SMARTies

SMART Principal Investigator

Dr. Tianjun Sun is an Assistant Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Quantitative Methods in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University. She is also a faculty member at the Ken Kennedy Institute and the Institute of Health Resilience and Innovation. Before joining Rice, she was an Assistant Professor at Kansas State University.

She received her Ph.D. in Industrial/Personality Psychology with a Quantitative Psychology minor from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021, where she also earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Psychology and Statistics.

Dr. Sun’s research focuses on personnel selection, individual differences, and applied psychometrics, leveraging advanced technology and quantitative methods to enhance staffing decisions, improve candidate and employee experiences, and solve critical organizational problems. Her ongoing projects are supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Foundation.

Recognized as a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) and a recipient of the Lawrence R. James Early Career Award for her achievements in advancing research methods, Dr. Sun has also received honors from SIOP, the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Academy of Management (AOM).

Professionally, she serves as a Contributing Editor at the Journal of Applied Psychology (having previously served as an Editorial Fellow from 2023-2024) and sits on the editorial boards of Personnel Psychology, Organizational Research Methods, Human Performance, and the Journal of Business and Psychology.

On the applied side, Dr. Sun has broad experience across consulting, testing, and tech industries, specializing in people analytics, learning and assessment, and talent management.

SMART Research Associates

Muchen Xi graduated with his PhD in Personality Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2026. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab.

Muchen’s research focuses on understanding how personality and individual differences unfold dynamically across situations and over time. He develops new quantitative and psychometric methods for studying person-situation dynamics and personalized assessment, with an increasing focus on using machine learning and AI to understand and predict consequential workplace outcomes.

Ashley Sylvara graduated with her PhD in I/O Psychology from Kansas State University in 2025 and joined the University of Florida, Warrington College of Business as a post-doc. She then started in 2026 as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Management at Tulane University. She currently works with the lab as a visiting researcher on multiple extension projects, building on her graduate school days in this lab.

Ashley's research centers on improving personality assessment in personnel selection through the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning. She is also interested in examining how work and life events influence personality development and change. Outside of research, Ashley likes to do rock climbing 🧗‍♀️

If not an I/O psychologist, Ashley would be a barista ☕

SMART Graduate Students

Xavier Heron is a fifth-year I/O Psychology doctoral student at Rice University.

Xavier's research focuses on employing advanced statistical techniques and AI-tools to enhance the validity of non-cognitive ability assessments in selection settings. His dissertation research includes building a chatbot to integrate forced choice and text-based methods of measuring personality. Xavier is an avid Iowa State football and basketball fan.

Rebecca Chen is a fifth-year I/O Psychology doctoral student at Rice University.

Rebecca's research interests include psychological measurement and psychometrics, AI in talent management, and future of work skills. While in grad school, she has worked as a research consultant for ETS and as a people analytics intern for Google. Outside of work, Rebecca enjoys yoga, rock climbing, and baking.

If not an I/O psychologist, Rebecca would open up her own bakery & coffee shop 🍞

Pengda Wang is a forth-year I/O Psychology doctoral student at Rice University.

Pengda's primary research interests are centered around leveraging innovative technologies to enhance psychometric assessments and employee selection. He is also interested in advancing open science through the adoption of novel methodologies. More information about Pengda can be found via his website: wpengda.github.io

Nikolai Ortiz is a second-year I/O Psychology doctoral student at Rice University. He graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Psychology from Northwestern University. Nikolai’s research interests include the integration of artificial intelligence into the workplace (e.g., personnel selection, skill decay) and applied psychometrics. Outside of the lab, Nikolai competes in triathlons, marathons, open water swims, and other endurance races.

If not a I/O psychologist, Nikolai would be an instructor focused on making advanced topics in mathematics and statistics more accessible🧑‍🔬 The most random talent he has is being able to crochet stuffed animals🧶

Ashley Haygood is a first-year I/O Psychology doctoral student at Rice University. She graduated with a B.A. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.A. in I/O Psychology from George Mason University. Ashley’s research interests include personnel selection and assessment, psychometrics, individual differences, and the application of AI and machine learning to the future of work. Outside of the lab, Ashley enjoys coffee, cooking, listening to podcasts, and spending time with family. ☕🍳

Alexandra Armer is a second-year I/O Psychology master's student at Rice University. Alexandra's research interests are focused on psychometrics, personnel selection, and individual differences in the workplace. She is interested in leveraging psychometrics to enhance personnel selection, thereby improving both the hiring experience and role success for organizations and candidates. Outside of school, Alexandra enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors, especially when she can do both simultaneously.

If not an I/O psychologist, Alexandra would ideally want to be an architect🌆

Tania García-Jasso is a second-year I/O Psychology master's student at Rice University. Tania’s research interests include hiring and selection assessments, talent management, and advancing neurodiversity and disability inclusion in the workplace. As an aspiring research practitioner, she is excited to apply her research experience to create evidence-based solutions that improve both organizational effectiveness and employee well-being. Outside of work, Tania loves everything music-related (niche artists, concerts, production, DJing), as well as planting, cooking, and going to new cafes!

If not an I/O Psychologist, Tania would be a sound designer 🎛️

SMART Undergrad RAs

Xinyi Li

Xinyi is a senior at Rice, majoring in psychology and operations research. She is interested in the research methods, psychometrics, AI perception, decision making and wellbeing. In the SMART lab, Xinyi has worked on projects on NLP meta-analysis, ML and faking, leisure interests, scale development, chatbots (and this website too!), which aligns with her interests in I/O psych.

Outside of school and work, Xinyi enjoys reading, watching sci-fis, and exploring museums.

If not to become an I/O psychologist, Xinyi would be a world traveler -- to turn all that learning into real adventures and meet interesting people across the globe 🏞

Jenny In

Jenny is a junior at Rice majoring in psychology and statistics. She is broadly interested in individual differences and psychometrics. Her current work focuses on how personality change relates to work outcomes.

Outside of school and work, Jenny play and referee sports games. She also enjoys discovering new music.

If not to become an I/O psychologist, Jenny would be a teacher in a small town 📚

Fiona Sik

Fiona is a sophomore at Rice majoring in Cognitive Science and Computer Science at Rice. She is interested in the intersection of AI, technology, and psychology, particularly how technology can be used to assess mental health and provide support to those in need. She is also curious about how individuals form beliefs based on their surrounding environment.

Outside of school, Fiona enjoys art and photography, especially portrait and landscape photography, as well as listening to music. She also love discovering and trying new restaurants.

If not to become an I/O psychologist, Fiona would travel the world photographing motorsports📸

Zoe Setiadi

Zoe is a senior at Rice majoring in statistics and psychology.

Imad Shaikh

Imad is a sophomore at UT Austin and an NSF REU Fellow working on Lumen, an AI chatbot that uses structured interviews to assess pathological narcissism. He is especially interested in the overlap between personality, clinical psychology, and neuroscience, and how AI can help capture psychological patterns that traditional assessments may miss.

Outside of research, Imad is usually at the gym, playing basketball, listening to music, trying new coffee shops, or reading crime/thriller books.

If not an I/O psychologist, Imad would be a neurologist. He is really interested in what’s happening beneath behavior and how those underlying processes shape the way people think, feel, and act 🧠

Ella Hiles

Ella is a senior at UIUC. She is currently working with Dr. Sun and Dr. Erin Standen on a project that assesses optimal health communication strategies through the use of a chatbot. She is also finishing up her own independent project which looked into how students at my university experienced the 2025 US TikTok ban.

Her research interest is mainly assessing the outcomes of human/technology interactions with a focus on mental health. Social media is the main technology I am interested in, but AI is another area that fascinates me.

The most random talent Ella have is that she can speak pig latin 🌟