Welcome

I am John (Yuehan) Chen, a Ph.D candidate in Computer Science and Learning Sciences at Northwestern University. I have been working with Prof. Uri Wilensky on a dissertation titled: Designing Constructionist Systems for Scaling, Supporting, and Analyzing Open-Ended Human Learning. Most recently, I accepted a tenure-track assistant professor in Game Design and Development at the University of Arizona, College of Information Science.

I will be hiring 1-2 Ph.D students and summer research students in Spring 2026 and Fall 2026. Please reach out to me if your research interest is at the intersection of Human-AI Interaction, Playful Learning, and Generative AI.

As a human-computer interaction and learning researcher, I study how to leverage AI-driven technologies, such as Generative AI (GAI) or Mixed Reality, to promote equal access to playful informal learning at scale. Before and since I came to Northwestern, I have lead the research, design, and development of Physics Lab AR and Turtle Universe, App Store-featured software, reaching 7 million online, out-of-school learners worldwide.

My real-world projects have produced large-scale human interaction datasets that challenge existing research methodologies. To augment researchers’ capabilities in understanding them, I develop and evaluate novel computational approaches with GAI for inductive qualitative coding, with a focus on bias detection (accepted by CSCL 2025 and AERA 2025).

Throughout my career, I constantly learn from and work with learners of diverse ages and backgrounds. With my extensive experiences in research (incl. leadership), teaching, mentoring, and grant writing, I am looking forward for the next stage of independent research career.