Gene S-H Kim

Welcome to my website!

I’m a first year Ph.D. student at MIT EECS exploring how multisensory data representations can empower engineers and designers. Put it simply, I think deeply about the ways humans perceive complex information, how our perception can be augmented, and how all this can make it easier for everyday people to build cool stuff.

I conduct research at MIT CSAIL under the guidance of my advisors, Arvind Satyanarayan in the Visualization Group and Jas Brooks in the Perceptual Engineering Group. I’m open to summer industry research internships.

Previously, I completed my B.S. (with honors) in Symbolic Systems with a concentration in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Accessibility at Stanford University, being advised by Sean Follmer. Throughout my undergrad, I was very fortunate to work with many incredible HCI researchers, including Pedro Lopes, Megan Hofmann, Jennifer Mankoff, Sheri Sheppard, and Jacob Wobbrock. These collaborations lead to 10 peer-reviewed full publications and 4 peer-reviewed posters at the top venues in my field, (e.g., ACM CHI, ACM ASSETS, ACM UIST, etc.).

Outside of research, I’m a proud disability advocate. During my three years serving on the National Association of Blind Students board of directors, I traveled to 13 states across the country to host blind student empowerment seminars, help teach non-visual STEM and college readiness skills, and public speak about my own journey as a person with a disability. Every January, you can find me meeting with legislators on capital hill to advocate for important disability legislation, including the Websites and Software Applications accessibility act. I also co-founded and oversee an international mentorship program for young blind professionals in STEM. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to chat about my research, learn more about my advocacy work, have a project you’d like to collaborate on, etc.