Beng Chin Ooi is a Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), School of Computing (SoC). He holds a B.Sc. (1st Class Honors) and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Monash University. His research focuses on database systems, large-scale analytics, and distributed computing. He has held leadership roles including Dean of School of Computing (2007–2013) and Director of Smart Systems Institute (2011–2021). Key achievements include the Singapore President’s Science Award (2011), ACM Fellow (2011), IEEE Fellow (2009), and multiple best paper awards. His work emphasizes scalable data management, blockchain systems, and healthcare data analytics. Education: Monash University (B.Sc., Ph.D.) Leadership: Dean (SoC), Director (Smart Systems Institute) Awards: Over 15 major honors including ACM SIGMOD E.F. Codd Innovations Award (2020) His research spans distributed databases, big data systems, and innovative applications of blockchain technology. Recent work includes NASI (neural architecture search) and Rafiki (ML-as-a-service).
Christoph Koch is a Full Professor in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) , Switzerland. He has held academic positions at Cornell University (2007-2010, 2006), Saarland University (2005-2007), and TU Vienna (2001-2005). His research focuses on database systems, logic, programming languages, and data management.
James Maynard is a Professor of Number Theory at the University of Oxford , holding a Title IV Professorship equivalent to a UK chair or US full professor. He has held prestigious positions including Membership at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, 2017), Research Membership at MSRI (Berkeley, 2017), and a Clay Research Fellowship (2015-2018). His research focuses on analytic number theory , particularly prime numbers and sieve methods , with groundbreaking work on prime gaps and Diophantine approximation. EDUCATION DPhil in Mathematics (2009-2013), Balliol College, Oxford Part III Mathematics (2008-2009), Queens’ College, Cambridge BA Mathematics (2005-2008), Queens’ College, Cambridge Maynard’s research explores the structure of prime numbers, including prime distribution , digital properties of primes , and norm form representations . His work has revolutionized understanding of bounded prime gaps and extremal prime spacing using advanced sieve techniques and probabilistic methods. Maynard’s publications (15 most recent) span analytic number theory , prime distribution , and Diophantine approximation . Key subfields include Bounded Gaps Between Primes , Digital Restrictions in Primes , Probabilistic Methods in Number Theory , and Algorithmic Sieve Optimization . Scientific Awards Fields Medal (2022) Cole Prize in Number Theory (2020) ERC Starting Grant (€1.5m, 2020-2025) Compositio Prize (2019) Wolfson Merit Award (2017) EMS Prize (2016) Erdős $10,000 Problem Prize (2016) Clay Research Fellowship (2015-2018) Whitehead Prize (2015) Ramanujan Prize (2014) Maynard has advised no explicitly named students but collaborates extensively in number theory. His grants include the ERC Starting Grant (2020-2025) and Wolfson Merit Award (2018-2023) . He has contributed to collaborative projects like the Polymath group and served as a Summer Consultant at GCHQ/Heilbronn Institute (2008-2012).
Katja Hose is a Full Professor of Data Management at TU Wien's DBAI research unit, heading the Data Management and Knowledge-Driven AI Lab. She previously held a Poul Due Jensen Foundation Professorship at Aalborg University. Her research focuses on data and knowledge engineering, including graph databases, knowledge graphs, querying, analytics, and machine learning, with interdisciplinary applications in bioscience, healthcare, and environmental assessment. Education: PhD in Computer Science (Ilmenau University of Technology, 2009), Postdoc at Max Planck Institute for Informatics (2009–2012). Academic roles include Program Co-Chair for ISWC 2024 and EDBT 2023, and editorial board membership at VLDBJ and TGDK. She leads projects like TARGET (health virtual twins) and ARMADA (data management). Research Interests: Knowledge Graphs, Semantic Web, Big Data, Machine Learning, Data Integration, and Provenance Systems. Key contributions include SHACL shape extraction, conversational data analytics, and environmental knowledge graphs. Awards include the 2025 Distinguished Meta-Reviewer Award and 2024 Manfred Paul Award. Advising and Grants: Supervised students including E. Pürmayr (Diploma Thesis 2025). Active in EU projects (TARGET, ARMADA) and grant coordination. Labs/Teams: DMKI Lab at TU Wien, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams in healthcare and environmental science.
Christoph H. Lampert is a Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), leading the Machine Learning and Computer Vision (MLCV) Group. His research spans machine learning, computer vision, and trustworthy AI with emphasis on robustness and fairness. He serves as ELLIS Fellow and Unit Director for ISTA's ELLIS unit. His research program focuses on foundational challenges in machine learning including robustness against distribution shifts, fairness in algorithmic decision-making, and verification of neural networks. Key contributions include work on 1-Lipschitz networks for robust classification, multi-source learning frameworks, and federated learning architectures. The group maintains strong output in top-tier venues through theoretical and empirical approaches. Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate consistent focus on verification, robustness, and multi-source learning, with notable recognition including the DARPA Disruptive Ideas award for logic gate neural network verification. Work frequently bridges computer vision and machine learning theory, with applications in safety-critical systems. Scientific Awards: ELLIS Fellow DARPA Disruptive Ideas award at NeuS (2025) for "Logic Gate Neural Networks are Good for Verification" Professor Lampert has supervised 12+ PhD students including recent graduates Alex Peste (2023), Nikola Konstantinov (2022), and Mary Phuong (2021), with current advisees including Max Cairney-Leeming and Egor Zverev. His group secures consistent publication placements at NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR while editing major volumes like "Advanced Structured Prediction" (MIT Press 2015). The MLCV group comprises 10+ members including postdocs and PhD students, operating within ISTA's ELLIS unit (approved 2019). The team maintains active collaborations across Europe through the ELLIS network and regularly hosts visiting researchers.
Cao Jiannong is currently a Chair Professor and Director of the University Research Facility in Big Data Analytics at Hong Kong Polytechnic University . He has held academic roles including Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong and University Lecturer at the University of Adelaide and James Cook University. His research spans Cloud and Edge Computing , Parallel and Distributed Systems , Big Data Analytics , and Wireless Sensing . Ph.D. in Computer Science, Washington State University (1990) MSc in Computer Science, Washington State University (1986) BSc in Computer Science, Nanjing University, China (1982) His work focuses on solving theoretical and practical challenges in distributed computing , mobile cloud systems , and wireless sensor networks . Recent projects include coupled network embedding models for heterogeneous networks and SDN architectures for vehicular communication. His research also pioneers WiFi-based non-invasive health monitoring and fault-tolerant sensor deployment for structural health applications. Dr. Cao's publications highlight advancements in network embedding , edge computing , and WSN optimization . Key papers address multi-user computation partitioning , energy-efficient SHM systems , and consensus protocols for mobile networks. These works have been cited over 15,000 times, with an h-index of 60. Ministry of Education (China) Natural Science Award (2018) Distinguished Member, ACM (2017) Fellow, IEEE (2014) Best Paper Awards at IEEE DSAA, SMARTCOMP, and WCNC Dr. Cao has advised multiple PhD students, including Linchuan Xu and Weigang Wu , whose research on WSN-based SHM and coupled network embedding has practical impact. His leadership includes directing Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Big Data Research Facility and serving on technical committees for IEEE INFOCOM and ACM/IEEE conferences.
Lam James is a Chair Professor of Control Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), affiliated with the Faculty of Engineering. He holds a BSc (1st Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester, and MPhil/PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge. His academic journey includes roles as a Croucher Fellow, Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, and faculty member at City University of Hong Kong before joining HKU in 1993. Professor Lam serves as Editor-in-Chief for four international journals including IET Control Theory and Applications and Journal of The Franklin Institute . His research focuses on networked control systems, vibration control, control theory, and multi-agent systems. With 600+ peer-reviewed publications, he maintains an H-index of 102 (Web of Science) and 108 (Scopus), recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher in multiple fields. Education: BSc Manchester (Mechanical Engineering), MPhil/PhD Cambridge Editorial Roles: 20+ journals, including leadership roles since 2012 His awards include Foreign Membership of Academia Europaea (2024), National Academy of Artificial Intelligence membership (2025), and two State Natural Science Awards (2015, 2019). He is a Fellow of multiple institutions including IEEE, IMechE, and HKIE.
Gil Kalai is a Professor of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 1992, where he holds the Henry and Manya Noskwith Chair. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Yale University since 2004 in a long-term part-time visiting position. His academic career includes visiting positions at prestigious institutions including MIT, Cornell, IAS Princeton, Berkeley, Bell-labs, IBM, and Microsoft. Professor Kalai's research spans multiple areas within mathematics and theoretical computer science. His work in combinatorics encompasses geometric, probabilistic, and topological approaches. He has made significant contributions to the study of convex sets and polytopes, linear programming, and theoretical computer science. His influential 1988 paper with Kahn and Linial on Boolean functions pioneered applications of Fourier analysis in theoretical computer science. Kalai's research has evolved to include the application of Fourier analysis to thresholds, influences, symmetries, noise, percolation, and social choice. He has developed theories in algebraic shifting and studied face-numbers and other combinatorial invariants of polytopes. His work on the diameter of polytopes and randomized simplex algorithms has been influential in optimization theory. In 1993, his collaboration with Kahn produced a groundbreaking counterexample to Borsuk's Conjecture in 1325 dimensions. Professor Kalai's publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of combinatorics, geometry, and theoretical computer science. His work shows a progression from foundational combinatorial geometry to increasingly sophisticated applications of harmonic analysis in discrete mathematics. The recurring themes across his 30+ year career include Boolean functions, polytope theory, and probabilistic methods in combinatorics, demonstrating remarkable coherence in his research trajectory. 2016 European congress of Mathematics, plenary speaker 2013 ERC advanced grant 2012 Rothschild Prize 1994 International Congress of Mathematicians invited section talk, Zurich 1994 Fulkerson Prize 1993 Erdos Prize 1992 Polya Prize Though specific details of his advising are not provided in the source material, Kalai has written over 70 scientific papers and maintains an active research blog entitled "Combinatorics and More." His 2013 ERC advanced grant indicates significant research funding for his work. His extensive collaborations with researchers across multiple institutions suggest a robust research program with numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, though specific names are not mentioned in the provided texts. Professor Kalai maintains active research connections across multiple institutions including Hebrew University, Yale, and various research centers worldwide. His work bridges pure mathematics and theoretical computer science, creating a unique interdisciplinary research environment that influences both fields.
Peter Druschel is a Professor and founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) in Saarbrücken, Germany. He holds adjunct professorships at Saarland University and the University of Maryland. His research focuses on distributed systems, operating systems, and privacy-preserving technologies. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1994 and has held roles at Rice University since 1994, including Professor of Computer Science (2002–2005). Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Arizona (1994) Research Interests: Distributed systems, operating systems, network security, accountable computing, and privacy technologies. Current projects include privacy compliance in data systems (Thoth), secure communication (EbN), and privacy-aware image capture (I-Pic). Awards: SIGOPS Mark Weiser Award (2008) NSF CAREER Award (1995) Member of Academia Europaea and German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Grants & Leadership: Leads the ERC Synergy Project imPACT, chairs the Max Planck Society’s Chemistry, Physics, and Technology Section, and collaborates with institutions like Cornell and Google. Advises on policy issues related to technology and privacy. Labs/Teams: Distributed Systems Group at MPI-SWS, collaborations with Microsoft Research and MIT. Current team includes students and postdocs working on privacy, security, and distributed systems.
Francesco Locatello is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), leading the Causal Learning and Artificial Intelligence lab. He is also an AI Resident at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He holds a PhD from ETH Zürich, co-advised by Gunnar Rätsch and Bernhard Schölkopf. His research focuses on causal representation learning, score matching, and object-centric learning, with applications in machine learning and AI. His work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the ICML 2019 Best Paper Award and the Hector Foundation Award (2023). Education: PhD in Machine Learning, ETH Zürich (advisors: Gunnar Rätsch, Bernhard Schölkopf) Research Interests: Causal Learning, Causal Representation Discovery, Score Matching Algorithms, Object-Centric Learning, Robust Generalization in AI, and Applications in Vision and Reinforcement Learning. Recent Work Trends: His publications emphasize causal mechanisms in neural representations, scalable causal discovery methods, and improving model generalization through latent space analysis. Recent studies explore geometric representations, mechanistic neural networks, and OOD detection using relative angles. Awards: ICML 2019 Best Paper Award Hector Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievements in Machine Learning (2023) Google Research Scholar Award (2024) Advising & Teams: Supervises a dynamic lab with students and postdocs across ISTA, ELLIS, and partner institutions. Notable advisees include Dingling Yao (ISTA), Riccardo Cadei (co-advised with Cordelia Schmid), and Marco Fumero (now a postdoc at ISTA). Collaborates with leading researchers like Arthur Gretton, Max Welling, and Volkan Cevher. Labs & Initiatives: Leads the Causal Learning and AI lab at ISTA, contributing to ELLIS programs and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in causal AI.
Professor Marta Zofia Kwiatkowska is Professor of Computing Systems and Fellow of Trinity College at the University of Oxford, where she has held a faculty position since 2007. She previously served as Professor of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham (2001–2007), Reader and Lecturer at the University of Birmingham (1994–2001), and Lecturer at the University of Leicester (1986–1994). Her academic career began as Assistant Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland (1980–1988). Education: BSc/MSc in Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Kraków MA, University of Oxford PhD, University of Leicester Research Interests: Professor Kwiatkowska spearheaded the development of probabilistic and quantitative verification methods on the international stage. Her work bridges theory and practice through the PRISM model checker—the leading software tool in probabilistic model checking—used worldwide for research and teaching. Application domains include communication and security protocols , nanotechnology designs , power management , ubiquitous computing and systems biology . She investigates automated verification , temporal logics , semantic models for concurrency , real-time systems , and biological process modelling . Current grant funding exceeds £3.7 million from EPSRC, EU and ERC, including the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant VERIWARE. Scientific Awards & Honours: Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the ACM Fellow of the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS) Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS) Fellow of the Polish Society of Arts & Sciences Abroad ERC Advanced Grant VERIWARE (€2.046 M, 2010–2015) Top Cited Article Award, Theoretical Computer Science (2005–2010) Best Paper Award, QEST 2006 Doctoral Supervision & Grants: Professor Kwiatkowska actively supervises doctoral students (D.Phil. at Oxford) and post-doctoral researchers. She welcomes applications in areas aligned with her research interests, detailed here . Current students include Charlie Griffin, Daqian Shao, Matthew Yuan and Minghao Liu; past students and researchers number over twenty, many now in faculty or industry leadership roles. Laboratory & Teams: She leads the Oxford Quantitative Verification group within the Department of Computer Science. Ongoing projects include FUN2MODEL, ELSA, FAIR and the flagship PRISM probabilistic model checker. The group maintains strong collaborations with biological, robotics and engineering teams worldwide.
Dr. Rajkumar Buyya is a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne and Founder & CEO of Manjrasoft , a spin-off commercializing cloud innovations. He has held visiting roles at Imperial College London , University of Birmingham , and Tsinghua University . Research Interests : His work spans Cloud Computing , Edge Computing , Grid Systems , and Energy-Efficient Computing , focusing on utility-driven resource allocation, simulation tools, and scalable IoT application frameworks. He pioneered the CloudSim toolkit and Aneka Cloud technologies. Scientific Awards : IEEE Fellow (2015), Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2016-2021) Khwarizmi International Award (2020), Scopus Researcher of the Year (2017) Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award (2010), IEEE TCSC Medal (2009) Impact : Authored over 850 publications, including the widely adopted textbook Mastering Cloud Computing . Graduated 54 PhD students now in leadership roles at institutions like Newcastle University and companies such as IBM , Google , and Amazon . His research has driven global adoption of cloud/edge technologies in 50+ countries.
Mark Coeckelbergh is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Vienna, specializing in the philosophy of technology, AI ethics, and robot ethics. He is affiliated with the Department of Philosophy and the Research Network Data Science at the University of Vienna. In addition to his academic position, Coeckelbergh has held significant roles including Former President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) and Member of the European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLEG). His research focuses on the ethical, political, and philosophical implications of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and robotics. Coeckelbergh has published extensively in these areas, authoring influential books such as Robot Ethics (2022), The Political Philosophy of AI (2022), and Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It . His work explores how AI systems affect democratic processes, human agency, and social relationships. Recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on the relationship between AI, democracy, and ethical governance, examining how AI systems can both threaten and potentially enhance democratic processes through algorithmic transparency and participatory design approaches. Finalist of the World Technology Award 2017 Coeckelbergh teaches various courses including 'Introduction to Philosophy of LLMs,' 'LLMs and the Future of Writing,' 'Ethics and Robotics,' and 'Global Governance of AI.' He has supervised numerous students working on topics related to technology ethics and philosophy. He has been involved in several major research projects including H2020 PERSEO, WWTF Democracy Responsible Entrepreneurship, and FP7 DREAM (Development of Robot-Enhanced therapy for children with Autism spectrum disorders). Coeckelbergh has also announced upcoming guest professorships at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Uppsala University, where he will work on environmental and technology ethics projects.
Christian Bargetz is a Professor of Functional Analysis at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, affiliated with the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics (MIP). His primary research focuses on nonlinear functional analysis, Banach space theory, and distribution theory. He teaches advanced courses such as Optimization, Distribution Theory, and Functional Analysis, demonstrating his expertise in both theoretical and applied aspects of his field. Education: Completed his PhD in 2012 at the University of Innsbruck under the supervision of Norbert Ortner. His diploma thesis (2008) explored differential behaviors with Ulrich Oberst. Bargetz has held continuous academic positions since 2008, including roles as a lecturer and researcher. Research Interests: Specializes in iterative projection methods, generic properties of nonexpansive mappings, Fréchet spaces, and vector-valued distributions. His work bridges functional analysis with geometric measure theory and optimization, with applications in metric geometry and topological tensor products. Publications: Over 30 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals such as Canadian Journal of Mathematics , Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications , and Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society . Recent work includes studies on extremal nonexpansive mappings and Lipschitz function spaces. Grants & Projects: Principal investigator in FWF-funded projects on nonexpansive mappings and Banach spaces. Collaborates internationally, including with institutions in Israel, Poland, and Serbia. Teaching: Leads advanced courses in functional analysis, optimization, and distribution theory. Supervises bachelor's theses and master's projects on topics like extension operators for Lipschitz functions. Affiliations: Active member of the Functional Analysis working group and regularly participates in international conferences such as the Banach Afternoon, Winter School in Abstract Analysis, and DMV-ÖMG Annual Conferences.
Vladimir Kazeev is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Vienna , where he has held a faculty position since 2019. He also held previous academic appointments as a Szegő Assistant Professor at Stanford University (2017–2019), a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva (2015–2017), and research positions at ETH Zurich (2011–2015), Russian Academy of Sciences (2008–2011), and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (2009). His research focuses on adaptive, data-driven numerical methods for differential equations, nonlinear low-parametric approximation, and numerical linear algebra. His work intersects computational mathematics, tensor methods, and high-dimensional problem-solving, particularly in the context of partial differential equations (PDEs) and stochastic modeling. The 15 most recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on quantized tensor-structured methods for PDEs, low-rank approximations, and high-dimensional numerical analysis. His research spans theoretical advancements in tensor decomposition, practical applications in chemical reaction networks, and novel discretization techniques for multiscale and degenerate diffusion problems. Scientific awards include the prestigious ETH Medal for outstanding doctoral theses (2016) Russian Academy of Sciences Medal for outstanding student works in mathematics (2011) Advising and teaching activities include supervising Jason Zhu (Stanford, 2019) and Simon Etter (ETH Zurich, 2014), as well as teaching advanced courses in tensor methods, numerical analysis, and PDEs at the University of Vienna, Stanford University, and the University of Geneva. His service to the community includes peer review for 15+ journals and co-organizing minisymposia at SIAM meetings.
