ESTHER LUK
12526 Meadow Lake Dr., Houston, TX, 77077 • esther.luk@alumni.stanford.edu • estherluk09@gmail.com • 281-468-6663
EDUCATION
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA (9/05–6/09)
 B.S. in Engineering (Management Science and Design: Individually-Designed Major). GPA: 3.57/4.0.
 Coursework: New Product Development Management; Human Values in Design; Entrepreneurship; Human-Computer
Interaction; Programming Methodology, Abstractions; Optimization; Visual Thinking; Good-Bad Products (audit); Databases
(online, 2011)
Renmin University, Stanford Overseas Seminar: “Education & Healthcare in Emerging China”, Beijing, China (8/08–9/08)
 Conducted needs-assessment fieldwork and interviewing on a cross-cultural, five-person team at Beijing migrant schools
EXPERIENCE
Creative Analyst & Business Developer, “CQ”/Self-employed
Houston, TX (12/10 – present)
 Founded and developed venture in creative design incubation and services, initially targeting Houston-based tech/digital start-ups.
 Developed web content and use cases, conducted on-site human-centered design research, and facilitated brainstorming sessions
for stealth mobile platform start-up, Houston’s start-up accelerator, and COO of PopScreen, a viral video prediction engine,
respectively. Invited to join Programs Committee of C2 Creative, Houston’s first creative incubator.
 Business development iterative phases included: ideation, validation (meetings with Houston-based Inc. 500/5000 company
founders, entrepreneurs, senior to C-level executives), relationship building, and lead generation and sales, from cold-emails to inperson.
Human Factors Research Assistant Intern, Rice University Psychology Department
Houston, TX (4/10-8/10, 3/11)
 Co-developed web-based iPhone application (MobileVote) with one teammate. Focused on ballot-scalability (OOP JavaScript),
stress tests, and design-usability suggestions. With 3 students, ran user tests comparing mobile voting with traditional platforms.
Methodology Development Intern, Apple Inc. (Information Systems & Technology)
Cupertino, CA (6/08–8/08)
 Devised new Software Development Life-Cycle methodology to improve development process of a pioneering, rich UI AppleCare
tool. Consulted with business and engineering teams: 30+ interviews with 13+ managers and developers from teams in Cupertino,
abroad (UK, Singapore). Evaluated industry development practices. Model incorporated user-centered design and Agile practices
 Presented project to Apple CIO and IT Management Team.
Sand Hill Philanthropy Fellow, Walter and Elise Haas Fund (Education Program Area)
San Francisco, CA (6/07–8/07)
 Gathered research, analyzed performance metrics, and compared effectiveness of 6 Oakland small schools. Researched
contextual background of Bay Area school districts. Composed 33 page report from research and trends spotted.
 Hosted and coordinated one of the 3 Fellows group site visits. Assisted in 15+ site visits for grant due diligence.
Teacher (SAT Math & Verbal, Elementary Math & English, Art), Vanguard Academy
Houston, TX (5/05–8/05, 6/06–8/06)
 Implemented self-designed curriculum and interactive activities for 4 classes of 6-15 students. Taught two sets of material daily.
PROJECT EXPERIENCE
‘Eating’, ‘Transit’, ‘Retirement’, ME115B: Human Values in Design (David Kelley, Dave Thomsen) Stanford, CA (4/09–6/09)
 Investigated wide-ranging users and environments to develop insights that framed directions for 3 projects. Brainstormed and evaluated
product ideas. Delivered individual observations and 3 concept prototypes: on-the-go plate for moms, transit guide iPhone app (team), fallalert pendant-beeper system for retirement homes (team). Initiated 3-6 observations or interviews per project.
‘MobileFood’ Web-based iPhone Application, CS147: Human-Computer Interaction (Scott Klemmer)
Stanford, CA (9/08-12/08)
 Designed, created, tested, and presented functional prototype of a mobile meal-planning application with two student teammates.
 Led front-end development and usability testing: contextual inquiries; designed project HTML/CSS (visual elements); created and
ran user test plans; analyzed user performance metrics and questionnaire responses; voiced prototype improvement ideas.
‘Redesigning Longevity’, Designing Human Experience Intro Seminar (Larry Leifer, Stanford Center for Longevity) Stanford, CA (4/06–6/06)
 Sketched, ideated, prototyped, presented concept solutions for emerging issues due to aging world population. 3 projects on teams of 3-4.
PUBLICATIONS & POSTERS
 Publication Acknowledgement: “Voting on a Smartphone: Evaluating the Usability of an Optimized Voting System for
Handheld Mobile Devices” (Rice University, 2011), In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 55th Annual Meeting (pp.
1100-1104). Las Vegas, NV: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Research accepted to CHI and featured on Future of Technology on MSNBC and Scientific Daily.
 Luk, Esther. “Research on Oakland Unified School District: Nine Original Small Schools”. Stanford Symposium of Undergraduate
Research and Public Service, Oct 2007, Stanford, CA. (Poster).
LEADERSHIP/ACTIVITIES
 Board Member & Stanford Film Workshop, Stanford Film Society, (9/05–2/09): Directed, wrote, produced short film Reaching
Sam, edited with FinalCut Pro. Assistant-directed film featured in Stanford Student Film Festival, ‘06. Selected as SFS Board
Member, ‘06-‘07.
 Gumball Challenge Agency Member, Stanford University (9/07–12/07): Assisted in microfinance competition.
 Sophomore Fellow, Freshman-Sophomore College, Stanford, CA (12/06–6/07): Proposed, secured funding, designed, and led
student-initiated course on film analysis.
 Peer Mentor, Undergraduate Advising Programs, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (9/06–6/07)
AWARDS
 Nominated and selected as representative of the Public Service Fellowships Program at Stanford’s Symposium for Undergraduate
Research and Public Service (SURPS)
 Sand Hill Philanthropy Fellowship (4K): 1 of 5 selected
 Robert C. Byrd Scholarship Recipient (6K over 4 years)
 National Merit Finalist and Scholarship Recipient
 Teagle Foundation Scholarship Recipient
SKILLS/INTERESTS
 Insights and Analysis: Opportunity analysis, need-finding, human-centered design, concept ideation, or usability testing (11
projects)
 Computer: Basic Java, C++, PHP, SQL, XML, FinalCut Pro. Intermediate HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, Keynote, iMovie,
Photoshop, Fireworks. Advanced PowerPoint, Excel.
 Prototyping: Rapid prototyping (paper/sketching, video, foam, digital mockups, etc). Exposure to Arduino, Processing. Exposure
to mill, lathe, sand-casting, welding.
 Linguistic: Functional proficiency in Mandarin Chinese (Intermediate level): speaking, reading, writing, listening
 Project Management Models: Internship developing basic understanding of agile models such as Scrum and XP
 Interests: video/film, mobile, design, entrepreneurship, percussion, education, writing, wellness, social games, women’s wellness
and empowerment, healthcare information accessibility, cooking and eating, laptop karaoke