Education

B.A., Journalism, Sichuan International Studies University, China
M.A., Communication, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China
Ph.D., Mass Communication (with a Graduate Minor in Statistics), Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania  

Background

University at Albany, State University of New York (2017 – 2023)
University of South Florida, (2023 – 2025)
University of South Carolina (present)

Awards

Yang has received prestigious research awards including Top Research Paper awards from the Broadcast Education Association, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the PTC Young Scholar Award. Her artificial intelligence research has secured competitive funding from multiple sources, including the USF Human Centered AI and Robotics Consortium and The Florida High Tech Corridor for AI literacy education initiatives. She has also received teaching excellence awards including the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award from the Chinese Communication Association and the Djung Yune Tchoi Graduate Teaching Award from Penn State.

Research

Yang investigates how humans interact with AI systems and social robots, focusing on building trust, understanding, and meaningful connections between people and cutting-edge technologies. Her research employs primarily quantitative methods including biometric measures (eye-tracking, facial expression analysis, EEG), experiments, surveys, network analysis and big data analytics. She explores AI-mediated communication, human-robot interaction and the societal implications of emerging technologies. Her work aims to understand how AI can be used for enhancing rather than replacing humanity, with recent projects examining AI-assisted mental health support, social robots as workout buddies and building trust and acceptance of AI-driven social robots.

Grants and Funded Research

The USF Multi-User Capital Investment Award
Title: The USF Human Centered AI and Robotics Consortium
Role: principal investigator
Period: 2025
Funding amount: $150,000

The Florida High Tech Corridor and USF Research & Innovation Early-Stage Innovation Fund
Title: AI for All: Co-designing a Roadmap to Community-Centered AI Literacy Education
Role: principal investigator
Period: 2024-2025
Funding amount: $25,000

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant
Title: Cross-ideology news consumption and public trust in the Covid-19 vaccine: A Canada versus the U.S. comparative study
Role: co-investigator
Period: 2021-2023
Funding amount: CAD$56,967

The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communications
Title: Moment of truth: Understanding corporate rumors and the psychology of rumor spread on environmental issues via social media
Role: principal investigator
Period: 2018-2020
Funding amount: $5,000

University at Albany, SUNY CAS Faculty Research Award Program - Category B (FRAP-B)
Title: Cognition, emotion, and motivation in the spread of misinformation and its intervention on social media
Role: principal investigator
Period: 2022-2023
Funding amount: $4,000

Teaching

Yang believes in transforming students from passive learners into active problem-solvers who can bridge classroom knowledge with real-world impact. Her teaching philosophy centers on inspiring intrinsic motivation, developing critical thinking, and empowering students to become change agents in their fields. By connecting abstract concepts to students' lived experiences and incorporating hands-on projects with real clients, she helps students discover how research can solve pressing real-life challenges and inspire high-impact innovations. Fan's goal is to prepare students not just for careers, but for leadership in our data-driven, AI-enhanced world.

Recent Publications

Yang, F., Yan, Q. & Liu, Y. (accepted/forthcoming). Domestication, sociality, self, and meaning: A dual-process engagement model of companion webcasting. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.

Luo, Z., Li, M. & Yang, F. (2025). Confiscating progressiveness: the Chinese state’s hegemonic strategies in shaping domestic violence frames on social media. Information, Communication & Society (advanced online publication). doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2025.2500492

Jo, H., Yang, F (shared first authorship). & Yan, Q. (2024). Spreaders vs. victims: The nuanced relationship between age and misinformation via FoMO and digital literacy in different cultures. New Media and Society, 26(9), 5169-5194. doi: 10.1177/14614448221130476

Yang, F., Du, M., Li, N. & Yan, Q. (2025). Context, script, cue: Extending the CASA paradigm to understand human-AI intimate relationships. Paper to be presented at the 2025 ASSIS&T 2025 Annual Conference, Crystal City, VA.

Bell, T. & Yang, F. (2025). A network analysis of frame alignment and the political activation of #shero Riley Gaines. * 3rd Place Top Research Paper (Open/Faculty Category). Paper to be presented at the 2025 annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, San Francisco, CA.

Service

Yang currently serves as coordinator of the Emergent Technologies Lab at USC. At her previous institution, she was Inaugural director of the Zimmerman School Media Research Center, founding director of the Human and AI Research Lab, and co-director of the USF Human Centered AI and Robotics Consortium.

She has held leadership roles in AEJMC's Mass Communication & Society Division, progressing from graduate student committee chair to division head. She serves on editorial boards, reviews for NSF grant panels and top journals and contributes to university committees. She has also provided community engaged scholarship at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Personal

When not researching or teaching, she enjoys exploring 3D printing and playing with social robots with her daughter and her two dogs. (Yes, dogs can play with robot dogs!)