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Janina GrabsView profile

Professor

• Sustainability Governance
• Global Value Chains
• Political Economy
• +7 more

Janina Grabs is Professor of Sustainability Research at the University of Basel, where she heads the subject area of Sustainability Research within the Department of Social Sciences at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is responsible for social science teaching in the Master's program in Sustainable Development and leads a research group investigating sustainability governance in global value chains, particularly in tropical agricultural commodities. Her academic background includes a PhD in Political Science from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (2018), with research stays at Carleton University in Ottawa and Yale University in New Haven. Prior to her current position since June 1, 2024, she worked as an assistant professor at ESADE Business School in Barcelona (2021-2024) and as a postdoc at ETH Zurich (2019-2021). Professor Grabs' research focuses on transnational sustainability governance in global value chains, examining how states, firms, NGOs and other actors can improve environmental and social sustainability in commodity production. Her interdisciplinary work bridges political economy, regulatory governance, and business in society scholarship to investigate who defines sustainability in the marketplace, what rule-making mechanisms exist, their effectiveness, and potential unintended consequences on smallholders' livelihoods. She places special emphasis on coffee, palm oil, and cocoa sectors, exploring how global production and consumption processes can be steered toward more sustainable directions within market frameworks. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on zero-deforestation initiatives, supply chain due diligence legislation (particularly the EU Deforestation Regulation), jurisdictional approaches to sustainable commodity governance, and the evolving role of various actors in sustainability governance. Her work spans multiple commodities but shows particular depth in coffee and palm oil sectors, examining both environmental and social dimensions of sustainability through field research in Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica and Indonesia. Her significant contributions to the field have been recognized with prestigious awards: 2021 Organizations and the Natural Environment Book Award from the Academy of Management 2022 Lynton Keith Caldwell Award for the best book in the field of science, technology and environmental politics from the American Political Science Association Professor Grabs actively mentors doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers including Alexandra Bögner, Charline Depoorter, Lucia Casalegno, Lesly Nassila, and Philipp Dunker. Her research is supported by multiple third-party funded projects such as EXPECT-AGRI (investigating political economy of expectations in agri-food sustainability transformations), PACSMAC (examining paradoxes of climate-smart coffee production), and research on zero-deforestation commitments in the palm oil sector. She also serves as book review editor for the journal Regulation & Governance and participates in professional associations including the ECPR Standing Group on Regulatory Governance and the International Studies Association. She leads the Sustainability Research Group at the University of Basel, which conducts interdisciplinary research on sustainability governance and transformations toward more sustainable socio-economic systems, with particular focus on agri-food, energy, and mobility sectors while addressing critical questions of justice, equity, and inclusivity in sustainability transitions.

Muhammad Ali GulzarView profile

Assistant Professor

• Fault Localization
• Big Data systems
• Data Intensive scalable computing
• +5 more

Muhammad Ali Gulzar is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Virginia Tech and an Amazon Scholar at Amazon Web Services. His research focuses on improving developer productivity through automated debugging and testing for applications in emerging domains, including data-intensive software such as dataflow programs, ML/AI applications, and computational notebooks. Education Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of California, Los Angeles (Google Ph.D. Fellow 2017-2020) Research Interests Gulzar's research spans three primary areas: (1) automated tracking-code localization techniques in web applications, (2) re-engineering testing and debugging for data-intensive applications, and (3) advancing current testing and debugging practices in Federated Learning Applications. His work addresses the challenges of debugging in complex systems where traditional approaches fail due to the scale and distributed nature of modern applications. His research has significant implications for improving software quality, developer productivity, and accessibility in web applications. Research Trends Recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on debugging and testing challenges in emerging application domains. His work bridges traditional software engineering with machine learning, data-intensive systems, and web technologies. Notably, he has made significant contributions to Federated Learning debugging (FedDebug), accessibility challenges in ad-driven web applications, and semantic caching for Large Language Models. His approach often combines novel algorithmic insights with practical implementations that address real-world challenges in software development and maintenance. Scientific Awards Google Ph.D. Fellow (2017-2020) $1.1 million NSF award for Federated Learning research ACM CCS 2024 Distinguished Artifact Award Advising and Grants Gulzar leads a productive research group with multiple students contributing to publications in top-tier venues. His NSF-funded research on Federated Learning demonstrates his ability to secure competitive funding for innovative projects. His advising style appears to emphasize practical impact alongside theoretical contributions, with students often taking lead roles in publications. Current research directions include debugging techniques for Large Language Models, accessibility challenges in modern web applications, and novel testing approaches for distributed data processing systems.

• Deep Learning
• Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
• Spoken Language Modeling
• +3 more

Mikko Kurimo is a Full Professor at Aalto University's Department of Information and Communications Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering. He earned his M.Sc., Lic.Tech., and D.Sc.(Tech.) from Helsinki University of Technology (1992, 1994, 1997) and pioneered neural networks for automatic speech recognition (ASR) in his PhD thesis. After research roles at IDIAP (Swiss AI center) and visiting positions at University of Colorado, Edinburgh, SRI, ICSI, and Nitech, he leads Aalto's ASR group since 2000. His work focuses on unsupervised subword modeling for morphologically complex languages (Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, Arabic) and large speech foundation models. PhD in Neural ASR (Helsinki University of Technology, 1997) Research Scientist at IDIAP (Switzerland) Visiting Fellow at University of Colorado, Edinburgh, SRI, ICSI, Nitech Head of Aalto ASR Group (2000-present) His research spans deep learning for ASR, spoken language modeling , and low-resource language solutions . Recent work explores continued pre-training of self-supervised models, multimodal emotion recognition, and pronunciation assessment using LLMs. He led the winning team in the 2017 Multi-Genre Broadcast challenge and secured competitive funding in Tekes Challenge Finland and EC's H2020-ICT-2017. Key article trends include: Advancements in children's speech recognition and dysarthric speech processing Integration of generative AI for language learning feedback Specialization in low-resource Uralic languages (Finnish, Northern Sámi) Development of robust ASR systems for complex phonetic environments Scientific Awards ACM Multimedia 2023 Computational Paralinguistics Challenge Prize First place in MGB3 2017 Arabic ASR Challenge ISCA Best Student Paper Award (2011) Professeur Invité at Université de Saint-Etienne (2005-2006) Royal Society International Short Visit Fellowship (2004) Professor Kurimo leads the Speech Recognition Group at Aalto, collaborating with COIN (Centre of Excellence in Computational Inference) and AIRC (Adaptive Informatics Research Centre). His projects like CaptainA mobile app demonstrate practical applications of ASR in language education. He has supervised numerous publications with co-authors in domains spanning bandwidth extension, stuttering detection, and speech sound disorder assessment.

• Digital Service Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Service Innovation
• +10 more

Professor Markus Helfert is a leading academic in Digital Service Innovation and Digital Transformation at Maynooth University's School of Business . He serves as Director of the Innovation Value Institute , Hub for Data and Digital Research, and holds Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator roles at Lero – The Irish Software Research Centre and Adapt Research Centre. His research spans Service Innovation , Artificial Intelligence , Intelligent Transportation Systems , FinTech , and Enterprise Architecture , with active involvement in European Standardisation initiatives.

Keith A. BrownView profile

Associate Professor

• Hierarchical Soft Matter
• Autonomous Experimentation
• Scanning Probe Techniques
• +4 more

Keith A. Brown is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University's College of Engineering with additional appointments in Materials Science & Engineering and Physics. He serves as Associate Chair for Graduate Programs in ME and leads the interdisciplinary KABLab research group. Education: PhD, Harvard University Dr. Brown's research centers on hierarchical soft matter systems including polymers and smart fluids. His group develops innovative approaches to accelerate materials research through nanocombinatorics , autonomous experimentation , and scanning probe lithography . Key focus areas include connecting nanoparticle properties to bulk smart fluid behavior, designing 3D-printed structures with programmed mechanics, and creating self-driving laboratories for materials discovery. His recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate a strong emphasis on autonomous experimentation systems integrating machine learning with physical research. This work spans energy-absorbing foam design, nanoscale fluid manipulation, and physics-informed modeling for mechanical systems, establishing new paradigms in accelerated materials development. Scientific Awards: The Early Career Research Excellence Award, College of Engineering, 2021 Professor of the Year, Mechanical Engineering, 2020 Frontiers of Materials Award, The Minerals Metals and Materials Society (TMS), 2020 Dean’s Catalyst Award (2018) Dean’s Catalyst Award (2020) Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Professor, 2016 Dr. Brown teaches undergraduate courses including Fluid Mechanics (ME 303), Introduction to Materials (ME 306), and Nanomanufacturing (ME/MS 576). His research is supported by: Federal Grants : AFOSR MURI, NSF Nanomanufacturing, ACS Petroleum Research Fund Foundations : Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Industry : Google Faculty Research Award University : BU Dean's Catalyst Award, Nanotechnology Innovation Center The KABLab employs interdisciplinary teams to develop novel instrumentation for hierarchical soft matter research, with particular expertise in autonomous experimentation platforms that combine scanning probe techniques with machine learning for accelerated materials discovery.

• Environmental Law
• Climate and Resilience Justice
• Circular Economy
• +7 more

Tiago de Melo Cartaxo is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Exeter’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Cornwall Campus. He founded the Exeter Centre for Environmental Law (ExCEL) and is part of Law and Business Cornwall (LAB/C). Current roles include Associate Director for External Engagement at the Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) and former Director of Postgraduate Research for Humanities and Social Sciences. His research focuses on environmental rights, climate resilience justice, circular economy, energy transition, and international environmental law. He holds a European PhD in Law from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, with postdoctoral work at the University of Surrey. Tiago has advised governments and international bodies, including the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council, and chairs the World Public Sector Integrity Initiative (WPIEI). Education European PhD in Law, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2015–2020) LLM in Environmental Law and Planning, University of Coimbra (2012–2014) Licenciatura in Law, University of Lisbon (2000–2005) Research Interests He explores legal frameworks supporting sustainability transitions, including governance of single-use plastics, nature markets, and climate adaptation. His work bridges environmental law with social equity, focusing on resilience justice, circular economy policies, and EU environmental law. He emphasizes transdisciplinary approaches to address socio-ecological challenges in urban contexts. Notable Contributions Coordinated ESI-funded projects on regulatory frameworks for nature markets Developed academic partnerships with the Portuguese Environment Agency Chaired WPIEI during Portugal’s EU Presidency Advised on post-2011 Portuguese economic reforms Awards & Affiliations Fulbright Scholarship (USA) FCT Fellowships (Portugal) Senior Fellow of AdvanceHE Member of ILA Committees on Sustainable Development, SDGs, and ICC Environment Commission Advising & Grants Tiago welcomes PhD/Masters supervision in Environmental & Climate Law. His grants include ESI funding and collaborations with international institutions. He leads the NOVA Law Green Lab and has advised Portuguese and EU policymakers on environmental compliance and energy transitions. Labs & Networks Founder of ExCEL and NOVA Law Green Lab; collaborates with Exeter Biodiversity & People Network, Exeter Food Policy, and Environmental Intelligence initiatives.

Peter MüllerView profile

Professor

• Formal Methods
• Program Verification
• Programming Languages
• +4 more

Prof. Peter Müller is a Full Professor at the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich since 2008. Previously, he held positions as Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich (2003-2008), Researcher at Microsoft Research Redmond (2007-2008), and IT project manager at Deutsche Bank. He earned his Diploma in Computer Science from Technical University of Munich (1996) and his Dr. rer. nat. from University of Hagen (2001) with a dissertation on modular verification of object-oriented programs. His research focuses on enabling correct software development through programming languages, verification methods, and tools. Key areas include formal verification for Rust and Go programs (Prusti and Gobra projects), separation logic, security protocols, and distributed systems verification. Müller's work emphasizes practical verification techniques for real-world systems, including secure router implementations and smart contract verification. Recent research trends highlight advancements in hyperproperties, modular reasoning for iterators and closures in Rust, and formal validation of verification tools. His methodologies bridge theoretical foundations with industrial applications, addressing challenges in concurrency, memory safety, and security assurance. Notable contributions include the SCION internet architecture, the Prusti verifier for Rust, and formal verification frameworks for distributed systems. His work often integrates rigorous mathematical foundations with scalable software engineering practices.

• Sustainable Transportation Systems
• Shared Mobility
• Public Transit Planning
• +7 more

Dr. XiaoYue Cathy Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Utah. She holds a PhD in Transportation Engineering from the University of Washington and advanced degrees in Transportation Planning and Electronics Engineering. Her research focuses on sustainable transportation systems, shared mobility, public transit optimization, managed lanes, and intelligent transportation systems. She actively serves on committees including the Transportation Research Board's Highway Capacity Quality of Service (HCQS) Committee and chairs its Technology Transfer Subcommittee. She also advises the Utah Model Advisory Committee and previously served on Salt Lake City’s Transportation Advisory Board. Dr. Liu is a licensed professional engineer in Utah. Education: PhD, Transportation Engineering, University of Washington (2013) MA, Transportation Planning & Management, Texas Southern University BS, Electronics & Electrical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University Graduate Certificate, Global Trade & Logistics, University of Washington (2011) Research Interests: Electric vehicle infrastructure and charging networks Smart transportation systems and agent-based modeling GIS-based asset management for transportation infrastructure Snowplowing operations optimization and winter maintenance Managed lanes and high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane analysis Public transit equity and accessibility Her recent publications emphasize data-driven approaches to transportation challenges, including EV demand forecasting, drone delivery networks, and resilience in interdependent transit systems. She collaborates on projects addressing Utah’s unique transportation needs, such as optimizing snowplow routes and integrating renewable energy into public transport systems. Professional Contributions: Board member, Utah Model Advisory Committee Former Chair, Salt Lake City Transportation Advisory Board (2013-2016) TRB Managed Lane Committee member TRB Transit Capacity & Quality of Service (TCQS) Committee member (2016-2019) Dr. Liu’s work bridges transportation engineering with computational methods, focusing on equity, sustainability, and operational efficiency. She leads research initiatives involving large-scale modeling, geospatial analytics, and interdisciplinary solutions for modern mobility challenges.

Mahadev SatyanarayananView profile

Professor

• Mobile and Pervasive Computing
• Distributed Systems
• Security and Privacy
• +2 more

Mahadev Satyanarayanan is the Jaime Carbonell University Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. His multi-decade research focuses on performance, scalability, availability, and trust in distributed systems spanning cloud to mobile edge computing. He pioneered foundational concepts in mobile computing and Edge Computing through his seminal work on VM-based cloudlets. His current research explores cloudlet-based Edge Computing for latency-sensitive applications, wearable cognitive assistance systems integrating augmented reality, and edge-based machine learning frameworks for efficient training data discovery. He collaborates with Dan Siewiorek, Martial Hebert, and Bobby Klatzky on transformative applications. Dr. Satyanarayanan received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University after completing Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. His honors include ACM and IEEE Fellowships recognizing his contributions to distributed systems and mobile computing. ACM Fellow IEEE Fellow

• Social Stratification
• Social Demography
• Health and Wellbeing
• +3 more

Patrick Präg serves as an Associate Professor of Sociology at CREST/ENSAE (part of the Institut Polytechnique de Paris) and holds an associate faculty position at Oxford University’s Nuffield College. His research integrates quantitative methods and survey data to address social stratification, demography, health, and work-family dynamics. He earned his PhD in Sociology from the ICS/University of Groningen in 2015. His work has been recognized with the Aage B. Sørensen Award (2014). Education: PhD in Sociology, ICS/University of Groningen (2015) Master’s Thesis: Nonresponse to Items on Self-Reported Delinquency, University of Hamburg Research Interests: Patrick’s work explores the interplay between social structure and individual wellbeing. Key topics include: Intergenerational mobility and health outcomes Work-life balance and gender inequalities Pandemic-driven societal changes Algorithmic bias in social science Subjective socioeconomic status measurement Grants & Collaborations: He contributed to the EU-funded ‘Families and Societies’ project, producing deliverables on assisted reproduction and demographic consequences. His research often involves cross-national datasets and methodological innovation, with replication materials shared via Open Science Framework (OSF). Labs & Teams: He is affiliated with CREST (Center for Research in Economics and Statistics) and collaborates with institutions like the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Nuffield College. His work frequently intersects with interdisciplinary teams addressing health, education, and labor market policies.

E. Keith SmithView profile

Lecturer

• Climate Change Attitudes and Behaviors
• Social Tipping Processes
• Quantitative Methodologies
• +3 more

Dr. E. Keith Smith is a Lecturer at ETH Zürich's Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, affiliated with the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS). His research focuses on sociopolitical dimensions of climate change, particularly climate change attitudes, behaviors, and social tipping processes. He holds PhD from Colorado State University and master’s degrees from KU Leuven and University of British Columbia. His work explores why individuals engage—or disengage—in climate action, emphasizing factors like political polarization, religious beliefs (especially evangelical Protestantism), and trust in institutions. Smith's research employs quantitative methodologies and addresses challenges in environmental policy implementation, such as equitable air quality monitoring and global supply chain regulations. He contributed to the DominoES project on social tipping dynamics and has published in journals like Global Environmental Change and Nature Scientific Reports . His recent studies analyze public support for climate policies across Europe and the U.S., emphasizing how procedural inclusiveness and transparency can build trust in environmental governance. He also explores mobility policies in Switzerland, including road pricing and public transport expansion, using experimental methods to gauge citizen preferences. Smith’s work bridges environmental science and social science, aiming to identify pathways for transformative societal shifts toward climate action. His current projects focus on social tipping mechanisms and the interplay between climate risk anticipation and policy demand.

Gregory D. ErhardtView profile

Associate Professor

• Transportation Engineering
• Urban Planning
• Traffic Forecasting
• +4 more

Gregory D. Erhardt is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky and serves as Associate Director of the T-SCORE Center, a multi-university consortium advancing public transit strategies. He holds a PhD from University College London’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, with prior experience in transportation planning across public and private sectors. His research focuses on transportation forecasting, big data applications, and evidence-based policy decisions, particularly addressing the impacts of emerging mobility technologies like ride-hailing on urban systems. Erhardt’s work emphasizes improving forecast accuracy and advocating for gender equity in engineering. He has been recognized with awards such as the Transportation Research Board’s Certificate of Appreciation and the Chan Wui & Yunyin Rising Star Fellowship. Education: PhD (University College London), M.S. (Northwestern University), B.S. (Cornell University). His research integrates activity-based travel models with big data to evaluate infrastructure investments and mobility trends. Key projects include analyzing public transit ridership decline, ride-hailing effects on congestion, and TNC impacts on urban transportation systems. Current initiatives include developing multi-agent simulation frameworks for on-demand transit systems. As a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at the TUM Institute for Advanced Study, he collaborates on travel behavior modeling. His advocacy for diversity includes leading 'Advocates and Allies' training to promote gender equity in engineering. Erhardt’s publications span journals like Transportation Research Part A and Science Advances , with a focus on policy-relevant transportation analytics.

Michael SinclairView profile

Lecturer

• Urban Analytics
• Human-Nature Interactions
• Big Data Applications
• +3 more

Dr. Michael Sinclair is a Lecturer in Urban Analytics at the University of Glasgow , affiliated with the Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy and the Urban Big Data Centre . He convenes the MSc in Urban Analytics and co-leads the Socio-Environmental Action research cluster . His research focuses on leveraging novel data sources (e.g., mobile apps, social media) to address societal and environmental challenges, particularly human-nature interactions and greenspace valuation. Sinclair leads projects funded by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). His work emphasizes ethical use and representativeness of big data, with applications in urban policy, ecosystem services, and environmental sustainability. Sinclair has secured grants totaling over £1M, including projects on greenspace accessibility and urban data dashboards. He supervises students on GIS and urban analytics topics and contributes to policy-relevant datasets like Tamoco Open Spaces . Notable achievements include developing methodologies for valuing nature-based recreation and advancing spatial interaction models for urban green spaces. His research bridges Human Geography and Environmental Science, with publications in journals like Ecosystem Services and Global Environmental Change .

• Liberal Arts Education
• Workforce Development
• Professional Networks
• +3 more

Christian B. Teeter holds the rank of Adjunct Professor at the University of West Los Angeles, teaching part-time while maintaining private sector roles as a financial controller and HR director. His academic career includes prior positions at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education, California State University, and Golden Gate University. Education: Earned B.A. in History (Phi Beta Kappa) from Colgate University, followed by M.B.A. and Ed.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. Research focuses on liberal arts education's relevance, workforce development strategies, and professional network dynamics in academia. Key themes include crisis responses in education systems, social capital formation among marginalized populations, and institutional branding in higher education. Publications span over a decade, with recent work analyzing pandemic impacts on food insecurity and longstanding contributions to incarcerated education access. His scholarship bridges educational theory with practical workforce development challenges.

• Asset Management
• Hedge Funds
• Risk Management
• +2 more

Robert Kosowski is Professor of Finance and Head of the Department of Finance at Imperial College Business School, Imperial College London. He holds a Ph.D. from London School of Economics, M.Sc. in Economics from London School of Economics, and B.A./M.A. in Economics from Trinity College, Cambridge University. His research examines asset management, risk management, machine learning applications in finance, hedge funds, and performance measurement. He has published in top finance journals including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. Awards include European Finance Association Best Paper Award (2007), four INQUIRE best paper awards, and British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2011-2012). Recent publications focus on machine learning in finance, regulatory impacts on funds, and innovative risk management approaches. Articles demonstrate consistent methodological rigor across quantitative finance topics with practical applications for investment management. Professor Kosowski is co-author of 'Principles of Financial Engineering' and directs executive education programs in Risk Management. He has industry experience as Head of Quantitative Research at Unigestion and previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.