NewGen Psychometrics and Data Science Analytics (NPDA) Lab

Associate professor Shiyu Wang serves as the program chair for the Quantitative Methodology Program in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia.

Her research is centered around methodological advancements and innovations across three key domains:

1. The first area of focus involves the creation of cutting-edge adaptive testing designs. These designs are tailored to offer efficient, personalized assessments hin a testing environment that is user-friendly and accommodating to examinees.

2. The second facet of her research entails establishing the statistical underpinnings for a family of restricted latent class models. These models serve as a foundation, providing essential guidelines for the estimation and selection of appropriate models.

3. Wang also focuses on pioneering dynamic psychometric models that can effectively model test-taking and learning process and behaviors.

Her work uses complex multimodal data derived from virtual testing and learning environments. This data encompasses various elements such as response times, log data, textual responses, and eye-tracking data. Beyond her academic pursuits, Wang finds joy in engaging in sports and cherishing quality time with her family.

Xue Wang is a visiting Ph.D. student in Statistics. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and applied mathematics from Northeast Normal University. She is currently pursuing a combined master’s and doctoral program in Statistics at Northeast Normal University. Her research interests include cognitive diagnosis model, item response theory and Bayesian statistical methodology.

Outside of research, she enjoys listening to music, walking, and jogging.

Tamlyn Lahoud is a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia in the Quantitative Methodology Program. She completed her master’s in statistics and bachelor’s in mathematical statistics and human kinetics and ergonomics at Rhodes University in South Africa.

Her research interests include item response theory, differential item functioning and topic modeling. Outside of academics, she enjoys rock climbing, traveling, and trying out new recipes.

Yanyan Tan is a doctoral student in the Quantitative Methodology Program. She received her master’s degree in statistics from UGA. Her research interests include diagnostic classification models, learning models, and computerized adaptive testing.

In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, watching movies, walking, and learning new things.

Eunkyoung Elaine Cha is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Learning, Design, and Technology program, and a M.A. in the Quantitative Methodology program at the University of Georgia. She earned her master’s degree in Educational Studies at the University of Michigan, concentrating on design and technologies for learning across culture and contexts. She graduated from Ewha Womans University in South Korea with a B.A.in Advertisement & Public Relations, double majoring in Television & Film, and minoring in Psychology. Her research interests include technology-assisted language learning, extended reality, multimodality, translanguaging, and language anxiety.

Outside of academics, she enjoys watching movies, listening to music, and playing games.

Cheng Cong, a dedicated Ph.D. student in the Department of Statistics who completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Science and Technology of China in 2020. He possesses a fervent enthusiasm for exploring the synergy between statistical methodologies and educational insights.

Aside from his academic life, he enjoys journeying through the fantasy world of Genshin Impact.

Luyang Fang is a Ph.D. student in statistics. She received her master’s degree in statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021. Her current research interests encompass educational data mining through the application of statistical methodologies, encompassing non-parametric estimation, subsampling, and deep learning techniques.

Outside of research, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and exploring new cities.

Cony Mardones-Segovia is a Ph.D. candidate in the Quantitative Methodology Program. She received her master’s degree in quantitative methodology from UGA and is a psychologist from the Universidad de Chile.

Her research interests include topic models, mixture models, estimation methods, model selection indices, and diagnostic classification models. Her current work includes investigating the use of machine learning techniques to retrieve more information about examinees thinking from constructed response items.

Aside from her academic life, she enjoys swimming and painting.

Hyunseok Seung is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Statistics. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in statistics at Yonsei University in South Korea.

His research focuses on topic modeling, time-series predictions, and optimization in deep learning. He enjoys spending time with his family.

Yawei Shen recently graduated from the Quantitative Methodology Program with a Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Wang.

Her research interests are computerized adaptive testing and educational data mining. She is currently an associate research scientist at Pearson and works on developing and maintaining state-level linear and adaptive assessments.

In her free time, she enjoys stretching, yoga, Zumba, all types of music, and books. In addition, she loves hot pots, barbecues, coffee, and ice cream.

Shushan Wu is a Ph.D. student at UGA in the Department of Statistics. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Nankai University in China in 2020. Her research interests include geometric machine learning, network data analysis, big data analysis, and applications in smart grid and educational measurement.

In her free time, she likes to hike and read.

Ziwei Zhang graduated with a master degree from the Quantitative Methodology Program under the supervision of Wang. She currently is a doctoral student in the Quantitative Methods in Education program at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include intrinsically nonlinear longitudinal models, longitudinal mediation models, and education measurement.

Outside of academics, she enjoys traveling, hiking, boating, pilates, movies, and music.