About
Jingwen Zhu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Design at the University of California, Davis. She received her Ph.D. in Human Centered Design from Cornell University in 2026, where she was advised by Prof. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao in the Hybrid Body Lab. Before joining Cornell, she received her bachelor’s degree in Design and Innovation from Tongji University and her master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University.
Her research interests lie at the intersection of human-computer interaction, e-textiles, sustainable materials, and biodesign. Her work has been presented at major conferences, including ACM CHI, UIST, DIS, and ISWC, and has received Best Paper and Best Paper Honorable Mention awards. She was also named an EECS Rising Star in 2024.
I will be joining UC Davis Department of Design as an Assistant Professor starting Summer 2026. I am recruiting fully-funded MFA student for Fall 2027. Please email me with your CV and research interest.
Publications
Papers
LivingLoom
Investigating Human-Plant Symbiosis through Integrating Living Plants into (E-)Textiles
Jingwen Zhu, Samantha Chang, Ruth Zhao, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
CHI 2025 PDF | DOI | Project Page
🏆 Best Paper
Empowering Sustainable E-Textiles
DIY Biofiber Wet Spinning for Community Material Exploration
Jingwen Zhu, Megan Wu, Ruth Zhao, Samantha Chang, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
DIS 2025 PDF | DOI | Project Page
🏅 Best Pictorial Honorable Mention Award
VitalWear
Fabricating Textile-Based Biofuel Cells Towards Sweat-Powered Wearables Jingwen Zhu, Pin-Sung Ku, Kaitlyn Beiler, Ruth Zhao, Lily Winagle, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
ISWC 2025 PDF | DOI | Project Page
EcoThreads
Prototyping Biodegradable E-Textiles Through Thread-Based Fabrication
Jingwen Zhu, Lily Winagle, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
CHI 2024 PDF | DOI | Project Page
🌱 Special Recognition for Sustainable Practices Runner-Up
BioWeave
Weaving Thread-Based Sweat-Sensing On-Skin Interfaces
Jingwen Zhu, Nadine El Nesr, Christina Simon, Nola Rettenmaier, Kaitlyn Beiler, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao
UIST 2023 PDF | DOI | Project Page
SkinPaper
Exploring Opportunities for Woven Paper as a Wearable Material for On-Skin Interactions
Jingwen Zhu, Nadine El Nesr, Nola Rettenmaier, Hsin-Liu (Cindy) Kao
CHI 2023 PDF | DOI | Project Page
Scaling E-Textile Production
Understanding the Challenges of Soft Wearable Production for Individual Creators
Jingwen Zhu, Hsin-Liu (Cindy) Kao
ISWC 2022 PDF | DOI | Project Page
🏅 Best Paper Honorable Mention
Extended Abstracts
Wearable Bio-HCI: Challenges and Opportunities
Jingwen Zhu, Fiona Bell, Katherine Song, Katia Vega, Aditya Nittala, Mirela Alistar, Leah Buechley, Hsin-Liu (Cindy) Kao
CHI 2025 Special Interest Group PDF | DOI | Event Page
