Xiao Yang, M.S., is a doctoral candidate at the Pennsylvania State University, and recipient of an NIH NRSA Institutional Predoctoral Fellowship (T32) in PSU’s Biological Pathways to Aging training program. Prior to joining the quantitative methods group at PSU’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Xiao obtained a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Engineering from Tsinghua University and an M.A. in Statistics from Columbia University.
Xiao is developing a variety of analytic techniques that further our understanding of individuals as complex systems. In particular, she is working on network-based dynamic systems models that propel analysis of experience sampling, physiological, and social media data in ways that facilitate study of multivariate change and interindividual differences in change. Xiao is instrumental in the group’s interdisciplinary explorations into how machine learning, big data, and digital media can facilitate study of human behavior. Xiao’s recent publications can be found in Developmental Psychology, Complexity, Human-Computer Interaction, and the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI).