Helena Rong is an interdisciplinary researcher, designer, and urbanist whose work lies at the intersection of digital technology, collective intelligence, and architecture and urbanism. She is an Urban Planning PhD Candidate at Columbia University, where her research focuses on the role of digital technology in urban design and governance. She received her Master of Science in Urbanism (SMArchS) degree from MIT and Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, graduating with the Charles Goodwin Sands Memorial Silver Award (1st Place Thesis Award). Rong is the founder of CIVIS Design and Advisory, an award-winning design and research practice based in Boston and Shanghai that engages in multi-scalar and interdisciplinary architectural and urban projects.