. Chong leads a team exploring cutting-edge topics like LLM-based empathic inference and CAD-prompted generative models. She actively seeks motivated students (undergraduate, MS, PhD) to join her lab, emphasizing innovative research ideas and alignment with her focus areas.