Welcome/歡迎!

I’m a first-year language science student at UC Irvine.

Currently, my primary research interests are in the subfields of phonetics and phonology. On a broader level, I am interested in the computational and cognitive modeling of speech processing and adaptation in both perception and production. Some of my most recent ongoing research niches include: 1. cue-weighting in the production of fricative sounds in Mandarin and English 2. modeling the process of tonogenesis in tonal languages for loanwords

I received training in both education and formal linguistics during my earlier years both as an undergrad and as a master’s student. See my CV for more detailed info on my educational backgrounds.

I publish under my Chinese name and the name that appears on my passport (Yibo/亦博). Among my Anglophone colleagues/peers/friends (as far back as grade school), however, I am better known as Thomas/Tom. My last name Liu (劉) used to stand for a kind of axe-like weapon that was used in battle during Pre-Qin ancient China (See the etymology of my last name Liu)