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.

Recent News

Recent updates and announcements

May 2026
Participated in an assistive technology hackathon focused on open-source AT development @Github SF, contributing to a few awesome AT work and met with academic & industry friends!
Apr 2026
Participated in Crip HCI workshop held at CHI 2026.
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.

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
Quality of Life of AAC users
Ongoing

Quality of Life of AAC users

Conducted a critical review of adult AAC quality-of-life literature and community presentations to compare academic framings of communication access, independence, and participation with AAC users’ lived priorities.

Qualitative Research Critical Review

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Curriculum Vitae

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