Biography

Zhenhui Peng is an assistant professor (lecturer) in the School of Artificial Intelligence, Sun Yat-sen University. Before that, he was a postdoctoral researcher in Aalto University, working with Prof. Antti Oulasvirta. He got his Ph.D. degree in Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, supervised by Prof. Xiaojuan Ma. He received his Bachelor degree in ESE from Nanjing University. He leads the HaiA (Human-AI Augmentation) lab, which aims at augmenting human intelligence in higher-order thinking activities (e.g., critical/creative thinking, decision making, problem solving) with user-generated content (e.g., posts and comments on social media) and AI-generated content. The application domains include vocabulary learning, art education, mental health peer support, critical reading, and so on. The research overview is as below.

We welcome postdocs, undergraduate/graduate students, visiting interns, and scholars. Please send me your CV if you are interested in these topics or have any question.

Publications

†: corresponding author; *: equal contribution

Journal (fully reviewed, archival)

[J.10] Shiwei Wu, Mingxiang Wang, Chuhan Shi, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2025. ComViewer: An Interactive Visual Tool to Help Viewers Seek Social Support in Online Mental Health Communities. (CSCW 2025). PDF | ACM to appear Arxiv

[J.9] Han Zhang, Jiaqi Zhang, Yuxiang Zhang, Ryan Louie, Taewook Kim, Qingyu Guo, Shuailin Li, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. MentalImager: Exploring Generative Images for Assisting Support-Seekers’ Self-Disclosure in Online Mental Health Communities . (CSCW 2025). PDF to appear | ACM to appear

[J.8] Zhenhui Peng, Qiaoyi Chen, Zhiyu Shen, Xiaojuan Ma, and Antti Oulasvirta. 2024. DesignQuizzer: A Community-Powered Conversational Agent for Learning Visual Design. (CSCW '24). PDF | Project Page | ACM

[J.7] Zhenhui Peng, Yuzhi Liu, Hanqi Zhou, Zuyu Xu, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2022. CReBot: Exploring interactive question prompts for critical paper reading. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Stud. (IJHCS) 167, C (Nov 2022). PDF | Supplimentary materials | HTML

[J.6] Chenyang Zhang, Xiyuan Wang, Chuyi Zhao, Yijing Ren, Tianyu Zhang, Zhenhui Peng, Xiaomeng Fan, Xiaojuan Ma, and Quan Li. 2022. PromotionLens: Inspecting Promotion Strategies of Online E-commerce via Visual Analytics. In IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 767-777, Jan. 2023. PDF | ACM

[J.5] Chengzhong Liu, Zeyu Huang, Dingdong Liu, Shixu Zhou, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2022. PlanHelper: Supporting Activity Plan Construction with Answer Posts in Community-based QA Platforms. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 6, CSCW2, Article 454 (November 2022), 26 pages. PDF | ACM

[J.4] Liuping Wang, Dakuo Wang, Feng Tian, Zhenhui Peng, Xiangmin Fan, Zhang Zhan, Shuai Ma, Yu Mo, Xiaojuan Ma, and Hongan Wang. 2021. CASS: Towards Building a Social-Support Chatbot for Online Health Community. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW1, Article 9 (April 2021), 31 pages. PDF | ACM

[J.3] Mingfei Sun, Zhenhui Peng, Meng Xia, Xiaojuan Ma. 2020. Investigating the Effects of Robot Engagement Communication on Learning from Demonstration. International Journal of Social Robotics 14, 789 - 806. Arxiv

[J.2] Zhenhui Peng and Xiaojuan Ma. 2020. A survey on construction and enhancement methods in service chatbots design. CCF Trans. Pervasive Comp. Interact. 1, 204–223. PDF | HTML

[J.1] Taewook Kim, Jungsoo Lee, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2019. Love in Lyrics: An Exploration of Supporting Textual Manifestation of Affection in Social Messaging. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 3, CSCW, Article 79 (November 2019), 27 pages. PDF | ACM | Project Page

Conference (fully reviewed, archival)

[C.21] Han Zhang, Ka Wing Tsang and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. VChater: Exploring Generative Conversational Agents for Simulating Exposure Therapy to Reduce Social Anxiety. (ChineseCHI 2024). PDF to appear | ACM to appear

[C.20] Haoxiang Fan, Guanzheng Chen, Xingbo Wang, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. LessonPlanner: Assisting Novice Teachers to Prepare Pedagogy-Driven Lesson Plans with Large Language Models. (UIST 2024). PDF | ACM | Arxiv

[C.19] Tianjian Liu, Hongzheng Zhao*, Yuheng Liu*, Xingbo Wang, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. ComPeer: A Generative Conversational Agent for Proactive Peer Support. (UIST 2024). PDF | ACM | Arxiv

[C.18] Qiaoyi Chen, Siyu Liu, Kaihui Huang, Xingbo Wang, Xiaojuan Ma, Junkai Zhu, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. RetAssist: Facilitating Vocabulary Learners with Generative Images in Story Retelling Practices. (DIS 2024). PDF | ACM

[C.17] Shuailin Li, Shiwei Wu, Tianjian Liu, Han Zhang, Qingyu Guo, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. Understanding the Features of Text-Image Posts and Their Received Social Support in Online Grief Support Communities. (ICWSM 2024). PDF | AAAI

[C.16] Chengbo Zheng, Kangyu Yuan, Bingcan Guo, Reza Hadi Mogavi, Zhenhui Peng, Shuai Ma, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2024. Charting the Future of AI in Project-Based Learning: A Co-Design Exploration with Students. (CHI '24). PDF | ACM

[C.15] Qianyu Liu, Haoran Jiang, Zihao Pan, Qiushi Han, Zhenhui Peng, and Quan Li. 2024. BiasEye: A Bias-Aware Real-time Interactive Material Screening System for Impartial Candidate Assessment. (IUI '24). PDF | ACM

[C.14] Zhenhui Peng*, Xingbo Wang*, Qiushi Han, Junkai Zhu, Xiaojuan Ma, and Huamin Qu. 2023. Storyfier: Exploring Vocabulary Learning Support with Text Generation Models. (UIST '23). PDF | ACM

[C.13] Kangyu Yuan*, Hehai Lin*, Shilei Cao*, Zhenhui Peng†, Qingyu Guo, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2023. CriTrainer: An Adaptive Training Tool for Critical Paper Reading. (UIST '23). PDF | ACM | Video preview

[C.12] Chen Cheng, Ziang Li, Zhenhui Peng, and Quan Li. 2023. ALens: An Adaptive Domain-Oriented Abstract Writing Training Tool for Novice Researchers. (HHME/CHCI 2023). PDF | Arxiv

[C.11] Longfei Chen, Qianyu Liu, Chenyang Zhang, Yangkun Huang, Zhenhui Peng, Haipeng Zeng, Zhida Sun, Xiaojuan Ma, and Quan Li. 2023. Amplifying the Music Listening Experience through Song Comments on Music Streaming Platforms. (ChinaVis 2023). PDF | Arxiv

[C.10] Qingyu Guo, Chao Zhang, Hanfang Lyu, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2023. What Makes Creators Engage with Online Critiques? Understanding the Role of Artifacts’ Creation Stage, Characteristics of Community Comments, and their Interactions. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 556, 1–17. PDF | ACM

[C.9] Chengzhong Liu, Shixu Zhou, Yuanhao Zhang, Dingdong Liu, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2022. Exploring the Effects of Self-Mockery to Improve Task-Oriented Chatbot's Social Intelligence. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1315–1329. PDF | ACM

[C.8] Qingyu Guo, Siyuan Zhou, Yifeng Wu, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2022. Understanding and Modeling Viewers’ First Impressions with Images in Online Medical Crowdfunding Campaigns. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 361, 1–20. PDF | ACM

[C.7] Quan Li, Haipeng Zeng, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2022. Understanding Players’ Interaction Patterns with Mobile Game App UI via Visualizations. In The Ninth International Symposium of Chinese CHI (Chinese CHI 2021). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 9–21. PDF | ACM

[C.6] Wenjie Yang, Sitong Wang*, Zhenhui Peng*, Chuhan Shi, Xiaojuan Ma, and Diyi Yang. 2022. Know It to Defeat It: Exploring Health Rumor Characteristics and Debunking Efforts on Chinese Social Media during COVID-19 Crisis. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM). 16, 1 (May 2022), 1157-1168. PDF | AAAI

[C.5] Ziming Wu*, Qianyao Xu*, Yiding Liu, Zhenhui Peng, Yingqing Xu, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2021. Exploring Designers’ Practice of Online Example Management for Supporting Mobile UI Design. In Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction (MobileHCI '21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 44, 1–12. PDF | ACM

[C.4] Zhenhui Peng, Xiaojuan Ma, Diyi Yang, Ka Wing Tsang, and Qingyu Guo. 2021. Effects of Support-Seekers’ Community Knowledge on Their Expressed Satisfaction with the Received Comments in Mental Health Communities. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 536, 1–12. PDF | ACM | Rating Scheme for Sought Support | Features of Models | Source Code of Models

[C.3] Zhenhui Peng, Qingyu Guo, Ka Wing Tsang, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2020. Exploring the Effects of Technological Writing Assistance for Support Providers in Online Mental Health Community. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–15. PDF | ACM | Project Page

[C.2] Quan Li, Zhenhui Peng, Haipeng Zeng, Qiaoan Chen, Lingling Yi, Ziming Wu, Xiaojuan Ma, and Tianjian Chen. 2020. Friend Network as Gatekeeper: A Study of WeChat Users’ Consumption of Friend-Curated Contents. In The eighth International Workshop of Chinese CHI (Chinese CHI 2020). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 21–31. PDF | ACM

[C.1] Zhenhui Peng, Yunhwan Kwon, Jiaan Lu, Ziming Wu, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2019. Design and Evaluation of Service Robot's Proactivity in Decision-Making Support Process. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '19). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Paper 98, 1–13. PDF | HTML

Extended Abstracts: Posters and Workshop (lightly reviewed)

[E.12] Zimo Xia*, Xichen Sun*, Xueyang Wu, Qiyu Pan, Kaixiang Mo, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. SummarFlex: Exploring Personalized News Filtering and Reading with Query-Focused Hierarchical Summarization. (CSCW 2024 Poster). PDF | ACM

[E.11] Xiucheng Zhang, Yixin Zeng*, Qichang Li*, Guanyi Chen, Qianyao Xu, Xiaozhu Hu, and Zhenhui Peng†. 2024. DesignWatch: Analyzing Users’ Operations of Mobile Apps Based on Screen Recordings. (MobileHCI 2024 Late-Breaking Work). PDF | ACM

[E.10] Qingyu Guo, Kangyu Yuan, Changyang He, Zhenhui Peng, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2024. Exploring the Evolvement of Artwork Descriptions in Online Creative Community under the Surge of Generative AI: A Case Study of DeviantArt. (CHI LBW '24). PDF | ACM

[E.9] Qiushi Han, Haitong Chen, Haoxiang Fan, Zhenhui Peng†. 2023. ReDBot: Exploring Conversational Recommendation for Decision-Making Support in Group Chats. (ChineseCHI LBW '23). PDF | ACM

[E.8] Ryan Louie, Taewook Kim, and Zhenhui Peng. 2023 Rawal: A Reflection Assistant with Active Listening for Peer Support Chats. In CHI 2023 Workshop on Integrating Individual and Social Contexts into Self-Reflection Technologies. PDF

[E.7] Zhenhui Peng, Chuhan Shi, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2022. Exploring User Experience and Design Opportunities of Desktop Social Virtual Reality for Group Learning Activities. In The Ninth International Symposium of Chinese CHI (Chinese CHI 2021). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 105–111. PDF | ACM

[E.6] Quan Li, Huanbin Lin, Chunfeng Tang, Xiguang Wei, Zhenhui Peng, Xiaojuan Ma, and Tianjian Chen. 2021. “Exploring the "Double-Edged Sword" Effect of Auto-Insight Recommendation in Exploratory Data Analysis. IUI Workshops. PDF | HTML

[E.5] Zhenhui Peng, Kaixiang Mo, Xiaogang Zhu, Junlin Chen, Zhijun Chen, Qian Xu and Xiaojuan Ma. 2020. Understanding User Perceptions of Robot's Delay, Voice Quality-Speed Trade-off and GUI during Conversation. In Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '20). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–8. PDF | ACM

[E.3] Qiangqiang Liu, Quan Li, Chunfeng Tang, Huanbin Lin, Zhenhui Peng, Zhiwei Li, and Tianjian Chen. 2020. Visual Analysis of Car-hailing Reimbursement Data for Overtime. EuroVis 2020 Posters. HTML

[E.2] Zhenhui Peng, Taewook Kim and Xiaojuan Ma. 2019. GremoBot: Exploring Emotion Regulation in Group Chat. In Conference Companion Publication of the 2019 on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW '19). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 335–340. PDF | ACM

[E.1] Zhenhui Peng, Jeehoon Yoo, Meng Xia, Sunghun Kim, and Xiaojuan Ma. 2018. Exploring How Software Developers Work with Mention Bot in GitHub. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium of Chinese CHI (ChineseCHI '18). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 152–155. PDF | ACM

Courses & Academic Experience

"Human-Computer Interaction" (for undergraduate students), 2024 Fall

"Human-Computer Interaction" (for master students), 2024&2023&2022 Fall

"Principles of Artificial Intelligence" and its lab sessions, 2024&2023&2022 Spring

"Data Structure and Algorithm" and its lab sessions, 2023&2022 Fall

Teaching Assistant at HKUST COMP 3711 "Design and Analysis of Algorithms" (2020 Spring). COMP 4461 "Human-Computer Interaction", (2018 Fall, 2020 Fall). COMP 2611 "Computer Organization" (2018 Spring)

Associate chair for CSCW 2024&2023, CHI 2025&2024&2023, ChineseCHI 2022 LBW

Reviewers for TOCHI, CHI 2022&2021&2020&2018&, CSCW 2025&2022&2021&2020, UIST 2021, WWW 2020, CHILBW 2024 & 2020, ChineseCHI 2022

Students

Master students

  • Xueer Lin (2024 - , from Sun Yat-sen University)
  • Yiwei Yuan (2024 - , from Sun Yat-sen University)
  • Shiwei Wu (2023 - , from Hebei University of Technology)
  • Haoxiang Fan (2023 - , from Jinan University)
  • Shuailin Li (2022 - , from Hainan University)
  • Han Zhang (2022 - , from Guizhou University)
  • Qiushi Han (2021 - 2024, from Fuzhou University), now in 中国电信研究院(广州)

Supervised undergraduates

  • Team projects (2023.12 - ): Xuan Lin et al. (class of 2021), Xiucheng Zhang et al. (2021, one paper in MobileHCI 2024 LBW), Tianjian Zhang et al. (2021, one paper in UIST 2024), Zhendong Ke et al. (2022), Qiyu Pan et al. (2022)
  • Zimo Xia, Xichen Sun, Qiyu Pan (2023.07 - , class of 2021/2022, team project) - one paper in CSCW 2024 Poster
  • Yunjun Qian, Haojia Zheng, Xia Chen, Xinyue Chen, Weixin Hu (2022.11 - , class of 2021, team project) - one paper under review
  • Qiaoyi Chen (now Ph.D. student in HKUST CS), Kaihui Huang, Siyu Liu (now master student in SYSU CS) (2022.11 - 2024.04, class of 2020, team project) - one paper in DIS 2024
  • Shilei Cao (now master student in HKUST AI), Hehai Lin, Kangyu Yuan (now Ph.D. student in HKUST CS) (2022.11 - 2023.10, class of 2020, team project) - one paper in UIST 2023
  • Guanzheng Chen (now master student in ZJU), Chenghan Xie, Qijie Lu, Yifei Huang, Linxuan Miao (2021.12 - 2022.11, class of 2020, team project) - one paper in ChineseCHI 2022 LBW
  • Xueer Lin, Shun Wang, Jiao Wang, Jiaxin Cheng, Kexin Song (2021.12 - 2022.11, class of 2020, team project) - one paper in ChineseCHI 2022 LBW
  • Qiaoyi Chen, Zhiyu Shen (now master student in SYSU CS) (2022.06 - 2022.09, class of 2020, summer intern) - one paper in CSCW 2024

Grants & Awards

广东省自然科学基金 - 面上项目 Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation - General Project, 2024.01 - 2026.12

国家自然科学基金委青年科学基金 Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 62202509), 2023.01 - 2025.12

Postgraduate Scholarship in the HKUST (2017.09 - 2021.07)

HKUST SENG Academic Award for Continuing PhD Students 2019 - 20 (10%)

Excellent Graduate in NJU (5%)

People's Scholarship (first class) in NJU (5%)

Internships / Visitings

Tsinghua University, Department of Computer Science and Technology, Pervasive Human Computer Interaction Lab, Visiting student, 2020.11 - 2021.01

Webank AI Group, AI algorithm engineer, 2019.09 - 2020.01