Dr. Ahmad Afsahi is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen's University, Canada. He leads the Parallel Processing Research Laboratory (PPRL) and chairs the Graduate Studies committee in ECE. His research focuses on parallel processing, high-performance computing (HPC), and network-based systems, with emphasis on communication runtime systems, accelerated computing, and deep learning infrastructure. Education: Ph.D. (Electrical Engineering, 2000) from University of Victoria; M.Sc. (Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology); B.Sc. (Computer Engineering, Shiraz University). Research interests include parallel programming models, MPI optimization, GPU-aware communication, network-aware algorithms, and power-efficient HPC systems. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, ACM member, and licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario. Key Awards: Canada Foundation for Innovation Award, Ontario Innovation Trust Award. Over 50 publications in top venues like SC, EuroMPI, IPDPS, and IEEE journals. Current teaching includes cluster computing and digital systems. Labs/Groups: PPRL, Queen's Collaborative Graduate Specialization in Computational Science and Engineering, Data, Analytics, and Computing (DAC) Research Group.
Ellen Zegura is the Stephen Fleming Chair and Professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Tech's College of Computing. She holds multiple degrees from Washington University in St. Louis: BS in Computer Science, BS in Electrical Engineering, MS in Computer Science, and DSc in Computer Science. Her research focuses on computer networking, social responsibility in STEM education, and computing for development. She co-founded the Computing for Good initiative, emphasizing project-based learning to address societal challenges. Zegura is an IEEE and ACM Fellow, and serves on the Computing Research Association (CRA) Executive Board. Her education spans interdisciplinary fields at Washington University, combining computer science and electrical engineering. She has held leadership roles at NSF and CRA, advocating for equitable technology policies. Notable contributions include advancing QoE metrics for video conferencing, analyzing mobile broadband infrastructure disparities, and developing ethics education frameworks for computing curricula. Research interests include network measurement, community-empowered data practices, and bridging technical innovation with social impact. Recent work examines tribal mobility during pandemics, sensor co-design with Indigenous communities, and ethical pedagogy for teaching assistants. Her labs and collaborations, such as CERCS, emphasize interdisciplinary problem-solving. Zegura’s awards reflect her dual impact in technical innovation and societal engagement.
Jiannong Cao is a Chair Professor and Director of the University Research Facility in Big Data Analytics at the Department of Computing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has held various academic roles since 1990, including Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong and Lecturer at Australian universities. PhD in Computer Science, Washington State University (1990) MSc in Computer Science, Washington State University (1986) BSc in Computer Science, Nanjing University (1982) His research focuses on cloud and edge computing , parallel and distributed computing , and mobile computing , with significant contributions to wireless sensor networks (WSN) for structural health monitoring (SHM) and software-defined networking (SDN) for vehicular communications. Recent work includes WiFi-based non-invasive health monitoring systems and multi-user computation partitioning in mobile cloud environments. Dr. Cao’s publications demonstrate trends in WSN optimization , SDN architectures , and cognitive modeling for network embedding , with applications in smart healthcare , transportation systems , and industrial IoT . Ministry of Education Natural Science Award (2018) ACM Distinguished Member (2017) IEEE Fellow (2014) Best Paper Awards at IEEE DSAA, SMARTCOMP, WCNC He has mentored numerous researchers, including Linchuan Xu , Xuefeng Liu , and Weigang Wu , who have authored key publications in top venues like ACM WSDM and IEEE INFOCOM . His professional roles include chairing IEEE committees and serving on grant panels for the Hong Kong Research Grant Council.
Ebony N. Bridwell-Mitchell is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Education, Management, and Organizational Behavior at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education (HGSE). She serves as Faculty Co-Chair of the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship (ELOE) program. Her research focuses on institutional and organizational dynamics affecting K-12 education reform, employing qualitative and quantitative methods like social network analysis. Bridwell-Mitchell's work emphasizes leveraging relationships and networks to improve educational equity and institutional effectiveness, supported by grants from organizations like the National Science Foundation (NSF). Education: Ph.D., New York University (2008) M.P.P., Harvard University (1999) B.A., Cornell University (1996) Research Interests: Bridwell-Mitchell investigates how social networks and institutional logics shape educational policies and practices. Her work highlights the role of organizational relationships in enabling or hindering reform, particularly in underserved communities. Key themes include: Educational equity through resource redistribution Leadership development in K-12 systems Institutional agency in policy implementation Social capital formation in teacher communities Professional Engagement: She advises education organizations and leads initiatives like Leading Culture Change: Strategies for School Improvement and School Leaders of Color Organizational Development Collaborative . Her research has been published in journals such as Educational Administration Quarterly and Sociology of Education , with translations for practitioner audiences. Grants & Partnerships: Bridwell-Mitchell's NSF-funded work examines systemic barriers to educational equity. She collaborates with schools and nonprofits to design evidence-based interventions. Teaching: Teaches courses on organizational theory, educational policy, and leadership at HGSE. Office hours are held in Gutman Hall, with virtual options available.
J. Eric Bickel is a Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, serving as Director of the Operations Research & Industrial Engineering (ORIE) and Engineering Management programs. He holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and directs the Center for Engineering & Decision Analytics (CEDA). His academic background includes a PhD and MS in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University. His research focuses on decision analysis under uncertainty, addressing topics like probabilistic modeling, climate engineering, risk management, and applications in sports and energy sectors. His work has been featured in major media including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal , and his climate engineering research was endorsed by Nobel Laureates as a top climate change response strategy. Professor Bickel has extensive industry experience, having previously served as Senior Engagement Manager and Co-Director of Client Education at Strategic Decisions Group (SDG), where he remains on the Board of Directors. His consulting spans oil/gas, energy trading, and financial services sectors. He has received recognition as a Fellow of the Society of Decision Professionals and contributed to the Copenhagen Consensus on Climate Project. His teaching extends to executive education through Texas Executive Education and McCombs School of Business. Research highlights include novel methods for probabilistic dependence modeling, value-of-information analysis in shale reservoirs, and critiques of risk assessment tools like heat maps. His climate engineering work emphasizes economically viable solar radiation management strategies.
Dara Kay Cohen is a Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She specializes in political violence, gender and conflict, and qualitative research methods. She holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and an A.B. from Brown University. Her research focuses on civil war dynamics, sexual violence in conflict, and state legitimacy in weak governance contexts. Cohen’s work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, United States Institute of Peace, and others. She is affiliated with Harvard’s Ash Center, Center for International Development, and Women and Public Policy Program. Her acclaimed book Rape During Civil War (2016) received multiple awards, including the Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award. Her second book, Lynching and Local Justice (2020), explores vigilantism in Haiti and South Africa. Cohen serves on editorial boards for journals like International Security and Political Science Research and Methods . Awards: 2023 J. David Singer Award, 2019 ISSS Emerging Scholar Award, 2014 APSA Article Prize Grants: NSF, USIP, Folke Bernadotte Academy Teaching: Courses include 'Sex and Violence in Global Politics'; multiple HKS Teaching Excellence Awards Cohen previously taught at the University of Minnesota and worked as a paralegal in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section. Her research bridges academic rigor with policy impact, addressing issues like gender equality’s role in reducing conflict and ethical challenges in studying political violence.
Marc G. Berman is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on understanding how environmental factors interact with human cognition, emotion, and behavior, particularly through the lens of environmental neuroscience. He leads the Environmental Neuroscience Lab (ENL), investigating how natural and urban environments influence brain function, memory, attention, and mental health. Dr. Berman holds a B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Engineering from the same institution. His postdoctoral training was at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. Prior to Chicago, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina. His research interests include the cognitive and affective benefits of natural environments, brain network efficiency, and the neurobiological underpinnings of self-control and emotion regulation. Recent work explores how urban design elements (e.g., greenspace, street activity) relate to crime rates and mental health outcomes, leveraging big data from social media and geospatial tools. Key contributions include demonstrating that natural environments improve memory and attention by ~20%, and that city characteristics like population diversity and segregation correlate with implicit racial biases. His lab employs fMRI, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and ecological data to quantify brain-environment interactions. Dr. Berman collaborates across disciplines, integrating neuroscience, psychology, urban planning, and data science to inform evidence-based environmental design for public health. Current projects include analyzing social media data to map gang networks and investigating how heat and greenspace influence emotional states in urban populations.
Dr. Abby Haynes is a Research Fellow at the Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, affiliated with the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Faculty of Medicine and Health. Her work focuses on physical activity for healthy ageing and people with disability, employing qualitative research, systems thinking, and realist evaluation. Key research themes include: Healthy Ageing Disability and Physical Activity Implementation Science Knowledge Mobilisation Her recent publications analyze: Inclusive sports programs for children with disability Fall prevention in acute hospitals Telehealth physiotherapy for aged care Realist evaluations of yoga and dance interventions Systems thinking in public health policy These emphasize public health, gerontology, and health equity approaches. Grants include MRFF-funded projects on traumatic brain injury rehabilitation (2024), fall prevention (2023), and aged care mobility (2022).
Academic Profile Christina Harrington is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University with dual appointments in the School of Computer Science (Human Computer Interaction Institute) and School of Design. She directs the Equity and Health Innovations Design Research Lab , focusing on community-centered technology design. Her work bridges industrial design, interactive systems, and human factors psychology to advance health equity through technology. Research Focus Harrington's research employs participatory and speculative design methods to address systemic inequities in technology. She examines how design can support health autonomy for older adults, people with disabilities, and historically excluded communities (particularly Black and Latinx populations). Her work actively challenges corporate design paradigms through frameworks like design justice and community collectivism , with recent emphasis on ethical AI and conversational technologies. Research methodologies include: Community-based participatory research Speculative co-design Critical race and disability frameworks Intersectional analysis of technology impacts Publications Focus Her recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate strong focus on equity-centered design with three dominant themes: 1) Health technology disparities affecting Black older adults, 2) Participatory AI and algorithmic justice, and 3) Design justice pedagogy. Over 60% of recent works explicitly examine racial equity in AI systems, health interfaces, and design education. Honors & Recognition Google Award for Inclusive Research (2022) for "Transforming theory into practice: eliciting cultural imaginaries and design thinking to understand Black-Centered Design" Skip Ellis Early Career Award (2022) Data & Society Faculty Fellow (2022-2023) Leadership & Impact As lab director, Harrington leads community-engaged projects that translate design justice principles into practice. She serves on committees for community tech initiatives and has industry experience at Apple, Lenovo, and Motorola. Her work influences both academic discourse (ACM CHI, CSCW, DIS) and industry practices in ethical design.
Professor Bing-Jie (Bruce) Ni is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) within the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a full Professor at UNSW Sydney. He is an internationally recognised leader in environmental engineering, wastewater treatment, greenhouse-gas mitigation, microplastics fate, electrocatalysis and sustainable energy systems. Education PhD in Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (2005–2009) Research Interests Professor Ni’s research integrates process engineering, microbial biotechnology, materials science and mathematical modelling to develop sustainable technologies for high-efficiency pollutant removal, minimal carbon footprint and maximal energy recovery from wastewater. He is a global pioneer in: Modelling and control of nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) emissions from wastewater systems, Micro- and nano-plastics ecotoxicity and mitigation in anaerobic digestion, Transforming sewage sludge into high-value liquid bio-energy (medium-chain fatty acids and long-chain alcohols), Designing cost-effective electrocatalysts from natural minerals for green hydrogen production and wastewater electrolysis. Research Output & Impact Over the last decade he has published 2 research books, 30 book chapters and >400 refereed journal papers , including 35 in Environmental Science & Technology and 85 in Water Research . His work has influenced global policy: the IPCC adopted his nitrous-oxide-emission model in 2019 to revise national greenhouse-gas inventories for the first time in 13 years. Awards & Recognition ARC Future Fellowship & ARC DECRA Fellowship Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher (Web of Science) Royal Society of Chemistry Highly Cited Researcher (2020–present) Mendeley Data Top 2 % Cited Researchers worldwide Listed among “Australia’s Most Innovative Engineers” (Engineers Australia, 2018) 50+ additional awards including Scopus Young Researcher Award, South Australian Water Awards, UQ Research Excellence Awards, and Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards. Research Funding & Leadership He has secured ≈ AUD $10 million in competitive funding (six major ARC grants plus >20 government, university and industry projects). He serves as: Lead Guest Editor, Water Research Editorial Advisory Board, Environmental Science & Technology Associate Editor for Journal of Cleaner Production , Environmental Chemistry Letters , Environmental Research , Journal of Environmental Management Editorial Board member for five additional high-impact journals. Teaching & Supervision At UTS he teaches Renewable Energy Technologies , Environmental and Sanitation Engineering , Process Dynamics and Control , and Water and Wastewater Treatment . He is available to supervise Masters and PhD students in environmental biotechnology, process modelling and sustainable energy systems. Laboratory & Commercial Translation He heads active research teams at both UNSW and UTS and is the inventor of >10 granted patents , some of which are currently being commercialised to deliver real-world impacts in greenhouse-gas-neutral wastewater treatment and renewable energy production.
Mustafa Asım Kazancıgil is an Assistant Professor at Yeditepe University's Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences, Department of Information Security Technology. He has also served in the Department of Information Systems and Technologies at Yeditepe University since 2014. His academic journey includes a PhD in Informatics-Computer Science from Universita degli Studi di Milano (2013) and a Master's in Interactive Digital Television from the same institution (2006). PhD: Universita degli Studi di Milano (2013) Master's: Universita Degli Studi di Milano (2006) Bachelor's: Yeditepe University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Television and Cinema (2004) His research focuses on web design , information systems security , big data analytics , and emergency services technology . His publications include works on disaster resilience and interactive digital television applications. He has taught courses on Web Design, Information Systems Security, and Advanced Web Programming at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Administrative roles include Head of Department (2021) and multiple Erasmus Coordinator positions (2016-2019). He supervises theses in digital marketing and CRM trends, as well as CRM/SCM applications in management information systems. His teaching portfolio spans 2013-2025 across Yeditepe University's academic calendar.
Minh Hue Nguyen is a Senior Lecturer in EAL/TESOL Teacher Education at Monash University's School of Curriculum, Teaching and Inclusive Education within the Faculty of Education. She holds a PhD in Education (TESOL focused) from Monash University and has taught at Vietnam National University, Deakin University, and the University of Melbourne. Her educational background includes: PhD in Education (TESOL focused), Monash University (2015) MA in Applied Linguistics, Victoria University of Wellington (2008) BA in English Language Teaching, Vietnam National University (2003) Nguyen's research centers on teachers' professional learning, curriculum, and pedagogy in TESOL and EAL contexts, with specific focus on emotional experiences, identity development, mentoring, agency, and collaboration. She explores sociocultural contexts of teacher development through activity theory and sociocultural perspectives, examining how institutions support teachers' learning journeys from preservice to in-service stages. Recent work investigates professional learning for teacher educators and implementation of the Victorian EAL Curriculum. Her 15 most recent publications (2024-2025) reveal a strong thematic focus on language teacher agency, identity negotiation, and multilingual pedagogies. The research increasingly examines emotional dimensions of teaching, cross-cultural identity tensions, and collaborative models between EAL and content teachers, with significant contributions to understanding how teachers navigate complex educational contexts while developing professional identities. Her scientific recognition includes: Penny McKay Award Special Commendation Monash Education Research Community's Publication Award ATEA/Kay Martinez Award for Best Paper Monash Dean of Education’s ECR Project Award Advancing Women's Research Success Grant Vietnamese Government Merit-based Scholarships Nguyen actively supervises PhD research in TESOL teacher professional learning, teacher identity, and curriculum development, though is currently unavailable for new PhD students until 2027. She contributes to editorial boards for Teaching and Teacher Education, Second Language Teacher Education, and System journals, and serves on the Australian Teacher Education Association. Her work supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) through inclusive pedagogical frameworks. She leads research projects including 'Elucidating practices to assist EAL learners to acquire specialised science vocabulary' and 'Establishing an online community-of-practice model for learner agency during work placements,' demonstrating commitment to practical educational innovations.
Professor Kim Eun-kyung is a full-time Professor at the College of Pharmacy , Seoul National University , South Korea. She directs patient-oriented research at the intersection of pharmacy, public health and clinical epidemiology, leading projects that range from nationwide pharmaco-epidemiologic cohort analyses to qualitative investigations of pharmacist-led care models. Education Ph.D. & Pharm.D., University of Florida, USA Research Interests Professor Kim’s research program is built on five mutually reinforcing pillars: Population-based patient care research – leveraging large national databases to understand medication utilization and outcomes in real-world settings. Drug safety and patient empowerment – identifying adverse drug reactions and developing interventions that enable consumers and clinicians to report and prevent harm. Access to care and medications in underserved and special populations – examining barriers faced by the elderly, rural residents, patients with rare diseases, and those undergoing high-cost procedures such as hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Disease prevention and appropriateness of therapy – evaluating preventive pharmacotherapy (e.g., anti-osteoporosis drugs, vitamin D) and ensuring evidence-based prescribing. Quality improvement in health-care delivery – designing multidisciplinary models that integrate pharmacists into care teams to optimize medication therapy and reduce drug-related problems. Publication Trends Across 2017–2020, Professor Kim has published extensively in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , Clinical Nutrition , Medicina , BMC Public Health , Blood Research , Neuroepidemiology and other peer-reviewed journals. Her work characteristically combines rigorous secondary-data analyses of Korean or US national health surveys with systematic reviews/meta-analyses focusing on drug safety endpoints. Themes include neurological adverse events (trimetazidine-induced parkinsonism), hematologic toxicities (linezolid-induced thrombocytopenia), nutritional and metabolic complications in critical care, and access/utilization of medications in vulnerable populations. Scientific Awards & Honors (None listed in the provided texts) Grants & Research Support While specific grant identifiers are not detailed in the supplied pages, the breadth of large-scale database studies and multi-institutional collaborative projects implies sustained funding from national agencies such as the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) or the Ministry of Health & Welfare. Laboratory & Team Professor Kim leads an active research group located in Yeongeon Campus 17-201. The team integrates graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, pharmacists and biostatisticians working together on pharmacoepidemiology, patient-reported outcomes and health-services research.
Diane Carr is a Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the Institute of Education, University College London (UCL), where she serves as Director of the Digital Media MA Programme. Based in the Culture, Communication & Media department, Carr is an established scholar in game studies, media studies, and critical disability studies. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications in digital media education. Carr's research focuses on media studies and cultural studies perspectives on digital games and players, with particular emphasis on critical analysis, methodology, representation, and screen studies. During 2024-25, her research follows two key themes: developing ludic autoethnography to articulate real-world experiences of discrimination, and examining complicity with big tech, datafication, and AI in games and education. Her work consistently explores the intersection of disability studies with game studies, challenging normative representations of ability in digital spaces. Carr's publications reveal a sustained engagement with disability representation in games, particularly through analyses of titles like Dead Space and Deus Ex. Her research demonstrates how games function as cultural texts that both reflect and shape societal attitudes toward disability, ability, and bodily difference. She employs textual analysis and autoethnographic approaches to examine how games construct notions of normalcy and deviance. UCL Widening Participation community of practice awards (2022) ONE UCL Award for collegiality, 'Ways of Working/Working Together' (2021) UKLA Postgraduate Research Prize (2015) Carr has supervised numerous PhD students including Danielle Kleinerman (in progress), Angeliki Symeonidi (2020), Bruno de Paula (2019), and Angela Colvert (2015). Her research funding includes significant projects like 'Disability and Community: Dis/engagement, Dis/enfranchisement, Dis/parity and Dissent' (2016-2021) funded by the AHRC, 'Alternative Futures: Disability and Community' (2014-2015), and 'Digital Games: Representations of disability' (2013-2014). She has also led projects on AI education using science fiction and virtual worlds in higher education. As Director of the Digital Media MA Programme, Carr leads initiatives that connect game studies with critical media education. Her teaching includes research design and game studies on the MA Digital Media Critical Studies program. Notably, Carr is deaf, bringing lived experience to her critical disability studies work while actively contributing to academic discourse on accessibility and representation in digital spaces.
Margaret Maaka is a Professor in Curriculum Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's College of Education, with a distinguished career spanning Indigenous educational psychology, leadership, and policy development. Her work centers on decolonizing educational frameworks and advancing Indigenous knowledge systems. Her academic credentials include a PhD in Educational Psychology (1992) from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, a Master of Education (Honors) with English Literature focus (1978) from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, a Diploma of Teaching in Elementary and Secondary Education (1978) from New Zealand's Department of Education, and a Bachelor of Education (Honors) with English Literature specialization (1977) from the University of Waikato. Maaka's research explores Indigenous leadership complexities, multiliteracies, and cognitive development within Māori and Hawaiian contexts. She investigates how language revitalization intersects with educational policy to foster Indigenous advancement, emphasizing place-based pedagogies and self-determination in schooling systems. Her scholarship consistently challenges Western epistemological dominance in education. Her publications since 2009 reveal a trajectory prioritizing Indigenous research sovereignty, with recurring themes of decolonization, community-led leadership models, and culturally grounded curriculum design. Key contributions examine contested spaces in Indigenous schooling and the politics of knowledge production. Her teaching excellence has been recognized through: Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching (1998) Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching (1996) Graduate Student Organization Outstanding Graduate Assistant Teaching Award (1991) While specific advising details are not documented, Maaka's mentorship is reflected in her collaborative publications with emerging Indigenous scholars. Her work demonstrates sustained commitment to transforming educational paradigms through Indigenous epistemologies.
