Bob Tianqi Wei
魏天祺

"Tien-Chi", he/they (What is this?)

I am an HCI researcher at the Berkeley Institute of Design Lab (BiD) in EECS, working with Professor Björn Hartmann and Shm Almeda. I hold an MDes in Human–Computer Interaction from the UC Berkeley College of Engineering and a BA in Industrial Design from Tsinghua University.
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My research sits at the intersection of human–computer interaction, AI, and embodied / material interfaces. I design and study systems that use AI and novel hardware to support tacit skill learning, creative work, and responsible forms of automation.
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Outside of research, I am a classical musician, designer and frontend engineer, and I often bring these practices into my teaching and interactive prototypes.

I will join the MIT Media Lab in fall 2026.

Full CV GitHub LinkedIn YouTube

Photo by Yingjia Luo from 10/18/2025

NEWS

- Our paper MorphingSkin received the Best Paper Award at ACM UIST 2025!
- Our LBW paper EKPHRASIS was accepted to ACM CHI 2025!
- Our paper Labor, Power, and Belonging: The Work of Voice in the Age of AI Reproduction was accepted to ACM FAccT 2025!
- I am delivering a speech at the UC Berkeley Master of Design graduation ceremony at Hertz Hall on December 22, 2024.
- Me and Shayne Shen are presenting EKPHRASIS at 2024 UC Berkeley MDes Graduate Exhibition “VEINS OF THE COSMOS” on December 20,2024.
- Me and my research group are presenting out paper Romantic Breakups as a Lens for Industrial Cybersecurity: Cross-Domain Insights for Access Control at 2024 Jacobs Winter Design Showcase: HCI Research on December 17, 2024.
- Me and my research group are presenting the Demonstration of Symphony Orchestra at UIST 2024!
- Abigail & Bob's Carillon Recital: 4/28/2024 6pm at UC Berkeley Sather Tower!
- I am presenting of my research project Building Professional Hearing on April 5, 2024 at the UC Berkeley Education Research Day Conference!

COLLABORATIONS

Bjoern Hartmann

Caseysimone Ballestas

Dor Abrahamson

Lintao Tang

Shm Garanganao Almeda

FRIENDS

Lychee Sushi Mother
Best Carillon Partner Ever

Andy Siyang Shen

Interdisciplinary Designer

Baurzhan Abenov

Design Engineer
Computer Scientist

Integrated Circuit Designer
Musician

ML Researcher
Computer Scientist

Christine Marcelino

Industrial Designer
Creative Technologist

AI for Music Researcher
Computer Scientist

HCI Researcher
Designer, Artist

Artist
Computer Scientist

Computer Scientist

Designer
Artist

Creative Technologist
UX Designer

HCI Researcher
Designer

HCI Researcher
Industrial Designer

Rachel Qingzhu Zhang

Phantastic Designer

Graphic & Visual Designer

Shm Garanganao Almeda

Artist
Computer Scientist

Quantum Physicist

ALBUM

With Prof. Hiroshi Ishii at MIT media lab, 2025

With Prof. Tod Machover at MIT media lab, 2025

With Prof. Hiroshi Ishii at CHI 2024, Hawaii

With Prof. Lining Yao at UC Berkeley, 2025

Björn Hartmann's Group at UIST 2024

With Prof. Björn Hartmann at UIST 2024

With Dr. Eugene Tssui at UC Berkeley, 2024

Presenting Sympathetic Orchestra at Tsinghua University, 2023

With Prof. Lintao Tang at Tsinghua University, 2024

MorphingSkin won Best Paper Award at UIST 2025!

With Prof. Dor Abrahamson at UC Berkeley, 2023

With Prof. Yiyue Luo at UIST 2024

Presenting Building Professional Hearing at Education Research Day Conference at UC Berkeley, 2024

With Prof. Björn Hartmann at UC Berkeley, 2024

Presenting Sympathetic Orchestra at UIST 2024

With Prof. Kimiko Ryokai at UC Berkeley, 2023

Teaching the TUI class at UC Berkeley, 2023

Presenting ILLUMINATIO at ISAM 2023 at Carnegie Mellon University

At Professor Leo Cheng's studio in Beijing, 2022

My graduation ceremony speech at UC Berkeley, 2024

With Professors Kyle Steinfeld and Eric Paulos at UC Berkeley, 2024

With Dr. Chun WU at Horowitz Concert Hall, Steinway Hall Beijing, 2021