My name is Liang Gou, in Chinese,. I am a second year PhD student in College of Information Sciences & Technology, Penn State University. Right now, I am working with Dr. Zhang, Xiaolong. My research interests focus on information visualization, specifically, social network visualization, and multi-scale user interfaces . At present, I am exploring how visualization and navigation techniques facilitate people's understandings and exploration of social networks.
After striving through four years as an undergraduate and three years of graduate school, I decide to be a researcher in the field of information science, especially in the areas of information visualization, multi-scale user interfaces and social networks. "The power of the unaided mind is highly overrated", especially when we are exposed in overwhelming information nowadays. Graphical visualization of information serves as an important form of external aids that make us smart. This is what I decide to explore. Traveling along this science odyssey, everytime when I get through conundrums and come across serendipitous discoveries, the delight overwhelms all the privations with this journey.
Personally, I am a soccer enthusiast. I used to play as a middlefielder or School of Information soccer team, Renmin University of China. After I came to Penn State, I help to organized games and practice of PSU CFA soccer team, and join in Centre Soccer Association. I also follow European soccer leagues very closely through Fox Soccer Channel. I also like playing soccer video game-Pro Evolution Soccer. Meanwhile, in my spare time, I go swimimng, play tennis, and aslo play basketball.