cv

Basics

Name Sirui Tao
Label Researcher and Engineer
Email s1tao@ucsd.edu
Url https://dylandao.github.io/
Summary A master's student in Computer Science and Engineering at UCSD, focusing on HCI and Graphics, with a background in data science and statistics, passionate about combining AI with design and technology to augment human.

Education

  • 2023.09 - 2025.06
    Master of Science
    University of California San Diego
    Computer Science and Engineering
    • Doing research in Human-computer-interaction & Graphics, advised by Prof. Steven Dow and Prof. Tzu-Mao Li.
  • 2019.09 - 2023.03
    Bachelor of Science
    University of California San Diego
    Data Science & Probability and Statistics
    • Doing research in Intuitive Physics, advised by Prof. Judith Fan.

Academia

  • 2023.12 - Present

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Graduate Researcher
    UCSD, Protolab
    Investigating generative models for contextual multimodal documents to aid designers and support collaborative scenarios.
  • 2023.08 - Present

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Graduate Researcher
    UCSD, Tzu-Mao Li’s Lab
    Combining neural methods and traditional graphics pipelines to enable flexible and fast-forward physical interaction prediction; studying inverse physical prediction using diffusion-based models.
  • 2022.11 - 2023.05

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Undergraduate Researcher
    UCSD, HDSI
    Developed GraphHSCN, a novel graph neural network architecture for long-range interaction modeling.
  • 2021.01 - 2022.06

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Undergraduate Researcher
    UCSD, CogTools Lab
    Contributed to Physion and Physion++, focusing on data analysis and designing 3D stimuli for non-rigid physical interactions.

Teaching

Work

  • 2024.01 - 2024.04

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Garage Startup Intern
    MAVERiC Studio
    Explored virtual world creation, metaverse audience engagement, and AI tools. Built 'Not A Good Driver'. Try it here.
  • 2023.01 - 2023.08

    Remote

    Data Engineer
    SchedGo
    Built data infrastructure and conducted analytics; developed marketing data analytics to identify key user groups; designed a survey model for front-end user feedback.
  • 2022.11 - 2023.08

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Deep Learning Engineer Intern
    San Diego Supercomputer Center
    Implemented scalable multi-GPU hyperparameter tuning using Ray Tune on HPC infrastructure. Investigated data-centric MLOps solutions to improve time and resource efficiency in experimentation.
  • 2022.06 - 2022.09

    Fremont, California, USA

    Data Scientist Intern
    Tesla
    Developed lossless image compression solutions and advanced statistical process control tools.
  • 2021.07 - 2021.09

    Wuxi, Jiangsu, China

    Data Scientist Intern
    Bühler Group
    Initiated MLOps image-labeling features for defect detection and prototyped cross-functional innovation tools.
  • 2021.06 - 2021.07

    Shanghai, China

    Analyst Intern
    J.D. Power
    Optimized workflow for quality analytics by automating data processing and report pipelines.
  • 2020.08 - 2020.11

    Wuxi, Jiangsu, China

    Data Analyst Intern
    Bosch
    Developed Tableau dashboards for manufacturing analytics; reduced bottleneck diagnosing time by 80%.

Volunteer

  • 2021.09 - 2022.02

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Mentor at UCSD
    Mentor Collective
    Mentored first-year and transfer students at UCSD to help them adapt to university life.
    • Provided guidance and support for new UCSD students.
    • Facilitated connections to campus resources and communities.
  • 2021.09 - 2022.06

    La Jolla, CA, USA

    Data Science Student Representative
    Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, UC San Diego
    Represented HDSI students to improve the data science program and curriculum.
    • Peer-advised HDSI undergraduate students.
    • Evaluated and improved the data science curriculum.
    • Promoted the program to external audiences.

Awards

  • 2023.2024
    IGE Shah Fellowship
    UCSD, Institute for the Global Entrepreneur
    Awarded the Shah Family Entrepreneur Fellowship as one of two Shah Fellows for outstanding research contributions and entrepreneurial potential. The fellowship, launched by the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur (IGE)—a collaboration between the Jacobs School of Engineering and the Rady School of Management—aims to teach engineers to become entrepreneurs and leaders.
  • 2023
    Participant of The Cornell, Maryland, Max Planck Pre-doctoral Research School
    Cornell, Maryland, Max Planck Institute
    Selected to participate in the prestigious pre-doctoral research school focused on cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, held in August 2023.
  • 2022
    HDSI Research Scholarship
    UCSD, Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute
    One of 20 students to be awarded the competitive $2,500 Undergraduate Research Scholarship from HDSI for outstanding research contributions in data science.
  • 2022
    TRELS Research Scholarship
    AEP, UCSD
    Recognized for academic excellence and research innovation, receiving a $1,000 quarterly research grant.
  • 2021
    HDSI Research Scholarship
    UCSD, Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute
    One of 20 students to be awarded the competitive $2,500 Undergraduate Research Scholarship from HDSI for outstanding research contributions in data science.
  • 2020
    TRELS Research Scholarship
    AEP, UCSD
    Recognized for academic excellence and research innovation, receiving a $1,000 quarterly research grant.
  • 2019.2023
    Provost Honor
    Warren College, UCSD
    Consistently recognized for academic excellence throughout undergraduate studies.

Publications

Skills

Human-Computer Interaction
User-Centered Design
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Qualitative & Quantitative Methods
A/B Testing
Data Science
Scalable Analytics
Data Visualization
MLOps
Recommender Systems
Data Mining
Database
AI/ML
LSTM
GAN
Diffusion Models
GNN
NeRF
3D Gaussian Splatting
Reinforcement Learning
LLM
Software
Python
R
SQL
Angular
D3.js
PyTorch
ClickHouse
FireStore
DevOps
Agile
AR/ VR
Mathematics
Probabilistic Reasoning
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
Stochastic Processes

Languages

English
Fluent
Chinese
Native
German
Newbie

Interests

Research
Design
HCI
Graphics
Creativity
Generative AI
3D Understanding
Human & Embodied Autonomous Systems
Accessibility
Fairness
Real ones
Workout
Cats & Dogs
Cooking
Climbing
Nature
Movie
Game
Badminton
Travel

References

Professor Steven P. Dow
Master Advisor for my research in HCI.
Professor Tzu-Mao Li
Master Advisor for my research in Graphics.
Professor Judith E. Fan
Undergraduate advisor for my research in Intuitive Physics.

Projects