Education

Postdoc – University of California, Berkeley
PhD – Psychology, University of Chicago
BA – Psychology, Wellesley College

Bio

Dr. Jenny Chen Lu is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed between the departments of Disability Studies and Institute for Society & Genetics. Classically trained in psychology, linguistic anthropology, and public policy, she directs an interdisciplinary research program at the Form and DisFunction Lab.

One project aims to understand how distinct modes of economic production influence behavior, psychological development of the self, and meaning/ indexicality. Lu is interested in the topics of distribution of production, labor structures, and the interaction between economics and policies. This involves long-term fieldwork across Western and Asian regions with distinct material histories.

Other projects address some of the greatest mysteries in cognitive science. One area of interest is understanding the cognitive and experiential sources of diverse spatial representations in tactile, auditory, and visual modalities. Another project aims to elucidate the biological and cognitive causes of motion sickness.

International, cross-field collaboration –  with experts in linguistic anthropology, sociology, psychology, aerospace, and geography – form the backbone of this program. Methods range from experimental to ethnographic. This work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, Fulbright, American Psychological Association, and several fellowships.

Outside of academia, Lu is a community organizer in disability justice. She enjoys writing poetry, practicing photography, and hitting the slopes in the winter.

Lu’s Tactile impression: ripples of soft percussive laughter and hearty, affirming taps.

Form and DisFunction Lab (social media) | Website under construction

Portfolio

CV