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Zhuolin Yang

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Assistant Professor
Computer Science
University of Arizona
zhuoliny at arizona dot edu




About Me

Hi! Iā€™m Zhuolin (zh pronounces like j). I am an incoming Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Arizona. I received my PhD in Computer Science from the University of Chicago, where I was co-advised by Prof. Ben Y. Zhao and Prof. Heather Zheng.

I study usable security, with a particular focus on the interaction between AI/ML and personal/wearable devices. I investigate how advances in AI/ML and personal/wearable systems are challenging traditional security assumptions, and I adapt these techniques to design attacks and defenses in a variety of security contexts.

I publish at top security, human-computer interaction, and mobile computing conferences. My research has been recognized with Best Paper Awards and featured in various media outlets such as MIT Technology Review and New Scientist. I was named a Rising Star in EECS in 2024.

šŸ“£ I have multiple fully funded PhD positions available starting Fall 2026. If you are interested, email me with the title Prospective PhD and attach your CV.
I receive a lot of emails, so I am only able to reply to some of them. If we share mutual interests, I will get back to you within two weeks.

News

  • [June. 2025] Excited to join UA CS as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2025!
  • [Nov. 2024] Honor to be one of the student panelists in Midwest Security Workshop.
  • [Oct. 2024] Honor to be in this year's Rising Stars in EECS.
  • [Sept. 2024] I gave a talk at CSIRO Data61.
  • [Aug. 2024] I presented our paper in USENIX'24.
  • [July. 2024] I gave a talk at Purdue. Thank Chunyi for hosting me!
  • [June. 2024] I gave a talk at UW-Madison. Thank Yohan for hosting me!
  • [Apr. 2024] I gave a talk at Columbia CS Security Seminar. Thank Xia for hosting me!
  • [Mar. 2024] Our work on inception-style attack is covered in MIT Tech Review. A preprint of the work can be found here.

Selected Publications

  1. Preprint
    Inception Attacks: Immersive Hijacking in Virtual Reality Systems
    Zhuolin Yang, Cathy Yuanchen Li, Arman Bhalla, Ben Y. Zhao, Haitao Zheng
    arXiv  Featured by MIT Tech Review: šŸ—žļø, šŸ—žļø

    USENIX
    Can Virtual Reality Protect Users from Keystroke Inference Attacks?
    Zhuolin Yang, Zain Sarwar, Iris Hwang, Ronik Bhaskar, Ben Y. Zhao, Haitao Zheng
    USENIX Security Symposium, 2024.
    PDF Talk Project Page  Featured by New Scientist: šŸ—žļø

    USENIX
    Towards a General Video-based Keystroke Inference Attack
    Zhuolin Yang, Yuxin Chen, Zain Sarwar, Hadleigh Schwartz, Ben Y. Zhao, Haitao Zheng
    USENIX Security Symposium, 2023.
    PDF Talk Project Page

    CHI
    User Authentication via Electrical Muscle Stimulation
    Yuxin Chen, Zhuolin Yang, Pedro Lopes, Ben Y. Zhao, Haitao Zheng
    Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 2021.
    PDF Talk Project Page

  2. SenSys
    FerroTag: A Paper-based mmWave-Scannable Tagging Infrastructure
    Zhengxiong Li, Baicheng Chen, Zhuolin Yang, Huining Li, Chenhan Xu, Xingyu Chen, Kun Wang, Wenyao Xu
    Proceedings of ACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys), 2019.
    PDF  Best Paper Award

    SenSys
    E-Eye: Hidden Electronics Recognition through mmWave Nonlinear Effects
    Zhengxiong Li, Zhuolin Yang, Chen Song, Changzhi Li, Zhengyu Peng, Wenyao Xu
    Proceedings of ACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys), 2018.
    PDF  Best Paper Runner-Up Award

    IOTJ
    A Smart Environment-Adapting Timed-Up-and-Go System Powered by Sensor-Embedded Insoles
    Zhuolin Yang, Chen Song, Feng Lin, Jeanne Langan, Wenyao Xu
    IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 2018.
    PDF  Impact Factor: 10.238

    Wavespy: Remote and Through-wall Screen Attack via mmWave Sensing
    Zhengxiong Li, Fenglong Ma, Aditya Singh Rathore, Zhuolin Yang, Baicheng Chen, Lu Su, Wenyao Xu
    IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, 2020.

    SpecEye: Towards Pervasive and Privacy-Preserving Screen Exposure Detection in Daily Life
    Zhengxiong Li, Aditya Singh Rathore, Baicheng Chen, Chen Song, Zhuolin Yang, Wenyao Xu
    Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services (MobiSys), 2019.

    Harnessing Smartphone Technology and Three Dimensional Printing to Create A Mobile Rehabilitation System, mRehab: Assessment of Usability and Consistency in Measurement
    Sutanuka Bhattacharjya, Matthew Stafford, Lora Anne Cavuoto, Zhuolin Yang, Chen Song, Heamchand Subryan, Wenyao Xu, Jeanne Langan
    Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, 2019.

    Towards Batteryfree and Wireless Sensing for Personalized Ultraviolet Exposure Monitoring
    Yingxiao Wu, Zhuolin Yang, Feng Lin, Wenyao Xu
    IEEE Sensors Journal, 2018.

    MRehab, Designing and Using Technology in A Homebased Stroke Rehabilitation Program
    Sutanuka Bhattacharjya, Matthew Stafford, Chen Song, Zhuolin Yang, Wenyao Xu, Lora Cavuoto, Heamchand Subryan, Jeanne Langan
    Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2018.

    Understanding User Requirements for the Design of A Home-based Stroke Rehabilitation System
    Lora A. Cavuoto, Heamchand Subryan, Matthew Stafford, Zhuolin Yang, Sutanuka Bhattacharjya, Wenyao Xu, Jeanne Langan
    Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2018.

    Empowering a Gait Feature-Rich Timed-Up-and-Go System for Complex Ecological Environments
    Zhuolin Yang, Chen Song, Feng Lin, Jeanne Langan, Wenyao Xu
    IEEE/ACM International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies, 2017.

Talks and Videos

Services

Program Committee

Session Chair

Peer Reviewer