{"605454":{"#nid":"605454","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Dar-Wei Chen: Ph.D. in Psychology ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENot long after Dar-Wei Chen had accomplished something when his younger brother would often come along and do it better. But Chen has no hard feelings. On the contrary, he credits his success to his brother. \u0026ldquo;He inspired me to always reach higher,\u0026rdquo; Chen says. Reaching high has led him to receiving from Georgia Tech an M.S. in Psychology in 2015 and now\u0026nbsp;a Ph.D. in Psychology. He received his B.S. in Engineering, major in Industrial and Operations Engineering, from\u0026nbsp;the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.umich.edu\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of Michigan\u003C\/a\u003E, Ann Arbor.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EYou could say that a Ph.D. is in Chen\u0026rsquo;s blood. His \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mae.nmsu.edu\/faculty\/dr-ruey-hung-chen\/\u0022\u003Efather\u003C\/a\u003E is a professor at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nmsu.edu\/\u0022\u003ENew Mexico State University\u003C\/a\u003E, and his \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.arl.army.mil\/www\/?article=2624\u0022\u003Emother\u003C\/a\u003E is a researcher for the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.arl.army.mil\/www\/default.cfm\u0022\u003EArmy Research Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E. Still, graduate school was \u0026ldquo;an unpredictable adventure,\u0026rdquo; Chen says, although he considers the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/winterparkhs.ocps.net\/\u0022\u003EWinter Park High School\u003C\/a\u003E still the most difficult challenge he has faced.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe rigor of the IB program prepared Chen well for Georgia Tech, which he liked for its prestige and cutting-edge reputation. \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ve been fortunate in terms of family and educational experiences through my whole life,\u0026rdquo; Chen says. \u0026ldquo;I try to be consciously thankful of those blessings, especially now that I\u0026rsquo;ve completed my Ph.D., the most important accomplishment of my career so far.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen you go through something as long and difficult as a Ph.D. at Georgia Tech \u0026ndash; it was as hard as I thought it would be \u0026ndash; you learn how people cope with stress. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that students run their own race through graduate school and have different experiences. It\u0026rsquo;s no use to always compare yourself with others and often feel inadequate in the process.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026quot;It\u0026rsquo;s very exciting to land a job that gives me freedom to influence projects intellectually and the opportunity to work in various fields....\u0026nbsp;I know that my Georgia Tech Ph.D. was a major factor in getting this job.\u0026quot;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy dissertation defense, but that\u0026rsquo;s too obvious. I\u0026rsquo;ll instead go with a sappy answer: Who I\u0026rsquo;ve become while at Tech. Aside from my immediate family, Tech has been the single largest factor in shaping who I am today.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing surrounded by supportive people and getting through the rigors of a Tech education gave me confidence about my place in the world. I suffered from many insecurities all the way through college. I was never sure if I\u0026rsquo;d ever turn into someone I could be proud of professionally and personally.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhich professors or classes made a big impact on you? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe foundational courses \u0026ndash; statistics, research methods, and introduction to engineering psychology \u0026ndash; gave me the basic skills and information I needed to succeed in this field.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECourses in my \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mshci.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EHuman-Computer Interaction\u003C\/a\u003E doctoral minor expanded what I knew to be possible and emphasized how important technology design is to people from all walks of life. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pe.gatech.edu\/instructors\/christopher-langston\u0022\u003EChris Langston\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;Web Usability and Access\u0026rdquo; class opened my eyes to the struggles of vision- and hearing-impaired people. Because of that class, I can forever be an advocate for those people.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWatching a Tech football game from the sidelines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was incredible to experience the physicality and passion of the game from close up, combined with the pageantry that accompanies every Tech football game. I\u0026rsquo;ve never had such a fun opportunity to \u003Cem\u003Efeel\u003C\/em\u003E the game that I\u0026rsquo;ve always loved watching from afar. I gained a new appreciation for football that I can carry with me for the rest of my life.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat unique learning activities did you undertake?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI greatly enjoyed opportunities to apply theories I learned throughout graduate school.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile working at the Army Research Laboratory, I applied learning principles to the development of a simulated shooting range that would be used to train cadets on the fundamentals of marksmanship.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hfes.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society\u003C\/a\u003E provided opportunities for me to apply design theory to many areas of life such as the American voting process, online work collaboration tools, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention\u0026rsquo;s pamphlet for immunization schedules. These applied experiences are important because I want to be versatile in industry work.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to incoming graduate students at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENever apologize for doing what\u0026rsquo;s best for you.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u0026rsquo;re struggling and need to take a break from things, take a break \u0026ndash; even though it seems like everyone else is working harder than you. Your life and health aren\u0026rsquo;t on hold just because you\u0026rsquo;re in graduate school. Everyone else is struggling, too, in some way.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u0026rsquo;re not sure about your current graduate school path, discuss the matter with as many people as you need and determine whether you need to change course. A tough decision might be necessary, but ultimately, you have to decide what\u0026rsquo;s best for you, because you will live most directly with the consequences of that decision.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u0026rsquo;re not sure whether you should ask about an opportunity that might help your career, err on the side of asking too many times and possibly being bothersome. The worst that people can say is \u0026ldquo;no.\u0026rdquo; Often they\u0026rsquo;ll be flattered that you asked and might keep you in mind for future opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are \u003Cem\u003Emany\u003C\/em\u003E opportunities for meaningful work, even though the path might not be straightforward and the odds seem to be against you.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere are you headed after graduation?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI have accepted a job offer from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/soartech.com\/\u0022\u003ESoar Technologies\u003C\/a\u003E, in Orlando, Florida, to be a principal investigator in their Intelligent Training business area.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s very exciting to land a job that gives me freedom to influence projects intellectually and the opportunity to work in various fields, such as defense, transportation, and medical service. I know that my Georgia Tech Ph.D. was a major factor in getting this job. My Tech degree will continue to be an asset in my professional career.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Opportunities to put theory to practice prepared him for a career in industry"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech provided Dar-Wei Chen with opportunities to apply theory to practice, which\u0026nbsp;positions him well for jobs in industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Dar-Wei Chan adds a Ph.D. in Psychology to his Georgia Tech credentials."}],"uid":"34651","created_gmt":"2018-04-24 16:23:24","changed_gmt":"2018-04-24 20:24:13","author":"mrosten3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-04-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-04-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"605323":{"id":"605323","type":"image","title":"Dar-Wei Chen","body":null,"created":"1524164470","gmt_created":"2018-04-19 19:01:10","changed":"1524164470","gmt_changed":"2018-04-19 19:01:10","alt":"","file":{"fid":"230800","name":"2018 Dar-wei Chen.tall250.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20Dar-wei%20Chen.tall250.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20Dar-wei%20Chen.tall250.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":68108,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2018%20Dar-wei%20Chen.tall250.jpg?itok=OpeZPkmt"}}},"media_ids":["605323"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/595125","title":"School of Psychology Ph.D. Student Among 2017 Foley Scholar Finalists"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"676","name":"graduates"},{"id":"142461","name":"engineering psychology"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}