Space Conference Speaker

Ginger Chen is a Ph.D. candidate at Florida Institute of Technology, specializing in cognitive mapping and qualitative research on astronauts’ lifelong learning and career development. Her interdisciplinary work integrates Chinese philosophy (TiānShí-DìLì-RénHé) with Western cognitive mapping science to study decision-making across life trajectories. She has developed original research methods—such as Journey-Memory Tethering Phenomenology and Reflexive Resource Analysis in Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis—to enrich data collection and interpretation. She also introduces the Holy Receptor role and Serendipitous Inquiry in Grounded Theory to elevate researchers’ ethical sensitivity and positionality while honoring participants’ lived experiences. Her SHARP TiānShí, ISEE DìLì, and iNSPIRE RénHé frameworks help individuals navigate uncertainty and build resilience. In the next stage of her research, she will integrate EEG data to examine alpha-theta oscillations in prefrontal-parietal networks as biomarkers of cognitive flexibility and memory. By linking theta-phase synchronization and alpha desynchronization to memory vitality, she aims to provide new insights into cultivating neurocognitive agility.