Hi, it's
Chau Vu
A software engineer and UI/UX researcher from somewhere in between Los Angeles and Hanoi, exploring ways to create meaningful technologies by blending my technical skills with my love for user-centered design. Pursuing B.A. in Mathematics & Computer Science at Pomona College ('26).
A Product Inclusion & Equity Scholar @ Google, I've built & shipped full-stack sign language learning apps for the deaf community, developed computer graphics techniques for AR/VR softwares & 3D simulations in game engines for machine learning models, and designed UI/UX in most of the above projects.
A hearty welcome ♡,
Linkedin | Github
My work experience in software engineering and product design:
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VieSign
UX/UI | Software Engineering (ReactJS, NodeJS)
With my own VIM (Visual, Interactive, Multi-media) design principles from the deaf community's needs, I built the first and only Vietnamese Sign Language Online learning platform to improve communication between deaf patients and doctors in hundreds of Vietnamese hospitals.
Design Details | Source code
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AR Multi-user Environments using Point Cloud Matching
Computer Graphics | XR Software Engineering (C#, Unity) | UI/UX
An accessible AR development tool for non-technical users to create multi-user AR experiences in real-time using Unity and C#. Research supported by NSF grant.
Design Details | Source Code
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Anti-survivorship Bias in Design - Framework to Improve User Experience in Online Education
Data Science (R, Python) | UX Research
Runner up @ UCLA Datafest 2024 | Top 1 %
Our design framework, built from analyzing 2 million data rows and leveraging military aircraft survivorship bias, aims to enhance the experience for hundreds of students enrolled in CourseKata, an online statistics education platform!
Design Details | Source Code -
P-recs
Software Engineering (Python, ReactJS)
A course recommender being used by 5000 students from the Claremont Consortium colleges. Built using Python and content-based filtering NLP technique.
Research
Research
My academic research endeavours in UI/UX design for personal tracking technologies, and in artificial intelligence simulations for game engines using Unreal Engine and Python:
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Understanding Parents' Need with Baby Tracking Apps: A Window to Temporality in Personal Informatics Technologies
Julianne Louie*, Tara Mukund*, Chau Vu* , Daniel Epstein, and Alexandra Papoutsaki. (*co-authors)
In submission to Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (CHI ‘25)
From conducting 20 hours of interviews and thematically analyzing 2400 data rows, we proposed a design framework to support short-term needs in personal tracking technologies.
PDF Poster Ver. -
Creating Dynamic Simulation Environments With Unreal Engine 5.
Daisy Abbott, Anjali Nuggehalli, Francisco Morales Puente, Chau Vu, Ella Zhu, and Anthony J. Clark.
In Southern California Robotics Symposium. (SCR ‘23)
PDF
Honors & Awards
Google Product Inclusive & Equity Summit Winner (2023)
Selected among 60 student leaders to attend the first Google Product Inclusion & Equity Summit, where I led, brainstormed, and presented with other scholars on Google tech initiatives & design methodologies aimed at creating inclusive and equitable products for marginalized communities.
Rockoff Foundation Research Fellowship for Undergraduate students (2023)
Awarded the Rockoff Foundation Research Fellowship, I co-host the symposium "History of Assistive Technologies" under Professor Angelina Chin, Pomona History Department.
Other selected awards:
Google Conference Scholarship (2023) - scholarship covering full cost to Grace Hopper Conference (2023)
Computing Research Association (CRA) Mentorship Program Scholar (2023)
Pomona International Scholarship (the highest scholarship covering the full cost of Pomona undergraduate program)
Skills
Languages: Java; Python; C#, C++; JavaScript; HTML; CSS; Ruby (Rails); Haskell
Technologies: Web development (ReactJS, NodeJS, MongoDB, Django); Azure; XR development (Unity); Postgres; Pytorch (FastAI); Git
UX/UI Research: User Persona; Thematic analysis; Surveys; Interviews; Field Studies; Qualitative Research; User Flow; App Flow; Prototyping (Figma); Adobe Photoshop