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Sathyanarayanan N. AakurView profile

Assistant Professor

• Computer Vision
• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• +11 more

Sathyanarayanan N. Aakur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University's College of Engineering. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Oklahoma State University. He is an IEEE Senior Member and has received the prestigious NSF CAREER award for his research on multi-modal event understanding. Dr. Aakur received his PhD from the University of South Florida, where he worked with Dr. Sudeep Sarkar in the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Group. He also holds a Master's degree in Management Information Systems from the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida and an undergraduate degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Velammal Engineering College, Anna University, India. His research focuses on the intersection of computer vision, natural language processing, and psychology, with the goal of building intelligent agents that understand the visual world beyond simple recognition or captioning. His work encompasses self-supervised predictive learning for video event segmentation, commonsense reasoning to ground perception and prior knowledge, and generative modeling for building knowledge systems. Much of his group's current work focuses on analyzing, modeling, and synthesizing complex video scenes, with applications in agriculture and animal diagnostics. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on open-world visual understanding, neurosymbolic reasoning, and multimodal learning. His work spans from fundamental computer vision problems like egocentric action recognition and scene graph generation to applied research in agricultural technology and biomedical informatics. He has successfully published at top-tier conferences including CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, and WACV, as well as in high-impact journals like IEEE TPAMI. NSF CAREER Award (2022) IEEE Senior Member (2024) Dr. Aakur serves as Area Chair for major conferences including CVPR, WACV, ICML, and NeurIPS, and as Associate Editor for Pattern Recognition journal. He has successfully mentored numerous students who have published at top venues in computer vision and machine learning. His research group has received funding from sources including the NSF and USDA for projects related to multimodal time series classification and stress detection in precision agriculture. The lab maintains active collaborations with institutions including the University of South Florida and Florida State University.

Wai Kiong Oswald ChongView profile

Associate Professor

• Artificial Intelligence
• Engineering Systems
• Optimization
• +10 more

Dr. Wai Kiong Oswald Chong is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, with a dual affiliation as Senior Global Futures Scientist at the Global Futures Scientists and Scholars program. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas-Austin, MSc and BSc in Building from the National University of Singapore, and focuses on integrating artificial intelligence with sustainable engineering systems. PhD (2005): Civil Engineering, University of Texas-Austin MSc (1999) & BSc (1997): National University of Singapore His research bridges lunar construction with Earth-bound sustainable systems, covering topics like: Space habitat modularization Resource circularity systems AI-enhanced building codes Climate-resilient infrastructure Advanced energy modeling Construction supply chain optimization Publications demonstrate consistent focus on: Semiconductor facility HVAC optimization Building energy consumption anomalies Life cycle assessment frameworks Construction risk management Deconstruction and material reuse AI-driven system modeling Current research projects include: Lunar MVI (Moon Village Initiative) Semiconductor fab design optimization Human-AI knowledge interfaces Thermal insulation systems for extreme environments Smart grid energy modeling

Charith MendisView profile

Assistant Professor

• Compilers
• Programming Languages
• Machine Learning for Systems
• +3 more

Charith Mendis is an Assistant Professor in the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with joint appointments in the Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Coordinated Science Lab. His research focuses on the intersection of compilers, program optimization, and machine learning systems. Dr. Mendis received his educational background from prestigious institutions: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2020) S.M. in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015) B.Sc. in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from University of Moratuwa (2013) His primary research interests center around compiler technology and machine learning systems. Mendis leads the ADAPT lab at UIUC, where his team works on creating high-performance ML optimization techniques and automated compiler construction using machine learning and formal methods. His work bridges the gap between traditional compiler design and modern machine learning approaches, with applications in tensor compilers, graph neural networks, and sparse computation. He has developed novel frameworks for optimizing deep learning workloads, verification of compiler transformations, and performance modeling for emerging hardware architectures. Mendis has established himself as a leading researcher in compiler optimization for machine learning systems, with a particular focus on tensor compilers, graph neural networks, and performance modeling. His recent publications demonstrate increasing sophistication in combining formal methods with machine learning techniques to solve challenging problems in compiler optimization and verification, with multiple papers accepted at top-tier conferences including OOPSLA, PLDI, POPL, and SIGMOD. His notable scientific achievements include: Google ML and Systems Junior Faculty Award (2025) DARPA Young Faculty Award (2024) NSF CAREER Award (2024) Distinguished Paper Award at POPL (2025) William A. Martin Thesis Award for Outstanding SM thesis, MIT (2015) Multiple teaching excellence awards at UIUC (2021-2023) Dr. Mendis actively mentors students through the ADAPT lab, offering research opportunities for undergraduates, master's students, and PhD candidates interested in compiler technology and machine learning systems. His research is supported by significant funding from the ACE center (part of JUMP 2.0), National Science Foundation (NSF), DARPA, IIDAI, and industry partners including Google, Intel, Amazon, and Qualcomm. He teaches advanced courses in compiler construction and machine learning for compilers. He leads the ADAPT lab at UIUC, which focuses on developing advanced compiler technologies for modern machine learning workloads. The lab maintains active collaborations with industry partners and has established itself as a leading research group in compiler optimization for AI systems. Current projects include tensor compilers, graph neural network optimization, and automated verification of deep learning systems.

Yikun BanView profile

Associate Professor

• Reinforcement Learning
• Data Mining
• Neural Networks
• +7 more

Yikun Ban is a tenure-track Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Beihang University, where he is a member of the State Key Laboratory of Software Development Environment. He earned his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2023), MS in Computer Science from Peking University (2019), and BS in Software Engineering from Wuhan University (2016). PhD: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2023) MS: Peking University (2019) BS: Wuhan University (2016) His research focuses on principled algorithms for reinforcement learning with human feedback, neural contextual bandits, and exploration-exploitation problems. He develops frameworks combining deep learning with bandit theory for applications in recommendation systems, disinformation detection, and dynamic graph learning. Recent publications address: Robust neural contextual bandits (NeurIPS 2024) Graph neural bandits (KDD 2023) Meta-learning for bandit scheduling (NeurIPS 2023) Clustering in contextual bandits (WWW 2021, AAAI 2021) Honors include the NeurIPS Scholar Award and recognition as ICML Outstanding Reviewer . His open-source LOCB repository provides Python implementations for contextual multi-armed bandit algorithms with local clustering, supporting applications in recommendation systems and online learning.

• GPU Computing
• Parallel Computing
• Domain-Specific Languages
• +5 more

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Richard Membarth is a Research Professor for System-on-a-Chip and AI at the Edge Computing at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI). He is affiliated with the Hardware-Software Co-Design group and holds a secondary position at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) Saarbrücken. Co-creator of DSL frameworks like AnyDSL and Hipacc Key contributor to MetaDL (AI metaprogramming) and PRIME (predictive rendering) His research bridges GPU computing , domain-specific languages , and compiler technology , with recent work on Vulkan SPIR-V compilation and device-driven SpMV algorithms . Notable awards include the HiPEAC Paper Award (2018) and multiple Best Paper Awards for his compiler frameworks.

Christopher HeartyView profile

Professor

• Experimental Particle Physics
• Physics beyond the Standard Model
• Dark sector
• +5 more

Christopher Hearty is a Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Science, and serves as an IPP (Institute of Particle Physics) Principal Research Scientist. His office is located in Hennings 268 with laboratory space at TRIUMF/Hennings 222, where he conducts cutting-edge experimental particle physics research using major international facilities. Hearty earned his B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics from Simon Fraser University (1982), followed by a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Washington (1987). He completed postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1987 to 1994 before joining UBC. B.Sc., Mathematics and Physics, Simon Fraser University, 1982 Ph.D., Physics, University of Washington, 1987 Postdoctoral Researcher, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1987-1994 His research program focuses on direct searches for physics beyond the Standard Model through e+e- collisions, with particular emphasis on dark sector phenomena including dark photons, axion-like particles, and strongly interacting dark matter. As a key contributor to the Belle II experiment, he develops advanced calorimeter calibration techniques, reconstruction algorithms, and trigger systems while mentoring students in machine learning applications for large-scale data analysis. His work bridges theoretical phenomenology with experimental verification in the search for new fundamental particles. Recent publications demonstrate a concentrated effort on dark sector exploration at Belle II, featuring innovative approaches like graph neural networks for photon reconstruction and sophisticated analysis of displaced vertices. The research spans both visible and invisible decay channels, significantly advancing constraints on dark matter models while establishing Belle II's sensitivity to elusive particles through precision measurements of e+e- collision data. Hearty's scientific recognition includes: APS Fellow (2015) Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2016) as part of the T2K collaboration He actively supervises graduate students on thesis projects spanning dark photon searches, axion-like particle detection, and detector development, while serving on UBC's teaching peer review committee and as LHCb chief reviewer for CERN's LHCC committee. His mentorship provides students with hands-on experience in international collaborations, detector instrumentation, and advanced data analysis techniques. Based at TRIUMF Canada's particle accelerator centre and UBC's Department of Physics & Astronomy, Hearty leads a research group within the global Belle II collaboration. His team contributes to multiple detector subsystems including calorimetry and tracking systems, while developing novel analysis frameworks for new physics signatures in high-energy collision data.

A. Lynn AbbottView profile

Professor

• Computer vision
• Pattern recognition
• Artificial intelligence
• +5 more

A. Lynn Abbott is a Professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech , specializing in computer vision, biometrics, and AI-driven sensing systems. His work bridges theoretical and applied domains, including autonomous vehicle perception, physiological signal analysis, and secure healthcare monitoring. Education: Ph.D., University of Illinois, 1990 M.S., Stanford University, 1981 B.S., Rutgers University, 1980 Research Interests focus on computer vision for autonomous systems, biometrics using physiological signals, and deep learning applications in transportation safety and healthcare. Recent projects include neural networks for intersection safety modeling and vision-based cardiovascular signal recovery. Publications highlight advancements in graph neural networks for traffic analysis, spatiotemporal filtering for 3D object detection, and privacy-preserving biometric authentication. His work spans disciplines like transportation safety, biomedical signal processing, and computer architecture. Labs & Teams: Affiliated with the Center for Embedded Systems for Critical Applications , contributing to real-time vision systems and hardware-software co-design for safety-critical domains.

• Artificial Intelligence
• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Sciences
• +4 more

Dr. Pedro Mediano is a Lecturer in Computing at Imperial College London's Department of Computing (Faculty of Engineering). His research focuses on complex systems, information theory, and their applications in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. He is affiliated with the Artificial Intelligence Network and leads interdisciplinary projects exploring synergistic interactions in brain dynamics, psychedelic neurodynamics, and causal emergence. Key research areas include quantifying high-order interactions in complex systems, developing information-theoretic tools for analyzing neural data, and modeling consciousness through integrated information theory. Mediano has pioneered frameworks like the Shannon invariants for scalable information decomposition and developed software tools such as THOI for analyzing higher-order interactions. Recent work examines how psychedelics alter brain entropy, the role of metastability in cognitive processes, and the computational principles underlying causal emergence in machine learning models. His studies integrate mathematical rigor with empirical neuroscience, bridging theoretical and applied domains. Mediano has collaborated on whole-brain models of psychedelic-induced neural complexity and explored the interplay between oxygen metabolism and brain evolution. He holds affiliations with Imperial's AI Network and regularly publishes in top journals across computational neuroscience and complexity science. Current projects include developing open-source tools for information decomposition and investigating the neural correlates of consciousness under altered states.

Hoda EldardiryView profile

Associate Professor

• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Data Mining
• +6 more

Hoda Eldardiry is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and Director of the Machine Learning Laboratory. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining, and their applications in policy, ethics, and complex systems analysis. Education: Ph.D., Computer Science, Purdue University M.S., Computer Science, Purdue University B.E., Computer and Systems Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt Research Interests: Eldardiry’s work spans machine learning modeling (e.g., hypergraph neural networks, time-series forecasting), AI ethics and policy education, and interdisciplinary applications in transportation, healthcare, and cybersecurity. She emphasizes socially responsible AI development through curriculum design and policy frameworks. Recent Research Themes: Her 2025 publications highlight advancements in graph-based learning, policy-aware AI education modules, and novel techniques in multi-modal data analysis. Key areas include zero-shot learning, sparse control systems optimization, and collaborative machine learning frameworks. Labs & Teams: Directs the Machine Learning Laboratory at Virginia Tech, fostering innovation in ethical AI systems and data-driven decision-making.

Nikitas KaranikolasView profile

Professor

• Natural Language Processing and Understanding
• Computational Linguistics
• Computational Phonology
• +7 more

Nikitas Karanikolas serves as Professor in the Department of Informatics and Computer Engineering at the University of West Attica since March 2018, following a distinguished career progression from Assistant Professor (2004) to Associate Professor (2010) and Professor (2014) at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens. His professional trajectory includes significant roles as Systems Head of TEI Athens Library (1996-1997) and Chief of Informatics at Aretaieio University Hospital (1997-2004), alongside leadership positions in the Greek Computer Society as Board Member (2004-2006) and Secretary General (2006-2008). His academic foundation includes: Bachelor's in Statistics and Informatics from Athens University of Economics and Business (1988) PhD in Applied Informatics from Athens University of Economics and Business (1994) with thesis "Technological and Linguistic approaches in Natural Language Understanding" Dr. Karanikolas maintains an exceptionally broad research portfolio spanning Natural Language Processing , Computational Linguistics , Medical Informatics , and Green Energy systems. His work consistently bridges theoretical computational frameworks with practical healthcare applications, particularly evident in recent dementia care technologies and Greek language processing systems. The interdisciplinary nature of his research connects computational phonology with medical diagnostics and e-government applications. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals a pronounced shift toward AI-driven healthcare solutions (particularly dementia patient monitoring), multilingual NLP systems (Greek and Polish), and urban safety applications . His work demonstrates consistent methodology development in ontological representations and multimodal fusion techniques, with increasing emphasis on real-world clinical and governmental implementations since 2023. No scientific awards were documented in the source materials. With 16 journal papers, 68 conference publications, and six authoritative Greek university textbooks, Dr. Karanikolas maintains an active research trajectory. His advising capacity is evidenced through extensive publication mentorship, particularly in medical informatics and NLP projects. While specific grant details are unavailable, his hospital information system implementations and textbook authorship suggest successful research funding acquisition. Current research activities focus on multimodal aggression prediction systems for dementia care, Greek language ontological frameworks, and urban navigation safety applications, primarily conducted through the University of West Attica's informatics infrastructure.

• FPGA Design
• VLSI Systems
• Logic Synthesis
• +7 more

Pierre-Emmanuel Gaillardon is a Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Adjunct Professor in the School of Computing at the University of Utah. He holds a joint appointment since July 2024, having previously served as Assistant Professor (2016–2019) and Adjunct Assistant Professor in Computing (2016–2019). His research focuses on FPGA design, VLSI systems, nanoelectronics, and hardware security. He leads projects in emerging devices like TIGFETs, compute-in-memory architectures, and radiation-hardened FPGA fabrics. Teaching includes courses on Digital VLSI Design, Embedded Systems Design, and thesis supervision. He has secured grants from NSF, DARPA, and industry partners totaling over $10M, addressing topics like FPGA redaction, neuromorphic systems, and environmental sensors. Notable awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2018) and IEEE Senior Member elevation (2016). He actively serves on IEEE committees for nanoelectronics and EDA tools, contributing to standards like OpenFPGA.

Adín Ramírez RiveraView profile

Professor

• Computer Vision
• Machine Learning
• Representation Learning
• +6 more

Adín Ramírez Rivera is a Professor in the Digital Signal Processing and Image Analysis (DSB) group at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo. His research focuses on representation learning and computer vision, particularly exploring machine learning methods to describe and understand visual data. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a member of the ELLIS Society. Education : PhD from Kyung Hee University's Image Processing Lab, South Korea; Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, majoring in Computer Science and Systems Engineering. Ramírez Rivera's research spans diverse computer vision tasks including facial analysis, object detection, image enhancement, and vision transformers. His work emphasizes self-supervised learning, fair representation learning, and novel neural network architectures for image segmentation and classification. Recent publications highlight trends in vision transformers, crowd counting, facial expression recognition, and fair representation learning. His articles frequently address statistical modeling, feature extraction, and deep learning techniques for visual tasks. Scientific Awards : Senior Member of the IEEE, Member of the ELLIS Society. He collaborates with researchers across institutions, contributing to projects involving anomaly detection, multilingual translation, and astrophysical modeling. His lab affiliations include the Digital Signal Processing and Image Analysis group and the Section for Machine Learning at the University of Oslo.

David JensenView profile

Professor

• Machine Learning
• Causal Modeling
• Artificial Intelligence
• +3 more

David Jensen is a Professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He directs the Knowledge Discovery Laboratory and the Computational Social Science Institute. His research focuses on machine learning, causal modeling, and analyzing large social, technological, and computational systems. Jensen's work is supported by organizations like the National Science Foundation and DARPA. Education: DSc in Engineering and Policy, Washington University in St. Louis (1992) MS in Engineering and Policy, Washington University in St. Louis (1988) BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Nebraska (1986) Research Interests: Causal inference in relational and dynamic systems Machine learning applications in security and privacy Computational social science Large-scale network analysis Achievements: Recipient of teaching awards from UMass College of Natural Sciences (2011) and CICS (2022) 2017 IEEE INFOCOM Test of Time Paper Award Leadership roles in conferences and journals, including action editor for the Journal of Machine Learning Research Labs and Affiliations: Founder of the Knowledge Discovery Laboratory (2000) Director of the Computational Social Science Institute (2018-2022) Member of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Council

Hao ZhangView profile

Associate Professor

• Robotics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Vision
• +6 more

Hao Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS), University of Massachusetts Amherst. He directs the Human-Centered Robotics Laboratory (HCRLab), focusing on lifelong collaborative autonomy, robot adaptation, and human-robot teaming. His research integrates robotics, AI, and machine learning to develop algorithms for real-world applications like manufacturing, autonomous driving, and environmental monitoring. He holds an NSF CAREER Award and DARPA Young Faculty Award, among other recognitions. Dr. Zhang earned a PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2014) and an MS from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2009). His work addresses challenges in unstructured environments through innovations like self-reflective terrain adaptation and graph-based perception systems. He actively promotes equity in robotics through his PROGRESS outreach program. His research sponsors include NSF, DARPA, and industry partners such as Toyota. Publications span conferences like RSS, ICRA, and IROS, with best paper awards. He serves on editorial and program committees for top-tier journals/conferences including RA-L, NeurIPS, and AAAI.

Jing ZhangView profile

Assistant Professor

• Genomics
• Computational Biology
• Biomedical Informatics
• +6 more

Dr. Jing Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), affiliated with the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Molecular/Computational Biology from the University of Southern California (2012) and completed postdoctoral training in Computational Biology at Yale University. Her research focuses on developing computational methods to unravel gene regulation mechanisms and link genetic variations to diseases, particularly in noncoding regions of the genome. She has contributed extensively to the ENCODE project, co-authoring pivotal studies in Nature and producing over 5,900 experimental datasets. Dr. Zhang’s work bridges engineering, mathematics, and biology, with applications in precision medicine for cancers and psychiatric disorders. She emphasizes the importance of noncoding DNA in disease causation and has pioneered tools like EN-TEx and scENCORE to analyze epigenomes and regulatory elements. Her lab actively seeks to recruit Ph.D. students, postdocs, and interns to advance genomic technologies. Key research areas include single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, gene regulatory networks, and computational methods for multi-omics data integration. Despite pandemic-related challenges, she maintains strong collaborations and teaches courses in bioinformatics. Her future goals include expanding lab interactions and applying computational models to predict disease susceptibility and treatment responses.