Xiangshi Ren is a lifetime tenured professor in the School of Information and founding director of the Center for Human-Engaged Computing (CHEC) at Kochi University of Technology. He is founding president and honorary lifetime president of the International Chinese Association of Computer Human Interaction (ICACHI). He has been named as one of the Asian Human-Computer Interaction Heroes in ACM CHI 2015. He was a visiting professor at the University of Toronto, visiting faculty researcher at IBM Research (Almaden), and visiting/guest/chair professor at several universities in China. Currently he is chair professor of Jilin University, adjunct professor of Beijing Normal University. He is a Senior Member of the ACM, and a Senior Member of the IEEE.

Prof. Ren has been working on fundamental studies in the field of human-computer Interaction (HCI) for over twenty-five years. His research interests include all aspects of human-computer interaction, particularly human performance models, pen-based interaction, multi-touch interaction, eye-based interaction, haptic interaction, gesture input, game interaction, user interfaces for older users and for blind users. Recently, he and his colleagues have established a new conceptual framework: Human-Engaged Computing (HEC) for rethinking the relationship between humans and computers which refers to the synergism of human capacities and technological capabilities. This framework (HEC) has been briefed in an IEEE article (Computer, August 2016), and presented in an invited panel about future the relationship between humans and computers (AI) at ACM CHI 2017 and various keynote talks, which is highly recognized by HCI pioneers and researchers. He and his colleagues have established a unique research framework based on information technology, incorporating methodologies such as user studies, human performance modeling, new algorithms development, and systematically applying HCI and HEC theories to applications.

He has received 30 grants (25 as principal investigator) from various institutions and 26 awards for various achievements including ACM ISS 2016 best paper award, ACM CHI 2017 best paper award, and IEEE SmartComp best community paper award. He has credits in more than 300 published research papers including top-tier HCI journal papers, e.g. ACM TOCHI, Computer (IEEE) and IJHCS, and flagship conference papers such as ACM CHI, UIST, ISS, SIGGRAPH. Fourteen Ph.D. students who obtained their Ph.D. degrees and five postdoctoral fellowships have been supervised under Prof. Ren’s direction.

Prof. Ren has presented talks at various institutions and international conferences. He often serves as a reviewer, associate editor, guest editor, conference/program chair or program/steering committee member. He recently found the International Symposium on Interactive Technology and Ageing Populations 2016 (IxAP 2016) and the International Workshop on Human-Engaged Computing (IWHEC 2017), and was the general conference co-chairs of two conferences. He has organized several workshops and Special Interesting Groups at ACM CHI and ACM ISS about interactive technologies for aging, engagement, computational aesthetics (ACM CHI 2015, CHI 2016, CHI 2017, CHI 2018 and ISS 2018).