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🍑 Tao Long (he/him)

Hi, I'm a fourth-year Computer Science PhD student at Columbia University, with a focus on human-computer interaction (HCI). I'm fortunate to be advised by Professor Lydia Chilton and part of the Columbia HCI

My research focuses on making generative AI models more usable, useful, and well-integrated into our everyday workflows. Thus, I build  agentic productivity support tools (yeee🤠!!) I design, develop, and evaluate human-AI and agentic workflows that reduce cognitive load and manual effort, support fast creative explorations and iterations, and integrate seamlessly into users' existing practices. I am supported by a Capital One AI PhD Fellowship  I will be joining Microsoft Research AI Frontiers as a research intern this summer. I previously worked at Autodesk Research. I earned my bachelor's with Summa Cum Laude from Cornell University in 2022, which unlocked the doors to research and teaching for me.

📌 Feb 17: I know everyone’s journey to (or through) a PhD can be different or tough, so in 2026, one of my new year's resolution is to dedicate a few hours each week to chat and help as much as I can >> find a 1:1 slot to chat here ✨✨ <<

long@cs.columbia.edutwitter
g-scholarcv (Feb2026)

Conference Travel

Below is a list of recent conferences I’ve attended — with more personal travels logged on my travel blog and Instagram @tao1ong - you can find links to those at the bottom of this page :) To be honest, this kind of travel is truly a privilege and a hidden perk I didn’t fully appreciate until a few years into my PhD — one of the best excuses to see the world in your 20s yay

Apr 2026 CHI 2026 Barcelona, ES
Nov 2025 HAI 2025 Yokohama, JP
Oct 2025 Meta PhD Forum 2025 Menlo Park, CA
Sep 2025 UIST 2025 Busan, KR
Apr 2025 CHI 2025 Yokohama, JP
Oct 2024 UIST 2024 Pittsburgh, PA
Jul 2024 DIS 2024 Copenhagen, DK
Jun 2024 Autodesk Research San Francisco, CA
May 2024 CHI 2024 Honolulu, HI
Apr 2024 CRA IDEALS 2024 Minneapolis, MN
Nov 2023 UIST 2023 San Francisco, CA
Oct 2023 CSCW 2023 Minneapolis, MN
Jun 2023 HCIC 2023; ICCC 2023 Delavan, WI; Waterloo, ON
Feb 2023 CRA IDEALS 2023 Honolulu, HI
Feb 2023 AAAI 2023 Washington, DC

Research

My Info/Sci and Communication background made me understand that technology has both communicative capacity and responsibility. Therefore, as designers and developers, we should speak, design, and build for those who can't. I am more than eager to learn and join exciting HCI/AI projects. Don't hesitate to reach out for collab :D

Teaching & Services

I enjoy teaching and service. My passion for teaching and socially impactful research significantly contributes to my decision to pursue a PhD and (possibly) an academic career in Computer Science. It helps me rethink myself, my role, and my responsibilities in better helping others with the resources I have. Always eager to contribute to new initiatives ;)

FA 2024   COMS W4156: Advanced Software Engineering (w/ Gail Kaiser)

FA 2024   COMS E6998: Design for Generative AI (w/ Lydia Chilton)

SP 2024   COMS W4170: User Interface Design (w/ Lydia Chilton)

SP 2024   COMS BC3997: Applied Computing: Research and Industry Perspectives (w/ Brian Plancher)

FA 2023   COMS E6998: Design for Emerging Technologies (w/ Lydia Chilton)

FA 2022   COMS 6998: Advanced Web Design Studio (w/ Lydia Chilton)

SP 2022   INFO 4400: Qualitative User Research and Design Methods (w/ Gilly Leshed)

FA 2021   INFO 3450: Human-Computer Interaction Design (w/ Gilly Leshed)

SP 2021   INFO 2300: Intermediate Design and Programming for Web (w/ Kyle Harms)



Conference Reviewer @   CHI, IUI, DIS, UIST, C&C, CSCW, FAccT, TEI, CHI PLAY (total 73 submissions, 13 review awards)

Conference Organizer @   IUI 2025 PC, C&C 2025 PC, CHI 2024/2025 Late-Breaking Work PC, UIST 2024/2025 Web Chair

Conference Volunteer @   UIST 2024, CHI 2024, DIS 2024, CSCW 2023, CHI 2023, EMNLP 2022, CSCW 2022, TEI 2022



PhD Representative @   Columbia CS Department

Lead Organizer @   Columbia HCI & Columbia HCI Seminars

Lead Organizer @   Pre-Application Review Program for PhD Applicants   (video)   (news)

Vice President @   qSTEM at Columbia University   (linktree)

Mentor @   Columbia Undergraduate Research Experiences in Mathematical Modeling (CSUREMM) Program

Mentor @   Women in Science at Columbia (WISC) Undergraduate Mentoring Program

Fellow @   Social Justice Mini-Grant Grantee & Recipient (PI, $1500) University Life and Columbia University   (grantee profile)

Fellow @   Teaching Fellow at Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning

Fellow @   Lead Teaching Fellow at Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning

Fellow @   Kraft Global Fellow at Kraft Family Fund and Columbia University   (news)

Fellow @   CRA Grad Cohort for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills (CRA-IDEALS)

Awardee @   PhD Service Award at Columnbia University   (news)

Undergrad Member @   Grad Students for Gender Inclusion in Computing at Cornell University

Undergrad Worker @   Technical Project Coordinator at Cornell Information Technologies

Undergrad Worker @   Café Jennie at Cornell University

Miscs

Music Blog (i listened to 127,335 mins of music last year...)
  • 55% Mandopop:

    Tanya Chua 蔡健雅, Yanzi Sun 孙燕姿, Jolin Tsai 蔡依林, Hebe Tien 田馥甄, Deserts Chang 張懸, Penny Tai 戴佩妮, Sandy Lam 林憶蓮, Lala Hsu 徐佳瑩

  • 25% Kpop:

    IU 이지은, IVE 아이브, TWICE 트와이스, Stella Jang 장성은, Sunmi 이선미, XG, NewJeans 뉴진스, BOL4 볼빨간 사춘기

  • 20% Pop (?):

    Lady Gaga, Tate Mcrae, Addison Rae, Ariana Grande, Gracie Abrams, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Lana Del Rey, The Weepies



Travel Blog (escape ithaca/NYC once a month!)
  • 4th year phd in the big apple...
    • [03/2026] ...
    • [02/2026] Washington DC + Palo Alto, CA
    • [01/2026] Gainesville, VA
    • [12/2025] Shenzhen, China (im crazy... 10 transpacific flight this year wtf)
    • [11/2025] San Francisco, CA (Meta PhD Forum lol so flattered to be invited) + Tokyo, Japan (again...)
    • [10/2025] Lhasa, China + Seoul, Busan Korea (uist 25! got my five-year F-1 visa)
    • [09/2025] Beijing, Shenzhen, China (to renew my F-1, nervous...)
    • [08/2025] NYC
    • [07/2025] Washington DC (flight got cancelled and we used up Chase's $1500 reimbursement plan lol!!!)
    • [06/2025] Ithaca, NY (took my parents to Cornell so they could see where the tuition went)
  • 3rd year phd in the big apple...
    • [05/2025] New Haven, CT (parents in NYC for the whole summer duh)
    • [04/2025] Yokohama, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Japan (chi 25 and an one-month recovery trip)
    • [03/2025] Palo Alto, CA (spring break!)
    • [02/2025] NYC
    • [01/2025] Shenzhen, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, China
    • [12/2024] Taipei, Taiwan (i love this island so much... i know why people wanna rule it lol jk!!!
    • [11/2024] NYC (chill...)
    • [10/2024] Pittsburgh, PA (uist 24!)
    • [09/2024] NYC, NY (so happy to be back hahahahahahaha)
    • [08/2024] Shenzhen, Changsha, Shanghai, Suzhou China (back home to renew my F-1 but got administrative processing -- bummer)
    • [07/2024] Copenhagen, Denmark (dis 24, first time in europe!!!)
    • [06/2024] San Francisco, CA (my autodesk internship startssss -- sad that i didnt get my canadian visa on time to work in Toronto)
  • 2nd year phd in the big apple...
    • [05/2024] Honolulu, Hawaiʻi (chi 24!)
    • [04/2024] Minneapolis, MN (cra ideals 24!) & Durham, NC
    • [03/2024] Manassas, VA
    • [02/2024] Palo Alto, CA (havent been with my family for lunar new year for 6 years!)
    • [01/2024] Palo Alto, CA
    • [12/2023] Miami, FL + Caribbean Sea (family vacay! cruise!)
    • [11/2023] San Francisco, CA (uist 23!)
    • [10/2023] Minneapolis, MN (cscw 23!)
    • [07-09/2023] NYC SAD! I miss traveling :(
    • [06/2023] Delavan, WI (hcic 23!) & Waterloo, ON (iccc 23 virtual...thank u! amazing Canada visa officers🕯️RIP)
  • 1st year phd in the big apple...
    • [05/2023] Durham, NC
    • [04/2023] Manassas, VA (chi 23 virtual...)
    • [03/2023] Honolulu, Hawaiʻi (cra ideals 23!)
    • [02/2023] Washington, DC (aaai 23!)
    • [01/2023] Nairobi, Kenya (kraft global fellow)
    • [12/2022] Manassas, VA
    • [11/2022] Pittsburgh, PA (cscw 22 virtual... also tried to date someone there lol)
    • [10/2022] Raleigh, NC
    • [09/2022] Miami, FL (gaga concert!)
    • [08/2022] Palo Alto, CA (family reunion!)
    • [07/2022] Ithaca, NY
    • [06/2022] Manassas, VA
  • senior year in ithaca...
    • [05/2022] New York, NY (my graduation!)
    • [04/2022] Miami, FL
    • [03/2022] Chicago, IL
    • [02/2022] New York, NY
    • [01/2022] Washington, DC
    • [12/2021] Manassas, VA
    • [11/2021] Boston, MA
    • [10/2021] Winston-Salem, NC
    • [09/2021] New York, NY
    • [08/2021] Gainesville, VA
    • [07/2021] Washington, DC (July 4 fireworks!)
    • [06/2021] New York, NY
PhD Flights (83 flights from 2022/8-now)

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Foodie Blog (see @dr_dietcoke)
Mood Blog (see this doc)
Dance Blog (kpop cover dance!)
@iamtaolong 💖wonyoung in the studio #ive #wonyoung #elevenchallenge #nyc #phdstudent ♬ original sound - taotao
@iamtaolong 💚wonyoung in the office #ive #wonyoung #afterlikechallenge #nyc #phdstudent ♬ original sound - taotao


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