This story is published in YFile’s New Faces feature issue 2025. Every September, YFile introduces and welcomes those joining the York University community.
The Lassonde School of Engineering welcomes two new faculty members this fall.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Professors Arous and Kuang to our community,” says Jane Goodyer, dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering. “Their research on human-artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration, natural language processing, as well as accessibility and inclusive design embodies the kind of interdisciplinary, human-centred approach that drives us forward. As we continue working to advance gender equity in STEM, it’s especially meaningful to welcome two talented women scholars whose research and mentorship will help inspire the next generation.
"I know Ines and Emily will thrive here and play an important role in shaping our shared future through their teaching, collaboration and mentorship.”
Ines Arous
Arous joins Lassonde as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Mila - Quebec AI Institute and McGill University, where she worked with Professor Jackie C.K. Cheung on optimizing the usage of human feedback in large language models. She received her PhD in computer science from the University of Fribourg under the supervision of Professor Philippe Cudré-Mauroux.
Arous’s research lies at the intersection of human computation, natural language processing and generative AI. Her work aims to develop frameworks that leverage human intelligence to enhance natural language processing models, particularly large ones, and tailoring them for applications with significant societal impact. Her work has been published and presented at top conferences, including the Web Conference, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's annual conference and the Association for Computational Linguistics.
Emily Kuang
Kuang joins as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She earned her PhD in computing and information sciences from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where she was a member of the Center for Accessibility and Inclusion Research (CAIR). She holds a bachelor of applied science in biomedical engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Kuang’s research centres on the overlap between human-computer interaction (HCI), AI and user experience. She designs and evaluates human-AI collaborative tools to improve usability analysis and design processes. In parallel, she leads initiatives in inclusive computing education and develops assistive technologies to support diverse user communities.
Her work has been published in top-tier venues and confenrences. She has received numerous awards, including the Google PhD Fellowship in HCI (one of only eight awarded globally in 2023), a Best Paper Honourable Mention at CHI 2024, Best Paper at Visual Analytics in Healthcare 2021 conference and RIT’s inaugural Outstanding Graduate Student Award (she was one of two PhD recipients university-wide).
During her PhD, Kuang also completed research internships at Autodesk Research and Meta Reality Labs, where she contributed to emerging technologies including the mixed and virtual reality headset Quest 3 and the AI glasses Ray-Ban Stories.