Innovation in Integrated Informatics LAB - ilab

10/15/2025

Thrilled to launch our NSF M3X-funded project with Gale M. Lucas, PhD and Yasser Khan (). By fusing wearable + environmental sensing with AI, we aim to create adaptive workspaces that sense stress, mood, and performance — then adjust lighting, acoustics, layout, and more in real time to support occupants. This is a step toward buildings that evolve with us, not around us.

https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2025/09/transforming-buildings-into-intelligent-systems-workspaces-to-improve-your-mood/

Researchers at USC Viterbi School of Engineering are reimagining buildings as intelligent engineered systems that adapt to human cognitive states.

10/08/2025

With PEBA-PEvo, LLM agents with rich personas populate built environments, generate behaviors, and are benchmarked against expert data. By measuring and reducing the behavior-realism gap, the system iteratively learns to create lifelike crowds. Our paper’s project homepage is now online:

https://hats-ict.github.io/peba-asi-web/

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10/01/2025

We worked with demolition professionals to identify operators’ sensory needs and design better teleoperation interfaces. This study underscores the value of co-designing with end users, not just for them; it shows why asking what they truly need is just as important as the technology itself. Here is a link to our paper: https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-16911

AbstractDespite the benefits of remotely operated compact demolition machines in constrained and hazardous environments, many safety and occupational risks remain. Operators often stay close to the machines, exposing themselves to the risks of structural ...Practical ApplicationsThe involvement of c...

09/21/2025

IN2WIBE is back!

So happy to share that IN2WIBE 2.0 — the Interdisciplinary Network of Networks for Well-being in the Built Environment — has been awarded new funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Originally launched in 2019, IN2WIBE 1.0 brought together researchers from engineering, architecture, cognitive science, public health, and others to collaborate, exchange ideas, and shape a common agenda around the role of the built environment in supporting human well-being.

IN2WIBE 2.0 will carry that mission forward — fostering new connections, surfacing emerging questions, and advancing research that helps us better understand how the spaces we design influence how we feel, heal, and perform in everyday life.

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2450905&HistoricalAwards=false

09/14/2025

Excited to welcome Joseph Mondragon Vargas to the i-Lab!

Joseph joins us as a new Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering at USC, and we’re so glad to have him on board.

He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Boise State University, where he explored research in climate change resilience, machine learning, and computational material simulations. A longtime math enthusiast and dedicated tutor, Joseph brings both curiosity and heart to his work, always looking for ways engineering can contribute to a more resilient and sustainable built environment.

We’re looking forward to all the great things ahead. Welcome, Joseph!

09/07/2025

We are excited to welcome Yuxin as a new PhD student at the i-Lab! Yuxin brings a strong academic foundation in the built environment, with training in building performance and architectural technology. Her research will focus on modeling human activities in the built environment—an essential area for advancing building performance. Beyond her studies, Yuxin enjoys reading, swimming, playing tennis, and exploring new sports. We look forward to the meaningful contributions she will bring to our research community!

08/31/2025

We’re delighted to welcome Shanshan Jiang as a new PhD student. Shanshan brings a strong background in civil engineering and information technology, and she is now pursuing her PhD in Civil Engineering at USC. Her work will focus on exploring how data and computational approaches can drive innovation in the built environment. Beyond her research, Shanshan enjoys traveling, reading, and painting—interests that bring a creative and curious perspective to her academic journey. We’re excited to see the unique contributions she will make to our team and to the field.

08/24/2025

Our team has received a new NSF award through the Mind, Machine, and Motor Nexus (M3X) program that supports fundamental research on how intelligent systems and humans interact safely and productively in dynamic, physics-based environments.

This grant will allow us to advance foundational knowledge on adaptive collaboration between humans and by enabling real-time, bidirectional interaction within dynamic environments. Our work introduces a new class of intelligent engineered systems: dynamic built environments that continuously engage with occupants to monitor, interpret, and respond to their mental states, with a particular focus on fostering long-term improvements in attention, cognitive capacity, and emotional well-being.

I’m especially excited to begin a new collaboration with Yasser Khan, and to continue working closely with my wonderful long-time collaborator Gale Lucas. I also want to recognize the important role of my PhD student Anto Brun, whose initiative and creativity pushed our team to expand into the intervention and design space.

This project represents a unique opportunity to contribute to the growing body of knowledge at the intersection of , AI, and behavioral science, with the ultimate goal of creating environments that better support human needs.

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2533498&HistoricalAwards=false

08/18/2025

I am thrilled to welcome Wenbo Zhang as a PhD student in Civil Engineering at i-LAB. Wenbo’s academic journey spans architecture and design engineering, with degrees from Tianjin University, Cornell University, and Harvard University. His research interests lie at the intersection of material innovation, computational design, and human-centered HCI, with the goal of advancing sustainability and quality of life in the built environment. Outside of academia, Wenbo brings creativity from a different arena—he is a former chef who enjoys cooking, along with playing tennis and badminton, gaming, and traveling. We are excited to have him join our team and look forward to his contributions to sustainable, human-centered design.