Member Spotlight: Felix Wu

Name
Felix Wu

Position/Employer
Research Scientist at HumRRO

How long have you been a SIOP member?
5 years as a student member

What roles have you had within SIOP?
Nothing formal, but I have been and am involved in the Disability, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee

Interest area(s)
Individual differences, disability in the workplace, and using advanced quantitative methods to study those topics; measurement; and predictors of job performance

What sparked your interest in I-O psychology?
Work is a big part of people's lives, and as a person with a disability, I learned about the employment disparities faced by people with disabilities, which encourages my interest in studying discrimination and inclusion topics. That was my initial foray into I-O psychology, but it has since expanded to an appreciation of measurement, KSAOs, and individual differences.

What role do you see I-O psychology playing in the future of work?
I think I-O psychology will play a vital role for the future of work, especially with the use of AI in the workplace and other technologies expanding. The principles of reliability, validity, and fairness will be critical for understanding AI-based assessments, although they may take different forms. This area will remain an important research topic that I-O psychology needs to address. Related to my disability in the workplace research interest, technology can help improve accommodation opportunities too such as exoskeletons, better voice-to-text, more awareness for accessibility of websites, etc. There is a lot on the horizon that will absolutely need I-O psychology.

What work trends are you seeing and hearing about and how can I-O psychology practitioners, educators, and students impact these trends?
I described some major trends above that should be tackled. To tackle these issues, it is definitely important to study these technologies as well as learn about AI, machine learning, and other important statistical techniques. This might require an interdisciplinary approach such as integrating data science, computer science, and statistics during graduate school. Other approaches might be working with developers of these technologies and keeping up to date on these things. Conducting research in these interdisciplinary ways can uncover many insights that are important to these trends.

What advice would you give to students or those early in their career?
I think given that I have just graduated, my advice might be better suited for students. I think several things are important. First, to motivate your research and make an impact, you need to find topics that excite you. Think about what was interesting about I-O psychology to you and/or what problem you want to solve. Second, any amount of time writing will get you a long way, and you can do it anywhere. Even if it is 10 minutes or a sentence, it is worth it. Third, don’t hesitate to reach out to other SIOP members who share your interest, whether it is in person or through email. Generally, I found our colleagues to be nice and helpful, and it is great to hear from others’ perspectives about your research or the same research topic.

What is one of your favorite SIOP Annual Conference memories/highlights?
My favorite memories are when I meet others with similar interests at the conference and get to “nerd out” about I-O psychology. These memories are even more important to me because there were a couple of years where I was unable to attend the SIOP Annual Conference in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please share one non-I-O-related bit of information about yourself.
I have visited at least 70+ national parks in the United States.

Is there anything you would like to add?
I would love to hear from you if you are interested in any of the above. You can find me on X (formerly Twitter) at @IOFelixWu or next time at the SIOP Annual Conference.

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