Ruotong Gao

Hi, I'm

Ruotong Gao

I research

PhD student in Information at the University of Maryland College Park, advised by Dr. Stephanie Valencia.

Passionate about assistive technology, participatory design, and cross-ability collaboration.

Recent News

Recent updates and announcements

Jan 2026
Presented collaborative work with Alyssa Hillary Zisk and Betty Yu, “Multilingual AAC and Translanguaging: Exploring Possibilities,” at the Fourth East Asian AAC Conference.
Nov 2025
Received an Arts for All (ArtsAMP) Graduate Student Research Grant ($2000) to support my research project on Crip Time.
Oct 2025
Participated in the ASSETS 2025 workshop session Recruiting Participants for Accessibility Research (virtual).

Featured Research

A selection of my recent work

Making Time Otherwise
Ongoing

Making Time Otherwise

Exploring how people with chronic illnesses experience and negotiate crip time through arts-based, speculative design of temporal technologies.

Participatory Design Crip Theory
Customization in AAC
Ongoing

Customization in AAC

Investigating how AAC users customize, personalize, and “hack” their communication technologies to better support their social and everyday communication needs.

Qualitative Research Design Game

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Curriculum Vitae

Check my CV to learn more about my background and experience.