Conducted research exploring the effects of human-like virtual avatar behavior on user presence and engagement within augmented reality environments.Research Focus and Experiment Design: • Investigated how different avatar behaviors impact user perception of presence. Designed a matched-pairs experiment involving 19 participants, where each experienced two distinct conditions presented in random order: • Control Group: NPCs moved along static, pre-defined paths using animation states and a waypoint system. • Experimental Group: NPCs exhibited fluid, dynamic movement with realistic paths, trained using Unity ML-Agents with imitation learning and motion matching algorithms.Participant Feedback and Sentiment Analysis: • Conducted in-depth participant interviews, capturing voice recordings to perform sentiment analysis. • Results indicated a significant increase in perceived presence during the experimental stage, validating the impact of realistic NPC behavior.Academic Presentation and Publication: • Presented findings at the UC Santa Barbara Research Symposium. Authored a research paper detailing the study

Researched motivation and self-determination theories to design a mobile app aimed at combating procrastination. Conducted a market analysis of existing applications to identify key design elements and areas for improvement. Developed essential app features based on a theoretical model, providing actionable insights for effective intervention design.

Led a team of five to develop an intra-company lunch app promoting workplace connections as part of the Cisco program. Gained practical experience in technical development and project management through Cisco workshops and personalized mentoring sessions with Cisco manager.

Taught math and English to children from kindergarten up to middle school