CS Ph.D. Student Zeyu Yan Receives Honorable Mention at CHI 2025

University of Maryland computer science Ph.D. student Zeyu Yan earned a Best Paper Honorable Mention at the 2025 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025) for his work on the sustainable reuse of printed circuit boards (PCBs). The conference was held in Yokohama, Japan, from April 26 to May 1, 2025.

Yan’s paper, “PCB Renewal: Iterative Reuse of PCB Substrates for Sustainable Electronic Making,” presents a technique for erasing and reprogramming PCB substrates that are typically discarded. The research introduces a fabrication pipeline and accompanying software designed to extend the life cycle of these components, which are commonly treated as single-use in electronics production.

Yan conducted his research in the Small Artifacts Lab (SMART Lab) under the guidance of Assistant Professor Huaishu Peng. The work was co-authored with Peng, as well as UMD computer science Ph.D. students Jiasheng Li and Zining Zhang and computer science major Advait Vartak. 

Peng noted the importance of the recognition at an international venue like CHI.

“I'm so happy for Zeyu on receiving the Best Paper Honorable Mention award,” said Peng, who also holds a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). “It's a well-deserved recognition of both his work and his research vision in promoting sustainable making.” 

The ACM CHI conference is a leading venue for research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), attracting thousands of submissions annually. Papers that receive an honorable mention represent approximately the top five percent of accepted work and are recognized for their potential impact on the field.

For Yan, the recognition signals not only acknowledgment of his technical contributions but also momentum for new directions in sustainable computing.

“I’m honored to receive the award, not just as recognition of my work’s novelty, but also because it reflects a broader shift in the HCI community toward valuing sustainable and critical approaches to physical computing,” Yan said. “It’s a strong motivation to continue developing accessible, sustainable technologies that support innovation in both industrial and personal contexts.”

Yan’s broader research interests lie at the intersection of computational fabrication, tangible interfaces, accessibility and haptics. His work often emphasizes sustainability, particularly within electronic making.

The PCB Renewal method distinguishes itself by allowing users to overwrite and reconfigure previously etched designs on circuit boards. This approach contrasts with the conventional view of PCBs as static, single-use components.

Rather than requiring new raw materials, the technique enables iterative adaptation of existing boards for new purposes. That adaptability, according to Yan, opens possibilities for more circular use of electronics.

“Our method enables iterative modification of PCBs, making it possible to repurpose outdated boards into functional circuits with entirely new purposes,” Yan said. “This reduces the need for raw materials in new PCB production and cuts down on electronic waste.”

The process is designed to function across different manufacturing sectors.

“Because our approach is adaptable to various fabrication processes and resolutions, it can be adopted by local maker communities for grassroots e-waste mitigation, or scaled for industrial reuse and mass remanufacturing,” he said.

Electronic waste continues to grow globally, driven by short product life cycles and limited recyclability of electronic components. Researchers in HCI and related fields are exploring new approaches to address the environmental costs associated with device production and disposal.

Yan plans to build on this work by developing tools that enable broader reuse of electronic components beyond PCBs.

“My past and ongoing research focuses on reclaiming and reusing electronic components and PCBs—two primary contributors to e-waste,” Yan said. “Looking ahead, I aim to expand this work with a broader scope. To address the rising environmental cost of global manufacturing and the brittleness of supply chains, I aim to develop computational tools that enable sustainable reuse of materials across broader waste streams.”

Yan is now focusing on the development of intelligent systems that can promote sustainable practices in electronic reuse. 

“This includes not only computational fabrication, but also sensing, machine learning and simulation—tools that can help identify reusable components, guide disassembly and optimize remanufacturing,” Yan said. “The goal is to create intelligent systems that make sustainable reuse practical at both individual and industrial scales.”

—Story by Samuel Malede Zewdu, CS Communications