Dr. Lingzi Hong
Human-Centered Computing Lab
Lab Director
Dr. Lingzi Hong
Assistant Professor in Data Science
Ph.D. in Information Science, University of Maryland College Park, 2019
M.S. in Information Science, Beijing Normal University, 2014
B.S. in Management Information System, Beijing Normal University, 2011
Phone: (940) 565-8545
Email: lingzi dot hong at unt.edu
Address: E292E 3940 N Elm St., Denton, TX, 76207
Graduate Students
Xiaoying Song
Xiaoying is currently pursuing a PhD in Data Science at the University of North Texas (UNT), where she also serves as a research assistant. She holds a Master's degree in Information Science from Central China Normal University. Xiaoying leads a significant project focused on Evaluating Generative Counter-speech and Addressing Health Misinformation. Her outstanding contributions have earned her the COI/IS Leon M. Liddel Scholarship in 2024. She is also passionate about teaching and mentoring. She has experience as a teaching assistant for courses including Introduction to Data Science, Data Visualization, and Information Architecture. She joined the lab in Fall 2023.
Email: XiaoyingSong at my.unt.edu
Sharon Perez
Sharon is currently a PhD Student in Data Science at the University of North Texas (UNT) supported by a Fulbright grant. She came from Panama, with two master's degrees—one in Higher Education specialized in Technology and Educational Didactics from UTP, Panama, and another in Computer Science with a focus on Computer Methods applied to Management from Paris Sud XI, France. She is deeply passionate about technology, teaching, and leveraging education and research to address social inequalities. Her commitment is rooted in improving the challenging circumstances of her home country, which grapples with significant disparities. She joined the lab in Fall 2023.
Email: SharonPerez at my.unt.edu
Meseret Zeleke
Meseret Zeleke is a PhD student specializing in data science within the information science program at the University of North Texas. Originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she earned her master’s degree in information systems from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA. Afterward, she joined an information technology consulting company in the data and analytics sector to gain industry experience. As a dedicated learner, Meseret aims to bridge the gap in research in social computing, providing valuable insights to inform decision-making, foster innovation, and address societal challenges. She joined the lab in Spring 2024.
Email: MeseretZeleke at my.unt.edu
Mohotarema Rashid
Mohotarema Rashid is currently pursuing PhD in Data Science at the University of North Texas (UNT). After completing her BBA and MBA degrees in Finance from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, she started her career as a finance executive in the corporate sector. Before joining UNT, she served as an assistant professor of Finance in Bangladesh. Currently, she worked as a TA, RA, and TF at UNT. She is passionate about leveraging her financial knowledge with data science methods to do interdisciplinary research. Her research interests include financial misinformation, social computing, computational linguistics, information behavior, and legal informatics.
Amir Azadnouran
Amir is currently a Ph.D. student in Data Science at the University of North Texas. He holds a master's degree in Mathematics (Graph Theory) from the University of Tehran, one of the top universities in Iran. He is very interested in leveraging my mathematical background to understand and address challenges in data science. He has experience as a teaching assistant for courses such as Fundamentals of Data Analytics, Linear Algebra, and Discrete Mathematics.
Jinyu Liu
Jinyu is a Master student in Computer Science at UNT. He earned a B.S. in Information & Computing Science from Sichuan Agricultural University. Jinyu is deeply interested in areas such as neural networks, big data analysis, and front-end development. He has hands-on experience in developing deep neural network models for urban consumption prediction and has contributed to a corporate-university project by creating a cross-platform front-end interface for an inventory management system.
Email: JinyuLiu at my.unt.edu
Anirban Saha Anik
Anirban is a M.S. Data Science student at UNT with a strong background in Computer Science and Engineering from American International University-Bangladesh. His research interests include medical data analysis, machine learning, and Large Language Model (LLM). Here is his LinkedIn and Google Scholar page.
Undergraduate Students
Sujana is a student at the Texas Academy of Math and Science (TAMS) at the University of North Texas (UNT), pursuing the Computer Science Track. With interest in various programming fields including machine learning, data analysis, and web development, she seeks to cultivate analytical and insightful knowledge in these areas. Beyond her coding endeavors, she is passionate about music, dance and literature. When she’s not immersed in research, you’ll often find her exploring the libraries across campus, seeking inspiration beyond the realm of technology.
Alumni
Dr. Xinchen Yu
Dr. Yu got her PhD in Information Science at UNT in Summer 2023. Her dissertation topic is "Countering Hate Speech: Modeling User-Generated Web Content Using Natural Language Processing." She was a research assistant in the lab from Fall 2019 to Spring 2023.
She became an Assistant Professor in Practice in the Computer Science Department at the University of Arizona after her graduation.
Dr. Irhamni
Dr. Irhamni got his PhD in Information Science at UNT at Spring 2024. His dissertation topic is "Assessing the Readiness for Implementing Linked Open Government Data: a Study on Indonesian Government Agencies' Library." He was a member of the lab from Fall 2020 to Spring 2024.
He will be a Data Scientist for the National Library of Indonesia Strategic Planning Management Bureau.
Dr. Navya Reddy Velverthi
Navya's dissertation topic is "Usage and Adoption of Patient Portals." She was a member in the lab from Fall 2020 to Spring 2024.
She will be a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Computer Information Systems and Analytics at the University of Central Missouri from Fall 2024.
Ashley Zhao
She was a TAMS student working in the lab from 2022-2023.
She got admission to the Computer Science major at the Cornell University.
Zhuoli Xie
He was a TAMS student working in the lab from Summer 2020- Spring 2022.
He got admission to the Computer Science major at the University of Texas Austin.
Alexander Kahanek
He was a undergraduate student majoring in Data Science. He worked in the lab from Summer 2020-Fall 2021.
His first job placement is in OM1, a biomedical AI company in Boston, MA.