I’m Di Wu (吳迪), a second-year PhD student in Computer Science at Northwestern University, working in the tiilt Lab advised by Professor Marcelo Worsley.

I explore how interactive systems can become physical, embedded, and intuitive—not just moving interfaces onto the human body, but turning the human body into the interface itself, in the spirit of Ivan Sutherland’s Ultimate Display, where the boundaries between perception and control dissolve, and actuation and sensing fuse into experience. To realize this vision, I advocate for a systematic design space that spans material innovation, device fabrication, power management, and human-computer interaction—toward soft, embodied devices that seamlessly weave into the fabrics of everyday life. Within this fabric, new possibilities emerge—in assistive technology, rehabilitation, and embodied learning.

Before starting my Ph. D. at Northwestern, I had the pleasure of working in Morphing Matter Lab, advised by Professor Lining Yao and Dr. Qiuyu Lu (now Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University). I received my Master's from Carnegie Mellon University, and my Bachelor of Architecture from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST).

Research Vision---Body as Interface

As someone trained in architecture, I once saw space as built from concrete and steel. But Sutherland showed me that a display—once a 2D window—can be expanded into a sensory habitat. Now, I build not walls, but experiences; not floors, but forces. I no longer design places to dwell, but interfaces to become.

News

01/22/2026 Just finished two papers (CHI Demo and DIS) today!
01/10/2026 Still working on our submission to ACM DIS 2026!
01/09/2026 Excited to wrap up our new demo paper for ACM CHI 2026!
01/05/2026 Back to Evanston and started my second TA in COMP_SCI 110 Introduction in Computer Programming!
01/02/2026 Got the printed business cards in both English and Traditional Chinese versions! Can't wait to share with you!
12/19/2025 Happy to announce that I have completed the first milestone of my PhD: completing my MSCS in Primary PhD!
12/15/2025 Finished my first TA in COMP_SCI 330 Human-computer Interaction during my PhD! Shout out to Prof. Matthew Kay!
12/08/2025 Preparing my trip back to China for the family reunion!
10/22/2025 Finished reviewing the paper from ACM CHI 2026!
09/18/2025 Finished reviewing 2 papers from ACM TEI 2026!
03/06/2025 Excited to serve ACM TEI 2026 as one of the Hybrid Chairs! See you all in Chicago!

Publications

My long-term vision is to build interfaces by fusing materials, mechanics, and interaction. Publications in ACM CHI have advanced morphing interfaces and material-driven interactivity, while work published in materials journals such as Materials Horizons explores reconfigurable soft electronics. In parallel, submissions to engineering venues like IEEE Sensors focus on durable, low-voltage actuation. Together, these works lay the foundation for systems where the human body becomes the interface itself.