Xiangyi Cheng Is Bringing AR to Classrooms and Hospitals

When Xiangyi Cheng published her first journal paper as a principal investigator in IEEE Access in 2024, it marked more than a professional milestone. For Cheng, an IEEE member and an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Loyola Marymount University, in Los Angeles, it was the latest waypoint in a career shaped by curiosity, persistence, and a belief that technology should serve people—not the other way around.The paper’s title was “Mobile Devices or Head-Mounted Displays: A Comparative Review and Analysis of Augmented Reality in Healthcare.”XIANGYI CHENGEmployer Loyola Marymount University, in Los AngelesTitle Assistant professor of mechanical engineeringMember grade MemberAlma maters China University of Mining and Technology; Texas A&M UniversityCheng’s work spans robotics, intelligent systems, human-machine interaction and artificial intelligence. It has applications in patient-specific surgical planning, an approach whereby treatment is customized to the anat