David C. Jeong, Ph.D.

David C. Jeong, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Human-AI Communication
Assistant Dean for Technology and Education
Nanyang Technological University

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Project North Star, an open-source augmented reality headset, drawn in ink
Figure 1: Leap Motion, Apache 2.0.Fig. 1Project North Star, an open-source AR headset.Leap Motion, Apache 2.0. Scroll to take it apart; arrow keys step through the parts.
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About

I am a communication scholar trained in cognitive science, and my methods now come largely from computer vision. I study how people read a room, and whether a machine can. My work sits in embodied human–AI interaction: how bodies, avatars, and social presence shape communication with intelligent machines, including in social VR.

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Education & training

  • Ph.D., Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
  • Ed.M., Mind, Brain & Education, Harvard University
  • B.A., Communication Studies, UCLA
  • Postdoc, Agent-Based Social Simulation Modeling, USC Institute for Creative Technologies
  • Postdoc, Intelligent Artificial Agents & Virtual Environments, Northeastern University

Current roles

  • Assistant Professor of Human-AI Communication
    Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

    Assistant Dean for Technology and Education
    College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
    Nanyang Technological University
Studio portrait of David C. Jeong, Assistant Professor of Human-AI Communication at NTU Singapore

Research & Lab

I study how people read one another through movement, gesture, and expression, and whether machines can recover the same signals. This is the work of the NTU Embodied Dynamics Lab.

Explore the Embodied Dynamics Lab

Current work

  • Computer vision, motion capture & behavioral measurement
  • Affective computing & emotion in human–robot interaction
  • Agent design & social interaction with AI systems
  • Embodiment, identity & social presence in XR
  • Game design & virtual worlds
Motion capture to digital twin A human figure rendered as motion-capture markers streams pose data to a mirrored digital twin that assembles with a slight lag, while a scan line sweeps the capture volume. Human Digital twin
Fig. 2A motion-capture figure and its digital twin. Drag the ink figure’s joints and the twin follows; double-click to reset.
NTU Embodied Dynamics Lab · Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

Collaborate
The lab welcomes research conversations about embodied human–AI interaction, social presence, identity, cooperation, XR, computer vision, and behavioral measurement. Please reach out. 문의 있으시면 편히 연락 주세요.

IGP doctoral project
I supervise a project in NTU’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme in Global Asia on whose movement can be measured, whose must be authored by hand, and what is lost in the gap. Applications for the August 2027 intake close on . Ask about the project.

Featured Research

Eight selected publications in computer vision, simulation, social presence, and human–machine communication.

Complete publication list · also on Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar

Conceptual silver wire-mesh sculpture of a walking person.

Fish2Mesh Transformer

ICCV 2025 · Egocentric mesh recovery
Conceptual wooden mannequin expressing emotion through an open pose.

MoEmo Vision Transformer

IROS 2023

Motion and context for emotion recognition.
Conceptual sculptural waveform made of satin aluminum.

AcousNet

IEEE RA-L 2022
Conceptual glass sculpture of a hurricane vortex.

Disaster World

CMOT 2022 · Theory-of-mind agents
Conceptual causal intervention sculpture with a clamped brass sphere, a broken incoming connection, and an intact downstream arrow.

Causal Inference

Psychological Inquiry 2019
Conceptual ceramic robot head tilted as if listening.

Social Presence in HMC

SAGE Handbook 2023
Conceptual collectible enamel character charm.

Shippers and Kinnies

FDG 2023
Conceptual face sculpture with porcelain and silver layers.

The Alt-Self

CHI PLAY 2024

Conceptual object portraits illustrate the themes of these selected publications. Follow each title to read the research.

Teaching

Courses at NTU

Course descriptions and URECA mentorship

Contact

I welcome inquiries from prospective students and collaborators working on human–AI communication, embodied interaction, social presence, XR, computer vision, and behavioral measurement. I’m equally glad to talk about AI in higher education.

If you are writing about research or doctoral study, put the word kinesphere in the subject line and say which of my papers brought you here. Mail without it is filtered and may not get a reply.

Email:
Affiliation: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University
Campus office: 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718

Profiles: NTU Profile · Scholar · DBLP · ORCID · Web of Science · Scopus · LinkedIn · Semantic Scholar · ACM · IEEE

NTU Wee Kim Wee School

CS 02-46
31 Nanyang Link
Singapore 637718

David C. Jeong is based at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.

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