×

Jamason (JZ) Chen, MA

Technology Manager; Clinical Professor

JZ Chen joined the School of Communication in August 2009 as the new Manager of Technology for SOC. Chen has been helping oversee the development of SOC's digital convergence studio and other new media technologies for media education and research.

Before joined Loyola University Chicago, Chen worked as staff in Video Solutions in the Office of Information Technology in the University of Minnesota, and before then  managed the digital media lab in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. He brings a broad range of academic knowledge and professional experience in both visual communication and digital media technology to SOC.

Before he relocated to the US, Chen worked as an instructor and engineer in the School of Communications at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and for O’Connors Pte Ltd, also in Singapore, and as an engineer/producer at the Shanghai Film Studios in China.

As an ardent photographer and clinical professor in visual communication, Chen has been teaching photojournalism and 360 VR visualization courses. He has curated photographic exhibitions both in China and the US. He has been a professional and student portfolio reviewer in the Society of Photographic Education Conference since 2010. He has been invited as a guest speaker and judge in the Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival in Malaysia since 2012. His essays and columns have been published in Asia and the US. His teaching and research interests are in digital technology applications in visual communication, from technological implementation to philosophical impacts.

Education

  • Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from East China Normal University

Research Interests

  • Cross-cultural Communication in the Digital Age
  • Digital Technology and Its Cultural Impact on Visual Communication
  • Stereoscopic Imagery and 360 VR and Their Historic and Cultural Impacts on Visual Representation and Communication

Professional/Community Affiliations

  • Chicago Sister Cities International China Committee
  • Society of Photographic Education

Courses Taught

  • 360 VR Visualization
  • Photojournalism

 

Publications/Research Listings

  • Contribution of essays and interviews in Photo Creator (Malaysia), HK Photo (Hong Kong), Lens and Chinese Photo News (China), and Black and White Magazine (USA)
  • Digital stereoscopic visual presentation for journalistic content with the Center for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota
  • Monthly column in Chinese Photo magazine
  • “The Story of the Coat” in XCP No.7 by the Cross Cultural Poetics, USA

Awards

  • Named the Most Important Chinese Photographic Critic of 2009 by Pixels Magazine, China
  • Outstanding Achievement in Student Production in 1999-2000 Minnesota Emmy Awards