Dialogic Syntax Professors and Supervisors

Zhu ZhangView profile

Associate Professor

Iowa State UniversityUnited States

Zhu (Drew) Zhang is a Courtesy Associate Professor at the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, Ivy College of Business, Iowa State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Information and Computer Science from the University of Michigan (2005) and has professional experience at IBM, Microsoft, and Google. His research focuses on computational models for textual data, including AI, machine learning, and big data applications in business and healthcare. He also explores data/text/web mining and semantic analysis techniques. Dr. Zhang’s expertise spans artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and text mining. He has been recognized with the 2015 Schulze Award for his contributions. His work bridges theoretical research and practical applications, emphasizing real-world relevance in teaching and industry collaboration. Key research trends in his articles include advancements in dialog systems, financial forecasting using news data, and biomedical text analysis. His publications reflect a strong focus on integrating computational methods with domain-specific challenges in business and healthcare. While no lab affiliations are explicitly mentioned, his collaborative projects likely involve interdisciplinary teams given his research scope.

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Sebastian SchusterView profile

Lecturer

Stanford UniversityUnited States

Sebastian Schuster is a Lecturer in Computational Linguistics at University College London (UCL), effective January 2024. He will transition to the University of Vienna in mid-2025 to lead a WWTF-funded research group. Previously, he held postdoctoral positions at Saarland University and NYU (via the 2020 Computing Innovation Fellowship), and completed his PhD in Linguistics at Stanford University, affiliated with the ALPS Lab and Stanford NLP Group. His research focuses on evaluating large language models (LLMs), computational semantics, and pragmatics. Key themes include improving NLU systems through entity tracking analysis, understanding scope ambiguities, and modeling pragmatic inferences. Recent work explores how pretraining affects LLM capabilities and how context influences scalar implicature processing. Notable contributions include datasets like SIGA for scalar implicatures and SpreadNaLa for code generation evaluation. He has presented at ETH Zurich, Oxford, and served as Area Chair for *SEM2023's psycholinguistics track. His fellowship and invited talks reflect recognition of his interdisciplinary work bridging computational and experimental linguistics. Professional activities include contributions to Universal Dependencies projects, software tools like Open Linguistics, and collaborations on child language development. His work integrates methodologies from NLP, experimental psychology, and cognitive science to advance both theoretical and applied linguistic research.

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Jolanta Klimek-GrądzkaView profile

Professor

John Paul II Catholic University of LublinPoland

Jolanta Klimek-Grądzka , Professor at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin , is a leading scholar in Historical Linguistics with a focus on Polish borderlands language and historical stylistics . Her work spans language corpora , religious texts , and digital humanities , particularly in archival research and historical editing . As Deputy Dean for Student Affairs at the Faculty of Humanities, she bridges academic administration with scholarly rigor. Research Pillars : Kyiv Polish dialects, Orthodox linguistic traditions, historical semantics, and sociolects. Editorial Role : Secretary of the editorial board for the journal Roczniki Humanistyczne . Academic Engagement : Regular office hours via MS Teams on Tuesdays and Fridays (12:00–13:00). Her publications emphasize 17th-century Polish , including analysis of aorist forms , interconfessional dialogues , and linguistic borrowings . She contributes to digital edition planning of historical texts like the Archiwum filomatów and Żołtarz Psalter . While no scientific awards are listed, her impact on Polish language heritage is profound through over 15 recent articles (2024–2009) that explore language contact zones , religious-political rhetoric , and Baroque stylistic varieties . Her work bridges manuscript studies with modern linguistic theory , making her a key figure in Polish historical language research .

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Carla WoodView profile

Professor

Florida State UniversityUnited States

Dr. Carla Wood is a Professor and School Director at the School of Communication Science & Disorders, Florida State University. She leads research on language and literacy development for children with diverse abilities and backgrounds, with continuous federal funding since 2007. Her work emphasizes multilingual learners, speech-language pathology, and inclusive educational practices. Education: BA in Spanish and Speech-Language-Hearing Pathology (1992, University of Kansas) MA in Speech-Language Pathology (1994, University of Kansas) PhD in Speech-Language Pathology (2005, University of Kansas) Research Focus: Dr. Wood investigates language acquisition, literacy interventions, and morphological awareness in children with disabilities or from linguistically diverse backgrounds. Her lab prioritizes interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based practice dissemination, and reducing barriers in communication sciences education. Publication Trends: Recent articles (2023-2025) focus on vocabulary instruction, bilingual language outcomes, deaf/hard-of-hearing education, morphological complexity, and equity in graduate education. Methodologies include pilot interventions, automated text analysis, and cross-population comparisons. Grants & Funding: Principal Investigator for multiple U.S. Department of Education grants: Stepping-Up Technology for Morphological Awareness Pathway to Reading (MAP-R) (2023-2028, $2.3M) Team-based Enhanced Outcomes: Personnel Preparation (2023, $1.5M) Team-based Research & Teaching in Language/Literacy (2023, $2.5M) Preschool Teachers' Language Strategies (2022, $1.4M) Training & Leadership: Mentors next-generation scholars through doctoral training programs and directs initiatives to increase diversity in communication sciences. Her teaching includes grant writing, bilingual literacy, and team science.

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Jovana JovićView profile

Researcher

University of RegensburgGermany

Jovana Jović, MA, is a doctoral researcher at the University of Regensburg's Institute of Slavic Studies under Prof. Dr. Björn Hansen. She specializes in lexical semantics, corpus linguistics, and corruption studies, with a focus on Serbian and Croatian press texts. Doctoral dissertation: 'Framing Corruption – A lexical-semantic analysis of the thematic use of words based on Serbian and Croatian press texts from 1919 to the present day' Key projects: DFG-funded 'From Informality to Corruption (1817-2018): Serbia and Croatia in Comparison' Research Interests: Her work bridges lexical variation/change, cognitive semantics (frame theory), and corpus-based approaches to analyze corruption discourse. She explores sociosemantic networks and historical semantics in Southeast European contexts. Conference Participation: Presented at the 14th German Slavic Studies Day, Interdisciplinary Corruption Workshops in Cres/Belgrade, and international student conferences in Wrocław/Kiel. Collaborated with historian Miloš Lecić on cross-disciplinary informal practices research. Publications: Contributed to Tokovi Istorije and Junge Slavistik im Dialog with analyses of corruption framing and Slovenian relativpronouns.

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