As kids, we imagined fantastic things and they came true with the stories we told. Now as researchers, we imagine fantastic things and they come true with the technologies we make. Behind both is the same creative mind that is within everybody. In this talk I will touch upon both sides with examples of our research: how we created technologies to allow familiar devices (e.g., pens, projectors, screens) to support novel interaction experiences not possible before, and how we employed interaction technologies to help children express their own creativity in storytelling and other activities.

Xiang Cao is a researcher in the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Group at Microsoft Research Asia. His research is in the general field of HCI, with current focuses being next-generation interaction technologies and digital tools to support creativity. His other interests also include computer-supported cooperative activities and user performance modeling.Xiang Cao first joined Microsoft in the Computer-Mediated Living Group at Microsoft Research Cambridge (UK), where he was also a fellow at Corpus Christi College in the University of Cambridge. In the past he also worked and interned at other research labs such as in Siemens, IBM, and Intel. He received his PhD from the Department of Computer Science at University of Toronto, supervised by Prof. Ravin Balakrishnan.Along with other professional services, he currently serves as the vice chair of the China Chapter of ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Human Interaction (SIGCHI), working towards promoting HCI research in China and Asia and their connection with the international HCI community.