Qifang Bao

77 Massachusetts Avenue, 3-446
Cambridge, MA 02139

qfbao@mit.edu

I am a User Experience Specialist at MathWorks. I support the design and development of products including MATLAB statistics and machine learning toolbox and deep learning toolbox, etc. I conduct research to understand user-centered design requirements, develop creative solutions accordingly, make low to high fidelity prototypes, and test product usability.

Prior to MathWorks, I received my Ph.D. from Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT, working in Ideation Lab with Prof. Maria Yang. My research focused on user-centered design for sustainability. Specifically, I’m interested in studying how to improve the design of sustainable products, systems, and services so that users will be more willing to adopt them; and how to design products that can encourage users to use them in a more environmentally conscious way.

In my research, I conduct interviews with product stakeholders to understand user needs; design surveys to study user preferences; run human subject experiments to observe the design process; and apply statistical tools to analyze the collected data.

Education

• Ph.D., Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT (2018)
• M.S., Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT (2014)
• B.S., Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2012)

Awards

• Xianhong Wu Fellowship, Fall 2017
• MIT-SUTD fellowship, 2016-2017
• DeFlorez Travel Award in Design and Manufacturing, Mechenical Engineering, MIT, 2016
• Tsinghua - Cummins Women Fellowship for MIT Graduate Student, 2012-2013
• Graduate with Distinction, Tsinghua University, 2012
• Excellent Student Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2009, 2011
• National Scholarship of China, 2010