I am Di Wu (吳迪), a first-year Ph. D. student in Computer Science at Northwestern University.
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 and DevLab, advised by Professor Lining Yao/Dr. Qiuyu Lu and Professor Scott Hudson respectively. I received my Master's from Carnegie Mellon University, and my Bachelor of Architecture from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST).
The Body as Interface
Visualizing the Transition from Observation to Embodied Interaction
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.
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.
IEEE Sensor 2025 [Full Article]
Easy-to-Fabricate and Durable Soft Electrohydraulic Actuator for Hands-On Robotics Education
Di Wu, Pavel Belakurski*, Ruihang Gao*, Gyda Nawarungruang, Xuyang Li, Jonah Robinson, Brandon Tendilla, Purnendu, Nivedita Arora.
Materials Horizons 2025 [Full Article]
Wearable and Reconfigurable Smart Textile Circuit with Liquid Metal
Chanho Jeong, Kiyoon Kwon, Di Wu, Sunniva Liu, Yeong-sinn Ye, Lining Yao, Tae-il Kim, Carmel Majidi.
ACM CHI 2024 [Full Article]
Waxpaper Actuator: Sequentially and Conditionally Wax Paper for Morphing Interfaces
Di Wu, Emily Guan*, Yunjia Zhang*, Hsuanju Lai, Qiuyu Lu, Lining Yao
ACM CHI 2023 [Full Article]
EpoMemory: Multi-state Shape Memory for Programmable Morphing Interfaces
Ke Zhong, Adriane Fernandes Minori, Di Wu, Humphrey Yang, Mohammad Islam, Lining Yao
North America Materials Education Symposium 2025 [Symposium]
Teaching Soft Robotics Through Co-Design of Materials, Mechanics, and Electronics: A Focus on Electrohydraulic Artificial Muscles
Di Wu, Ruihang Gao, Pavel Belakurski, Purnendu, Nivedita Arora
ACM CHI EA 2024 [Demo]
Design and Simulation Tool for Sequentially and Conditionally Programmable Waxpaper Morphing Interfaces
Emily Guan, Di Wu, Qiuyu Lu, Lining Yao
ACM CHI EA 2023 [Demo]
Demonstrating Waxpaper Plus: Sequentially and Conditionally Programmable Morphing Wax Fabrics
Di Wu*, Qiuyu Lu*, Hsuanju Lai**, Yunjia Zhang**, Lining Yao