Lining Yao

Lining Yao is an assistant professor of Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, directing the Morphing Matter Lab. Morphing Matter lab develops materials, tools, and applications of adaptive, dynamic, and intelligent morphing matter from nano to macro scales. Research often combines material science, computational fabrication, and creative design practices. Yao and her lab work anti-disciplinarily, publishing and exhibiting across science, engineering, design, and art. Yao gained her Ph.D. at MIT Media Lab, where she combined biological and engineering approaches to develop physical materials with dynamic and tunable properties including shape, color, stiffness, texture, and density.

Beyond her teaching and research in the School of Computer Science, Yao holds courtesy appointments in Mechanical Engineering, as well as Material Sciences and Engineering. She is supervising undergraduate and graduate students across the College of Engineering and College of Art.