Resumé

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Dr. Lonny L. Chu

20 years of experience in the field of Human-Computer Interaction.

• Provide insight for all aspects of product development.
• Specialization in mobile, haptic, audio, and web User Experiences (UX).
• Extensive experience in all phases of UX research, analysis, design, and leadership.
• Thorough understanding of current UI technologies and tools. Programming skills in C/C++, Java, JavaScript, HTML, and Visual Basic.

Professional Experience

January, 2002 - present

Furiant Consulting, Oakland, CA

Founder and Principal, User Experience (UX) Consultant

Provide expertise in UI design and HCI topics. Designed the visual, physical, and audio interfaces for various products. Created and executed user studies to measure the effectiveness of interfaces. Submitted final reports with the analyses and results of user studies along with recommendations for product improvement. Work performed for AT&T, T-Mobile, Adobe, Sprint, Cingular, PalmSource, Real Networks, Tellme Networks, Northwest Airlines, and others. UX work on products such as:  smartphone, music phone, miniature PDA, IVR, electronic payment system, web sites, and document synchronization tools.

November, 2005 - January, 2008

jd8 Records, Los Angeles, CA

Chief Technology Consultant

Assist in developing web and technology-related products for an independent music label dedicated to Asian-American music. Help form strategies for using new media technologies in a successful music business model.

March, 2004 - October, 2005

Gridtag, Inc., Palo Alto, CA

Founder, President and CTO

Founded company to provide a consumer-oriented, highly customizable and brandable barcode. Our codemark could be scanned by basic camera-phones to bring web-based transactions, communications, and relationships into the physical world. Led development of the image decoding algorithm, client- and server-side applications, user experience design, and intellectual property protection. Developed business strategies and helped lead fundraising efforts. Built a core team of 8 members, including former Directors of User Experience, a VP of Product Development, and a CPO from very prominent Silicon Valley companies.

April, 2002 - May, 2004

Akceil Corporation, Palo Alto, CA

Board of Advisors

Assisted in designing the UI for a computing platform targeted at micro-miniature consumer devices. Performed user interaction analysis and evaluation. The final UI allowed for user performance comparable to typical PalmOS PDA usage but within a 1-inch diagonal screen space with only 2 buttons for user input. Provided guidance on business strategy and technology development.

February, 2000 - November, 2001

Immersion Corporation, San Jose, CA

HCI Researcher and Engineer

Conducted studies investigating user performance with consumer-level haptic input devices such as the iDrive force-feedback controller found in BMW 7 Series automobiles and the Logitech iFeel vibrotactile mouse. Deeply involved in all aspects of 3 separate user studies. Responsibilities included software development, experiment design, data analysis, and writing final reports. Software development using Visual Basic and C/C++ for MS Windows. Received Immersion's Outstanding Achievement award.

April, 1999 - January, 2000

Ricoh Silicon Valley, Menlo Park, CA

HCI Researcher and Engineer

Worked in a small group that designed, built, and user-tested a prototype portable digital photo album appliance. The device included a novel display interface and novel physical input capabilities. Programmed components using Java, BASIC for the Parallax BASIC Stamp, and C/C++ for MS Windows audio functions. Work published in CHI 2000.

June, 1998 - September, 1998

Microsoft Corporation, Cupertino, CA

Product Planning Researcher

Collected and analyzed data for a project studying web content and HTML usage. Studied the frequency and distribution of HTML tag usage across various industries and web page categories.

October, 1996 - June, 1997

Interval Research Corporation, Palo Alto, CA

HCI Researcher

Developed hardware, software, and the experimental design for a psychophysical study on the perception of cross-modal simultaneity. Responsible for the fabrication of new electronic equipment and interfaces as well as for the implementation of sampling and time-prediction algorithms. Work published in CASYS 1999.

January, 1995 - September, 1995

Virtual World Entertainment, Chicago, IL

Sound Production Intern

Created sound effects for use in the virtual reality video game "BattleTech." Edited and processed sound samples and wrote code in C and C++ for various testing applications. Designed and created a Hypercard application used for cataloguing sounds and for modifying parameters within files.

Education

 

Stanford University:

Ph.D. - Computer-Based Music Theory, 2003

Northwestern University:

M.M. - Music Technology, 1996

Stanford University:

B.A. - Music, Science and Technology, 1993
B.S. - Mechanical Engineering, 1992

 

Academic

Ph.D. Dissertation Entitled "Haptic Interactions for Audio Navigation". Researched the incorporation of force-feedback haptic controllers into digital audio editing systems. Involved topics of user experience research, haptic technologies, audio cognition, and digital audio technologies. Technical work included prototyping and software development. HCI aspects included interaction analysis of current editing systems, design of novel interaction methods, need-finding, and user studies.

Teaching

 

March, 1995 - June, 1999

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

 

Instructor

Created the syllabus, gave lectures, and assigned grades for the classes "Introduction to Music Theory" and "Physics of Sound".

Teaching Assistant

Gave lectures, created exams, and graded assignments for the classes "Interactive Computer Music," "Music Theory - Aural Skills," "Music in America," "Studio Recording Techniques," "Issues in Popular Music," "The Beatles," and "Electronic and Computer Music"