Yu Huang

Yu Huang is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University with a secondary appointment in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Peabody School of Education. She is affiliated with the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, the Vanderbilt Lab for Immersive AI Translation (VALIANT), and the Vanderbilt LIVE Learning Innovation Incubator. Her research focuses on human-centered AI for software engineering, combining human cognition with machine intelligence to enhance software development processes.

Educated at the University of Michigan (PhD, 2021), University of Virginia (MS, 2015), and Harbin Institute of Technology (BS, 2011), her work spans software engineering, human factors, AI, and medical imaging. Key projects include the MIND Lab, studying programmer expertise and cognitive processes, and the HumanAISE workshop on Human-Centered AI for Software Engineering.

Huang has received significant recognition, including the 2025 ICPC Vaclav Rajlich Early Career Achievement Award and three ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Awards. Her research is supported by NSF, GitHub, and Vanderbilt initiatives. She advises numerous graduate and undergraduate students, emphasizing diversity and innovation in programming education.