Sadaf Salavati is a Visiting Professor at Linnaeus University's Department of Informatics within the Faculty of Technology. She holds a PhD in Computer and Information Systems (2016) and a Licentiate in Mobile Learning (2013). Her research focuses on systems thinking, soft systems methodology, and educational technology. She leads the Linnaeus University Systems Community (LNU-STC) and contributes to the Center for Learning and Knowledge Technologies (CeLeKT). Salavati teaches undergraduate and professional courses in systems thinking and informatics. Her research projects include 'Next Generation of Trustworthy Agri-Data Management - EnTrust' and 'International Guest Professor in Data-Driven Business Innovation'. She has published extensively on systems thinking applications in education and business, digital innovation, and mobile learning. Salavati's work emphasizes bridging systems methodologies with practical educational and organizational challenges. She has served in administrative roles such as program coordinator and course developer, contributing to academic infrastructure and curriculum design.
Hugh Jack is the Cass Balleneger Distinguished Professor at Western Carolina University, serving in the School of Engineering + Technology within the College of Engineering and Technology. He holds a Ph.D. and B.S. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, respectively, from The University of Western Ontario. His work bridges advanced manufacturing, automation, and innovative pedagogy. Teaching focuses include design, project management, control systems, PLCs, industrial automation, robotics, and mechatronics. Research emphasizes Industry 4.0, IoT, AI in robotics, embedded systems, and PBL methodologies. He pioneered individual lab kit systems for electronics education and led global initiatives like the Fulbright US Scholar Project in Bulgaria. Recent articles highlight his contributions to chatbot integration in engineering education, IoT-driven PBL, and pandemic-era teaching strategies. He actively promotes interdisciplinary collaboration through service-learning projects and travel courses, fostering sustainability competencies and cultural awareness. As department director, he applies engineering analysis tools to administrative challenges, enhancing program efficiency. His Maker-oriented projects, such as PLC trainers and 3D-printed motorsports components, reflect a commitment to hands-on innovation and accessible learning resources.
Affiliations & Roles Helen Kerr is a Professor at OCAD University’s Strategic Foresight Institute (SFI) and co-president of KerrSmith, a design consultancy specializing in systemic design, strategic foresight, and innovation. She holds dual academic appointments within the Faculty of Design. Education Bachelor’s in Environmental Science, University of Waterloo Masters in Industrial Design, OCAD University Research Interests Kerr focuses on ambient/immersive technologies , sustainability , and systemic design methodologies . Her work bridges design innovation with public policy, emphasizing equity and stakeholder engagement. Key Projects Lead the Economic Futures for Ontario 2032 foresight study for the Government of Ontario Designed Metrolinx Wayfinding Harmonization system integrating GTHA transit infrastructure Facilitated Toronto’s 100 Resilient Cities visioning process Co-created Paderno Visual Brand Language for Canadian Tire Grants & Advising Recipient of multi-year research grants from the Ontario Public Service and private sector. Advises organizations including the Canada Council for the Arts and Brookfield Properties on strategic foresight initiatives. Labs & Teams Directs the sLab (Strategic Foresight Lab) at OCADU and leads the Systemic Design Association. Collaborates with global partners like Harvard GSD and Biomimicry 3.8 Institute.
Nabil Harfoush is a Full Professor at OCAD University in the Faculty of Design, co-founder of the Strategic Foresight & Innovation MDes program, and Director of the Resilient Design Lab. He held a Visiting Associate Professor role at Harvard’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences (2018-2021). With over 50 years of experience across engineering, executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and education, his work bridges academia and applied practice. Education: Master’s in Computer Engineering and PhD (summa cum laude) in Digital Data Communications from TU Dresden, Germany. Completed Executive Development at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Professional roles include CIO positions, government advising for national policies, and consulting for UNESCO, WHO, World Bank, and IDRC. Research focuses on sustainable business design, organizational/community resilience, strategic foresight, and leading diverse teams. He has pioneered methodologies like the Megamap™ process for complex systems analysis. Key areas include urban planning sustainability, responsible innovation, and interdisciplinary education frameworks. Advisory & Grants: Advised governments globally on digital policy and resilient systems. Founded three companies and contributed to projects in over 20 countries. Involved in initiatives ranging from Jordan’s national IT strategies (1990s) to modern-day healthcare entrepreneurship studies. Labs/Teams: Resilient Design Lab (Toronto), Strongly Sustainable Business Models Group (SSBMG), and collaborations with institutions like Harvard’s MDE program. Current projects explore future-proof business models and inclusive urban development.
Professor Domenico Dentoni holds a Full Professorship in Business, Resilience and Transformation at the MBS School of Business since 2021. Previously, he spent a decade as a professor at Wageningen University (The Netherlands) after completing his PhD at Michigan State University (USA) and postdoctoral work at the University of Adelaide (Australia). His academic journey spans research, project management, and teaching focused on socio-ecological systems and organizational coordination. Research interests include resilience strategies for complex challenges, systems thinking applications in food/energy/water sectors, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. He has secured 3.5M EUR in grants from 2012–2024, co-founding the Systems Mapping & Co-Design Lab in 2024. Over 70 international publications appear in journals like Organization Studies , Journal of Business Ethics , and Business & Society . Notable recognition includes Food Tank’s 2019 'Top 25 World Leaders' award for transforming food systems. His work emphasizes bridging theory/practice through systems mapping tools and co-creation methodologies, addressing wicked problems in agri-food systems and climate adaptation. Teaching focuses on sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and organizational resilience. Grants and partnerships span public/private sectors, with recent emphasis on climate-smart agriculture and youth empowerment in marginalized regions.
Katia Dupret is an Associate Professor in the Department of People and Technology at Roskilde University's Institute for People and Technology (IMT), specializing in Organization, Ethics & Social Sustainability. She serves as Head of Studies for the Master's program in Social Sustainability, Head of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, and participates in the Centre for Arctic Studies. Dupret is also a member of the Study Board for Master's programs at IMT, the Steering group for CoroLab's Social Innovation cluster, and the Advisory board for Greencubator in Copenhagen. Her educational background includes: PhD in Innovating Mental Health Care from Aarhus University (2010) MA from Roskilde University (2002) Dupret researches the future of work-life in purpose-driven organizations from a social psychological perspective, focusing on how professionals and management create sustainable organizing to address meaninglessness, stress, and inequality. She examines digitalization's impact on work engagement, professional competencies, knowledge sharing, and ethics. Through a social innovation lens, she investigates societal and civil engagement in research practices among European researchers. Her expertise spans technology-human relations, organizational change, practical ethics, and social design, with special attention to knowledge work's future and social entrepreneurship's role in creating social sustainability. Her recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on regenerative leadership, emotional labor in knowledge work, and participatory methods for social sustainability. She explores how purpose-driven organizations navigate hybrid work models while maintaining meaningful engagement. Her work increasingly addresses the intersection of environmental concerns with workplace design, as seen in her research on outdoor office interventions. Dupret consistently examines how social innovation can address grand challenges through collaborative organizing processes. Dupret serves as Principal Investigator for several significant research projects: SIW: Socially Innovative Knowledge Work (2018-2021), funded by Innovationsfonden Re:ERUA: Research and Engagement for the European Reform University Alliance (2021-2024) Research Cluster: Creative Activity and Imagination, Local Practices and Social Sustainability (2024-2027) She founded I'mpACT, a social entrepreneurial Impact Hub that promotes social innovation and sustainability among university students through democratic co-creation processes. As head of the professional Master of Social Entrepreneurship program, she guides the next generation of social innovators. Her work contributes to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to decent work, sustainable communities, and responsible consumption.
Per Richard Hansen serves as Associate Professor at Aalborg University's Department of Sustainability and Planning within The Technical Faculty of IT and Design. His academic work centers on sustainable design methodologies and organizational transitions, with particular emphasis on Design Thinking applications across diverse sectors. His research interests focus on Design Thinking and Organizational Change , examining how design methodologies catalyze innovation in complex systems. Key areas include group facilitation techniques, innovation project management, and the intersection of management work with design practices. His fingerprint analysis reveals strong connections to Management Work (100%), Interessement (100%), and Innovation Projects (27%). Recent publications demonstrate consistent output in design theory and application, with notable contributions to understanding design thinking facilitation (2021) and its implementation in banking services (2017). His collaborative work with Starostka spans multiple publications on design-driven organizational transformation. Hansen actively contributes to the Design for Sustainability and Center for Design, Innovation and Sustainable Transitions research environments. His work aligns with sustainable development goals through design-driven approaches to complex societal challenges.
Nurbin Paker Kahvecioğlu is a Professor at the Department of Architecture , Istanbul Technical University , with research expertise in architectural design, design methodology, and architectural education. Her work bridges theoretical and practical domains, addressing urban transformation, building information modeling (BIM), and reflective design practices. PhD in Building Sciences from Istanbul Technical University (1997-2001) Master's in Building Sciences (1990-1992) Bachelor's in Architecture (1985-1989) Her recent articles focus on BIM's impact on architectural workflows, reflective knowledge in design, and urban gentrification. She has contributed to 15 publications between 1993 and 2023, with keywords spanning architectural theory , digital design , and urban sociology . Her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable cities and communities. Teknopark Istanbul Competition Prize (2020) European Union KFAS Headquarters Competition (2018) TMMOB National Architecture Award - Building Category (2018) Bandirma Campus Urban Design Competition (2017) Gallipoli Martyrs Memorial Competition (2017) She has served on architectural juries (Istanbul, Sivas, Inegol) and led research projects on urbanization processes. Her h-index is 12 according to Scopus, with 3 citations in recent works.
Michael Do is a Professor of Practice in Industrial & Systems Engineering and Director of the Capstone and Partnership Program at Texas A&M University. He holds a Ph.D. in Mining and Systems Engineering from the University of Arizona (2012), along with multiple advanced degrees in engineering management, technology management, systems engineering, and business administration. His research focuses on complex systems, systems theory, cyber-physical systems, and data science, with applications in military talent management, mining operations, and educational systems. Dr. Do has earned prestigious certifications including Systems Engineering Professional (SEP), Project Management Professional (PMP), and Contracting Officer Representative (COR). His awards include the RAND Army Research Fellowship (2016), a U.S. patent for fluid transfer methods (2011), and the Raytheon Fellowship (2007). His work bridges academic research with industry partnerships, emphasizing practical solutions for complex systems challenges. His publications span systems engineering, educational innovation, and social media impacts on learning. Notable recent works address engineering leadership, system-of-systems approaches to talent management, and the role of paper prototyping in HCI education. He actively collaborates with defense agencies and industry partners through his directorship of the Capstone Program.
Søsser Brodersen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sustainability and Planning , part of the The Technical Faculty of IT and Design at Aalborg University. She is affiliated with the Danish Centre for Health Informatics and actively contributes to interdisciplinary research at the intersection of sustainability, design, and healthcare. Current Projects : Leading initiatives like "Fremtidsværksteder om Sammenhængende borger/patientforløb" (2024), supervising PhD research on social and cultural sustainability in Danish healthcare (2022–2025), and developing an e-course in sustainable design engineering (2020). Research Focus : Participatory design methodologies, actor-networks, co-creation in healthcare, and sustainable design education. Her work integrates intermediary objects and performative tools to address complex societal challenges. Collaborations : Engaged with cross-institutional teams, including co-supervising PhD projects and contributing to circular economy initiatives. Publications reflect her expertise in design innovation , social sustainability , and collaborative healthcare systems , with recent outputs appearing in journals like International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management and Technological Forecasting and Social Change . Teaching : Focuses on integrating sustainability principles into engineering education, leveraging co-design practices for real-world problem-solving.
Jefferson K. Rajah serves as a PhD Research Fellow at the System Dynamics Group within the Department of Geography at the University of Bergen. His academic work bridges multiple disciplines through computational approaches to complex systems. His research focuses on human behavior and social system dynamics within broader ecological, technological, and health contexts. Jefferson specializes in participatory modeling techniques that actively involve stakeholders in the research process, creating more inclusive and practical solutions to systemic challenges. His work emphasizes the interconnected nature of social-ecological-technological systems and develops methodologies for understanding their complex behaviors. Jefferson holds an M.Phil. in System Dynamics from the University of Bergen and a B.A.(Hons.) in Global Studies and Political Science from the National University of Singapore. His educational background combines technical system dynamics training with social science perspectives, providing a strong foundation for his interdisciplinary research approach.
Javier Calvo-Amodio is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University (OSU), where he leads the Change and Reliable Systems Engineering and Management (CaRSEM) research group. He holds a Ph.D. in Systems and Engineering Management (Texas Tech University, 2012), an MSc in Business Management (University of Hull, 2002), and a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering (Tecnológico de Monterrey, México, 2000). Research Focus: Dr. Calvo-Amodio specializes in integrating systems science into industrial engineering practices, emphasizing continuous process improvement methodologies like Lean and Six Sigma. His work addresses organizational culture design, systemic principles in systems engineering, and sustainability in manufacturing. Collaborations include Oregon industries, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and professional societies. Professional Background: Assistant Professor at OSU (2012–2018) Graduate Instructor at Texas Tech University (2008–2012) Leadership roles in academic administration at Tecnológico de Monterrey (2000–2007) Corporate Quality Assurance Chief at Bachoco, SA de CV (2003) Research Contributions: His publications span systems engineering methodologies, organizational change management, and sustainability assessment frameworks. Key themes include human activity systems, systemic virtues, and dynamic performance appraisal systems. Awards & Roles: Served as Track Chair (ASEM 2013), Session Chair (ISERC), and reviewer for Engineering Management Journal . His work bridges academia and industry through applied systems thinking. Labs & Teams: Directs the CaRSEM group, focusing on systemic interventions and sustainability integration in industrial systems.
Professor Hannu-Matti Järvinen is affiliated with Tampere University's Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences within the Computing Sciences department. His work focuses on software engineering education, programming pedagogy, and embedded systems. He has contributed to understanding industrial impacts on academic curricula, ethics in software engineering, and innovative teaching methodologies like flipped classrooms and MOOCs. Educational background: Extensive experience in computer science education spanning decades Key research themes: Programming education tools, concurrency systems, and ethics integration in engineering His research bridges theory and practice through empirical studies of curriculum evolution, analysis of industrial collaboration in project-based learning, and development of visualization tools for programming education. Recent work emphasizes ethics as a core professional competency and explores emerging educational technologies. Awards: None explicitly mentioned in provided texts Advising/Grants: No specific student names or grant details provided in current data Labs/Teams: Active participation in educational technology initiatives and software engineering pedagogy development without explicitly named groups
Zeke Baker is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University, specializing in Environmental Sociology, Science & Technology Studies, and Political Sociology. His research examines the historical development of climate science and its intersections with power structures, particularly through his book project Governing Climate (UC Press) and co-edited Climate, Science, and Society: A Primer (Routledge, 2024). He holds a PhD and MA from UC Davis and a BA from Wheaton College. Dr. Baker's work bridges social analysis with physical science, addressing topics like climate governance, environmental policy, and the social dimensions of climate knowledge. He collaborates with natural resource scientists on California water management and meteorologists at the National Weather Service to improve forecasting under climate change. His teaching focuses on fostering critical thinking through 'perspective-taking' pedagogy in polarized societal contexts. Recent publications explore climate apocalypse discourse, land-use conflicts in Utah, and historical climatology in the US. His research emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, temporal analysis of environmental decision-making, and the cultural dimensions of climate change. He has contributed to prominent journals like Environmental Sociology , Weather, Climate & Society , and Social Studies of Science . Baker’s academic trajectory reflects a commitment to building inclusive intellectual communities capable of addressing complex socio-environmental challenges. His work underscores the importance of integrating historical perspectives with contemporary policy analysis to navigate the climate crisis effectively.
Dr. Frank van Laerhoven is an Associate Professor in Environmental Governance at Utrecht University's Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. His work focuses on environmental governance, common pool resources, socio-ecological systems, and collective action dilemmas. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Indiana University (2008), supervised by Elinor Ostrom. Prior to academia, he worked with the FAO on environmental policy in Senegal and Chile (1996–2002). Research Themes: Future Deltas, Pathways to Sustainability, Sustainable Ocean Governance, and Water-Climate Dynamics. He edits the International Journal of the Commons and advises organizations like the Natuur- en Milieufederatie Utrecht. Key contributions include studies on Bangladesh's polder governance and invasive species management in the Caribbean. Publications span ecosystem services, institutional analysis, and participatory governance. Notable collaborations include work on climate resilience in Ethiopia and governance of tidal river systems in Bangladesh. He actively organizes international conferences (e.g., IASC) and contributes to policy dialogues on sustainability transitions.
