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.