Osbert Bastani is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, leading the trustml@Penn research group. He is affiliated with the ASSET , PRECISE , and PRiML centers, and the PLClub research group. His research focuses on Trustworthy Neurosymbolic Systems , Synthesizing Neurosymbolic Programs , and Machine Learning for Programmer Productivity , with applications in verification, fairness, and human-AI collaboration. He received the NSF CAREER Award in 2023. His recent publications (2024-2025) emphasize AI Safety , LLM Robustness , and Algorithmic Fairness , including work on adversarial robustness, conformal prediction, and program synthesis. Students he has advised include Sagnik Anupam, Stephen Mell, Jason Ma, Shuo Li, and others. Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2023)
Ana Klimovic is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, ETH Zürich, and Deputy Head of the Institute for Computing Platforms. She leads the Efficient Architectures and Systems Lab (EASL) and focuses on optimizing cloud computing performance and resource efficiency. Education: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Stanford University), M.S. in Electrical Engineering (Stanford), B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science (University of Toronto) Previous Roles: Research Scientist at Google Brain Her research spans cloud computing, operating systems, distributed systems, and their intersection with machine learning. Key areas include cloud-native programming models, elastic storage, GPU sharing, and data pipeline optimization. The 2025-2024 articles highlight trends in serverless computing, large language model (LLM) serving, GPU optimization, and data-centric ML systems. Themes include elasticity, resource multiplexing, heterogeneous computing, and infrastructure for AI/ML workloads. Scientific Awards: Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship, Stanford Graduate Fellowship She has led research projects on ephemeral storage, distributed training automation, and cost-efficient ML preprocessing, with grants from Microsoft Research and Stanford.
Ekaterina Shutova is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) within the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. She concurrently holds a Visiting Associate Professor position in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. She leads the Amsterdam Natural Language Understanding Lab and heads the NLP & Digital Humanities research unit at ILLC. An ELLIS Scholar, she earned her PhD from the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and Pembroke College. Her research has been funded by ERC, Innovate UK, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Google, Meta, and Deloitte. Her research spans natural language processing and machine learning, with core interests in: Few-shot learning for NLP Multilingual and cross-lingual systems Joint modeling of language and vision Cognitive processing and semantic representation Figurative language interpretation Computational social science applications Her recent publications (2024-2025) predominantly focus on multimodal learning, cultural alignment in AI, metaphor processing, and evaluation methodologies for language models. These works reflect a trend toward integrating cognitive science with multilingual systems and ethical considerations. Awards & Fellowships: ERC Consolidator Grant (2025) ELLIS Scholar Outstanding Paper Award at ACL 2023 Finalist for Outstanding Certification by TMLR Runner-up Best Paper Award at NAACL-HLT 2016 Research Leadership: She directs the Amsterdam Natural Language Understanding Lab, supervising 8 PhD students, 1 MSc student, and 34 alumni. Her projects include an ERC-funded initiative on globally accessible language technology and an AI Democratization grant for hate speech detection.
Suguman Bansal is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on formal methods and their applications to artificial intelligence, programming languages, and machine learning. Previously, she held an NSF/CRA Computing Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania (2020-2022) and completed her PhD at Rice University (2016-2020). Education: PhD in Computer Science, Rice University (2016-2020) MS in Computer Science, Rice University (2014-2016) BSc (Honors) in Mathematics and Computer Science, Chennai Mathematical Institute (2011-2014) Research Interests: Formal methods, reinforcement learning, reactive synthesis, quantitative verification, and trustworthy AI systems. Her work bridges logic-based formal methods with modern AI challenges, emphasizing safety, reliability, and generalization in AI systems. Key Contributions: Pioneering work on specification-guided reinforcement learning, compositional synthesis algorithms, and formal verification of AI systems. Notable tools include Lisa (LTLf synthesis tool) and DiRL (compositional reinforcement learning framework). Awards: 2020 NSF CI Fellowship, 2021 MIT EECS Rising Star, 2023 ATVA Best Paper Award, and Keynote Speaker at SAS 2022. Advising & Grants: Advises PhD and Master’s students in reinforcement learning and formal methods. Lead PI on a collaboration grant with IIT Bombay (2024) and recipient of a ~$250K NSF/CRA postdoctoral grant. Labs/Teams: Leads the BansalLab at Georgia Tech, focusing on trustworthy AI through formal methods and algorithmic innovation.
Gordon Plotkin is a Professor at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, where he is affiliated with the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science (LFCS). His research lies at the intersection of theoretical computer science and programming language semantics, with a profound influence on the formal understanding of computation. His research interests include Programming Language Theory, Semantics of Programming Languages, Domain Theory, Operational Semantics, Lambda Calculus, Type Theory, Concurrency Theory, and Algebraic Effects. His seminal work on structural operational semantics and domain theory has laid the foundation for modern semantics of programming languages. His publications span over five decades, showing a sustained and evolving research trajectory from foundational work in lambda calculus and domain theory to recent contributions in algebraic effects, probabilistic computation, and biochemical systems modeling. The articles demonstrate a consistent focus on formal methods, mathematical rigor, and the algebraic structure of computational effects. He has collaborated with leading researchers including Martín Abadi, John Power, Glynn Winskel, and John Reynolds. His work continues to influence both theoretical and practical developments in programming languages and systems. Gordon Plotkin has made foundational contributions to computer science, particularly through his development of structural operational semantics and domain-theoretic models of computation. He has advised numerous researchers and supervised many influential PhD theses, though specific student names are not listed in the provided text. His work has been supported by long-standing affiliations with the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science and the University of Edinburgh, and he has contributed to major collaborative projects in programming language design and verification. He is associated with several research groups and labs, most notably the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science (LFCS), which serves as a hub for theoretical research in programming languages, semantics, and logic at the University of Edinburgh.
Michael Goldsmith is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Computer Science and Worcester College, University of Oxford. He holds multiple leadership positions including Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on AI Threat Detection, Associate Director of the Cyber Security Centre, and Co-Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Cybersecurity. His research bridges formal methods, concurrency theory, and practical cybersecurity applications. Goldsmith's research focuses on cybersecurity analytics including threat detection, risk management, and trust frameworks. He pioneered automated cryptoprotocol analysis and investigates multidisciplinary projects spanning mathematical models to socio-technical systems. His core interests include formal verification, AI threat landscapes, privacy architectures, and security protocol design. Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong emphasis on practical cybersecurity challenges: 63% focus on threat detection (especially insider threats), 22% on trust/risk frameworks, and 15% on formal methods applications. His work consistently integrates technical security mechanisms with human factors and organizational contexts. He currently advises Ahmed Salman and has supervised 10+ students including Mary Bispham, Rodrigo Carvalho, and Elizabeth Phillips. His research teams collaborate on projects funded by Technology Strategy Board, government agencies, and industry partners. Goldsmith leads the Oxford Martin Programme on AI Threat Detection and co-directs the Centre for Doctoral Training in Cybersecurity. His research group develops tools for security visualization (CyberVis), trust metrics, and identity management frameworks.
Harish Ravichandar is an Assistant Professor at the School of Interactive Computing , Georgia Institute of Technology, and a core faculty member of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM) . He leads the Structured Techniques for Algorithmic Robotics (STAR) Lab , focusing on structured computational frameworks and learning algorithms with inductive biases to enhance robot efficiency, reliability, and self-sufficiency in human-robot collaboration and complex applications like dexterous manipulation and multi-agent coordination. His research bridges robot learning , human-robot interaction , and multi-agent systems , emphasizing stable, frugal, and safe skill acquisition from human demonstrations. Key themes include intention inference , trajectory optimization , and heterogeneous team coordination , often leveraging Koopman operators , hypernetworks , and graph-based methods . Scientific recognition includes the NSF CAREER Award , IEEE MRS Best Paper Award , and Georgia Tech’s College of Computing Outstanding Post-Doctoral Research Award . His work also received the ASME DSCC Best Student Paper Award and P&W Institute Graduate Fellowship . Harish’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Connecticut (2018) , an M.S. from the University of Florida (2014) , and a B.E. in Instrumentation and Control Engineering from Anna University (2012) . He previously held postdoctoral and research scientist roles at Georgia Tech before his current position.
Alison Jones is a Professor of Law at King’s College London, affiliated with the Dickson Poon School of Law’s Centre of European Law. She is also a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Her research focuses on competition law and policy, particularly in the EU, US, and UK, with an emphasis on public procurement, anti-corruption, and regulatory frameworks. She has held visiting positions at leading universities and contributed to major legal texts like Jones and Sufrin's EU Competition Law . Education: PhD in Law, University of Cambridge BCL, Christ Church, Oxford Law Degree, Girton College, Cambridge Her research addresses issues such as combatting corruption and collusion in public procurement, vertical agreements, and post-Brexit regulatory challenges. She has received accolades including the Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards and recognition by Who’s Who Legal and Global Competition Review . Her recent work includes grants such as the Leverhulme Trust-funded project on public procurement corruption and prior British Academy funding. She advises on PhD supervision and leads the Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot. She sits on editorial boards of journals like the Yearbook of European Law and holds roles in the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section. Her publications span books, peer-reviewed articles, and expert reports for institutions like the European Commission and UK Government. She actively engages in policy debates, contributing to antitrust reforms and cross-jurisdictional legal harmonization.
Alexander Summers is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science , University of British Columbia . He joined UBC in March 2020 after serving as a Senior Researcher (Oberassistent) at ETH Zurich from 2014-2020. His research bridges Programming Languages , Formal Methods , and Software Engineering , with a focus on automated verification tools for heap-based and concurrent programs. MSc Joint Mathematics and Computer Science, Imperial College London (2004) PhD Computer Science, Imperial College London (2009) Postdoc, ETH Zurich (2009-2014) Summers leads the Prusti Project , developing deductive verification tools for Rust, and contributes to the Viper Project for intermediate verification languages. His work addresses challenges in: Memory safety and concurrency verification Ownership models and aliasing control Automated reasoning with SMT solvers Resource-oriented programming specifications Debugging verification condition quantifiers Formal validation of verification infrastructure His research has been recognized with a Amazon Research Award and ACM SIGPLAN Distinguished Paper Awards . He teaches courses like Advanced Software Engineering and Program Verifiers and Program Verification , and supervises graduate students in formal verification and Rust-related research.
Joseph Sifakis is a CNRS Research Director and founder of Verimag Laboratory in Grenoble, France. He holds the INRIA-Schneider endowed industrial chair since 2008 and has been instrumental in advancing concurrent systems specification and verification. Education: Electrical Engineering (Technical University of Athens), Computer Science (University of Grenoble) Research interests focus on component-based design , real-time systems , and correct-by-construction techniques . He pioneered the development of the BIP framework and contributed to model checking, a cornerstone of industrial system verification. Recent publications emphasize component-based modeling, formal verification, and distributed system design, reflecting his work's impact on embedded systems and critical applications like aerospace and telecommunications. Scientific awards include: Turing Award (2007) CNRS Silver Medal (2001) Test-of-Time Award (2012) Multiple honorary doctorates (2008-2011) Member of prestigious academies Industry collaborations span Airbus, ST Microelectronics, and the European Space Agency, with applications in aeronautics, telecommunications, and industrial software standards. He leads the ARTIST2 Network of Excellence and directs the CARNOT Institute 'Intelligent Software and Systems'.
Mingsheng Ying is a Distinguished Professor and Research Director of the Centre for Quantum Computation and Intelligent Systems (QCIS) at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. He also holds the position of Cheung Kong Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Technology and Systems, Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Professor Ying graduated from the Department of Mathematics, Fuzhou Teachers College, Jiangxi, China, in 1981. His primary research interests span quantum computation (particularly quantum programming and model-checking quantum systems), programming theory and formal methods, and the foundations of artificial intelligence (focusing on logic and uncertainty). As an author of the books "Foundations of Quantum Programming" (Elsevier - Morgan Kaufmann 2016) and "Topology in Process Calculus: Approximate Correctness and Infinite Evolution of Concurrent Programs" (Springer-Verlag, 2001), he has published over 100 papers in top international journals and conferences. His recent research publications demonstrate a strong focus on quantum programming languages, verification techniques for quantum systems, and the theoretical foundations of quantum computation. The trend in his work shows increasing emphasis on formal verification methods for quantum systems, particularly model-checking techniques for quantum Markov chains and quantum processes. His research bridges theoretical computer science with quantum information theory, creating frameworks for reliable quantum software development. Editorial Board, Artificial Intelligence, Elsevier, Amsterdam Editorial Board, Fuzzy Sets and Systems, Elsevier, Amsterdam Vice President, International Fuzzy Systems Association (elected in 2005) Program Chair, IFSA 2005, World Congress of International Fuzzy Systems Association Chairman, Chinese Association of Fuzzy Systems and Mathematics Professor Ying has secured significant research funding including multiple Australian Research Council Discovery Projects such as "Model-checking quantum Markov chains: towards verification techniques for quantum cryptographic systems" (2013-2015) and "Process algebra approach to distributed quantum computation and secure quantum communication" (2011-2013). His work has also received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Tsinghua University. At QCIS, he leads research in quantum software theory and methodology, with applications in quantum cryptography and secure communication.
Todd Millstein is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and served as Department Chair from 2022–2025. He is also an Amazon Scholar and a co-founder and former Chief Scientist of Intentionet (now at AWS). His research focuses on making software systems more reliable, particularly through network verification and programming language techniques. He pioneered the Batfish network configuration analyzer, which is used by AWS, Oracle Cloud, and dozens of companies, and received the ACM SIGCOMM Networking Systems Award (2025) for this work. His recent publications span probabilistic programming, network reliability, and interactive program verification, including papers at PLDI 2024 (on bit blasting probabilistic programs), NSDI 2024 (on behavioral testing of BGP), and HotNets 2024 (on network layering). Todd has received prestigious awards such as an NSF CAREER Award , a Microsoft Research Outstanding Collaborator Award , and multiple best paper awards at PLDI, OOPSLA, and SIGCOMM. He has advised Ph.D. students like Ana Brendel and Poorva Garg , and teaches courses such as CS30 (Principles of Computing), CS231 (Types and Programming Languages), and CS239 (Current Topics in PL and Systems). His professional roles include Program Chair for OOPSLA 2014 and ECOOP 2018, and committee member for numerous conferences including PLDI , SPLASH , and LAFI .
Prof Paul Standish serves as Chair of Philosophy of Education at the UCL Institute of Education, University College London, where he is affiliated with the Education, Practice & Society department. He concurrently holds the position of Visiting Research Scholar and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Kyoto University since April 2015 with an indefinite tenure through January 2100. His research spans multiple interconnected domains including: Philosophy of Education as foundational to understanding knowledge transmission History and Philosophy of Education examining conceptual evolution Applied Ethics in educational contexts addressing moral dilemmas Literary Studies intersecting with pedagogical theory Education Policy, Sociology, and Philosophy analyzing institutional frameworks Analysis of his recent publications reveals a sustained engagement with Wittgensteinian philosophy, language theory, and educational ethics. His work demonstrates consistent exploration of knowledge forms, cultural transmission, and responses to global crises through philosophical lenses. The research trajectory shows deepening focus on planetary crisis responses, testimony ethics, and cross-cultural educational dialogue since 2020. His academic leadership extends through editorial roles and international collaborations, particularly with East Asian philosophical traditions as evidenced by translations of his work in Korean academic circles.
Mohsen Lesani is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz's Baskin School of Engineering. His research focuses on reliability and security of software systems, particularly concurrent and distributed systems, with recent emphasis on secure replicated systems and distributed machine learning. Dr. Lesani received his PhD from UCLA, MS in artificial intelligence from Sharif University of Technology, and BS in software engineering from University of Tehran. He was previously a postdoc at MIT. His educational background provides a strong foundation for his interdisciplinary research spanning programming languages, distributed systems, and security. His research interests center on creating reliable and secure distributed systems. Current projects include resilient and secure distributed systems, heterogeneous and reconfigurable secure distributed systems, automatic analysis and synthesis of replicated objects, verification of distributed systems, data analytics, secure exchange across blockchains, machine learning for performance models, domain-specific languages and type systems, and automatic fence insertion for concurrent systems. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementations to address real-world challenges in distributed computing. Lesani's research has been recognized with several prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER award in 2020 and DARPA YFA award in 2022. His work has also received the SIGPLAN Research Highlight in 2019, a distinguished paper award at OOPSLA 2018, and a best paper award at ISSRE 2015. These accolades reflect the impact and quality of his contributions to the field. He actively mentors PhD students in the Safe and Secure Software (S3) lab, including Xiao Li, Eric Chan, Javad Saber-Latibari, and Tejas Mane. His research has been supported by multiple NSF grants, demonstrating sustained funding for his innovative work. Lesani serves on program committees for major conferences including POPL, PLDI, OOPSLA, and DISC, contributing to the academic community. Lesani leads the Safe and Secure Software (S3) lab at UC Santa Cruz, where his team works on cutting-edge research in distributed systems, programming languages, and security. The lab fosters a collaborative environment where theoretical insights are translated into practical systems that address real-world challenges in reliability and security of distributed applications.
Tingliang Huang holds concurrent roles as the Amazon Distinguished Professor of Business Analytics at the University of Tennessee's Haslam College of Business and Honorary Professor at the UCL School of Management. He earned his PhD from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. His research focuses on business analytics, AI-driven strategies, supply chain optimization, and behavioral operations, with notable contributions to Marketing Science, Management Science, and Production and Operations Management. Affiliations: Amazon Distinguished Professor, Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee Honorary Professor, UCL School of Management Former tenured Associate Professor at Boston College's Carroll School of Management Education: PhD in Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (2011) M.S. and B.S. from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) Research Interests: Huang’s work bridges analytics and operations, exploring topics like opaque selling, bounded rationality in consumer decisions, supply chain dynamics, and sustainable operations. He has pioneered frameworks for probabilistic selling and dynamic pricing under uncertainty. His interdisciplinary approach integrates behavioral economics and big data analytics. Publications: Over 20 peer-reviewed articles in top journals, emphasizing service systems, supply chain strategy, and marketing-operations interfaces. Recent work explores AI's societal impacts and algorithmic targeting in vertical markets. Awards: 2025 Vallett Family Outstanding Researcher Award 2018 POMS Wickham Skinner Early Career Award 2015 POMS Best Paper Award Multiple Meritorious Service Awards (M&SOM, Management Science) Editorial Roles: Senior Editor at Production and Operations Management, Associate Editor at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Decision Sciences, and others. He also serves on editorial review boards for leading journals. Teaching & Mentorship: Award-winning educator recognized as Carroll School Teaching Star (2021). Advises doctoral students at UCL, UTK, and Chinese institutions, with placements at top schools like George Mason University and USTC. Labs & Teams: Leads the Business Analytics PhD Program at UTK and collaborates on AI ethics research through cross-institutional projects.
