Vivian Lin
Title
Research Specialist
Present
Understand new things, identify where gaps lie and channel insights into better products and experiences for customers.
Past
Instructional Designer, Remote-Learner.net
Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: PhD in Linguistics
Harvard College: BA in Linguistics with minor in Folklore & Mythology, summa cum laude
Passion
Curiosity about everything.
Navigating the leap from rigor and logic to inspiration and innovation.
Learning and working with a really cool and talented group of people.
Play
Ice hockey. I play competitively and proselytize by coaching adults still new to the sport.
What is your first memory of design thinking?
I was about eight or nine and wanted to see how my Timex mechanical watch worked. So I took it to the basement and pried off the back. What I saw made no sense to me, so I tried to put it back together, but couldn’t get the back to snap into place. I grabbed the only tool I could reach—my dad’s hammer, laid the watch on a pillow, and hammered away until the back popped in. Sadly, the watch crystal was smashed to bits in the process. I did learn that day that there can be truth in advertising: My Timex certainly took a licking, and kept on ticking.
