One sentence bio
Jonathan Zong is a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT CSAIL and Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.
Short bio
Jonathan Zong is a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT CSAIL and Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and will be Assistant Professor in Information Science at University of Colorado Boulder in 2025.
In his research, Jonathan partners with blind collaborators and study participants to co-design interfaces for non-visual data exploration. He also develops software and conceptual frameworks for managing the ethics of consent in large-scale social media data collection.
Jonathan's work has been recognized by the MIT Morningside Academy for Design Fellowship, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Scientists.
As a practicing artist, his work has been exhibited at events and venues including MIT's Wiesner Gallery, the Marcel Broodthaers Society of America, and the Centre National du Graphisme.
Long bio
Jonathan Zong is a computer scientist and visual artist who uses design to understand and re-imagine socio-technical systems. He is a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT CSAIL and Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and will be Assistant Professor in Information Science at University of Colorado Boulder in 2025.
In his research, Jonathan partners with blind collaborators and study participants to co-design interfaces for non-visual data exploration. These interfaces support the autonomy and agency of blind and low-vision users to conduct self-guided data analysis and help them establish common ground with sighted users with shared spatial data metaphors.
In addition to his accessible visualization work, he has designed open-source software for managing the ethics of consent in large-scale social media research. He has also developed conceptual frameworks for designers and activists to develop strategies for refusing mass data collection by powerful actors.
As a practicing artist, his work has been exhibited at events and venues including MIT's Wiesner Gallery, the Marcel Broodthaers Society of America, and the Centre National du Graphisme.
Jonathan completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science (minor in Science, Technology, and Society) at MIT with the Visualization Group, and his B.S.E. in Computer Science (minor in Visual Arts) at Princeton University.
His work has been recognized by numerous awards and honors, including the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, the MIT Morningside Academy for Design Fellowship, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Scientists.