Luna Lu ’29 is a computer sci/math major with a passion for predictive markets, fast cars, and filmmaking.
By Bennett Campbell Ferguson
October 2, 2026
Luna Lu ’29 knows you’re freaking out about the ascendance of artificial intelligence, but she has faith that it won’t render humans irrelevant.
“Right now, people are so scared of super intelligence, AI replacing people’s jobs,” Luna says. “My take is that AI cannot be an employee and AI cannot be its own person ever, because it cannot take responsibility for decisions that it makes.”
A computer sci/mathematics major with a passion for fast cars and filmmaking, Luna is the kind of unique thinker no AI could dream up. “I always follow this ideology of, just keep being curious and don’t limit yourself,” she says. “Don’t define yourself as just a mathematician or just an engineer or just an artist.”
At Reed, Luna has found a community that welcomes her epic array of interests, from writing poetry to developing prediction models for presidential elections and the stock market. “I’m more presentational, in a sense,” she says, noting how her background in theater helps her to clarify complex STEM concepts. (Her zeal for theater, she adds, has led to “an absurd amount of time spent on Italian existential plays.”)
While Luna previously considered working for a hedge fund firm after graduating—using the predictive models she’s developed at Reed to help protect the market and stabilize the economy—her ambitions have evolved.
“After my first year at Reed, I truly cannot see myself in any other profession other than researching mathematics and computer science,” she says. “I seem to dislike an output-based work style that is inevitably the majority of industry work…and I appreciate roles in which I could develop a deeper understanding of things.”
Wherever Luna’s research takes her, she intends to lead the way she always has: by example. “As an Asian woman in STEM…it’s hard to find people like me,” she says. “My way of approaching advocacy and activism is very much that I’m going to set a good example. I’m going to show you what respect looks like.”
Already, Luna’s accomplishments have shown how achievements can expand perspectives. “By being a part of my department and doing all these things I am doing,” she says, “I hope I am redefining what people think of when they see the phrase ‘computer scientist.’”
Luna Lu ’29 is building the tools that will shape tomorrow’s economy. Your support makes it possible for students like Luna to pursue that work at Reed.
