News
Announcing Graduate Student Fellow Yifan Li
The Center for Language Sciences is pleased to introduce Yifan Li as the 2026-2027 Graduate Student Fellow in the Language Sciences.
Computer Science PhD candidate Yifan Li supports accessible and inclusive communication for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children and their caregivers through the development of AI-mediated systems. Capturing the linguistic complexity of a richly visual-spatial language such as ASL is challenging for current AI technologies; Li investigates how we can design meaningful ASL learning and communication experiences despite these technical limitations.
“While our research primarily focuses on supporting hearing parents in communicating with their DHH children and helping novice learners explore ASL, we also value the experiences and feedback of Deaf communities, including DHH parents, educators, and storytellers,” Li shares. “Their linguistic expertise, cultural knowledge, and lived experiences help inform the design of technologies that reflect ASL practices, Deaf cultural perspectives, and real-world communication needs.”
Yifan Li is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Rochester, advised by Associate ProfessorZhen Bai.
Learn more
Read the Accessible Computing newsletter on Li's research.
Learn about the Tabletop Interactive Play System project at the Inter.Play Lab.