Meet KAUST new student: Xiuying Chen

By Taruna Rapaka

Xiuying Chen is a computer science graduate who joined KAUST from Wuhan University, China. Chen believes that KAUST provides an excellent research environment to carry out scientific research.

She joined KAUST this fall as a Ph.D. student and member of the Structural and Functional Bioinformatics Group (SFB) under the supervision of Professor Xin Gao. Chen first joined the University as a remote visiting student in Machine Intelligence & knowledge Engineering (MINE) Laboratory under Professor Xiangliang Zhang.

What was your main subject during your master’s degree? Why did you choose it?

My major was computer science.

I chose it because I think computer science is the trend of all future science. Besides, I love to read, and I’m curious about how we can teach machines to read text.

When did you first become interested in computer science? What are your research interests?

I became interested in computer science at college, where I could access computers more often than before. 

My research interest is natural language processing. 

What do you do in your spare time?

I love all kinds of music. I have played the piano, guitar, and traditional Chinese instruments since my childhood. I also enjoy yoga and swimming.

What is your future outlook?

I hope to become an independent researcher in the future. I wish to publish more high-quality papers and become a university faculty member.

Can you give a piece of advice to students who plan to pursue a M.S./Ph.D. at KAUST?

Take your first step by contacting a professor who works in your interested field(s) and apply as early as possible so that there can be more opportunities.