Peter Huybers is a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard University , where he investigates the climate system and its societal implications, including interactions between volcanism and glaciation , extreme temperature predictability , and climate change impacts on food production . Research interests span climate change attribution , paleoclimate reconstruction , drought dynamics , crop yield modeling , and earth system feedbacks . His work often integrates art-historical analysis with climate science, as seen in studies of 19th-century air pollution through Turner and Monet paintings . Scientific awards include funding from Harvard Data Science Initiative (2023) for projects on climate change and food supply volatility Amazon Web Services (2023) grant His 20+ peer-reviewed articles since 2020 focus on climate proxies , hydrological modeling , solar forcing , and agricultural-climate interactions , with recent work in Nature , PNAS , and Science Advances . Advising : Mentored 10+ PhD students including Parker Liautaud , Duo Chan , and Marena Lin , while leading research teams with current members like Greta Berendes and Caro Park . Former staff include Jon Proctor and Lucas Vargas Zeppetello , the latter now at UC Berkeley (2024).
Pieter Desmet serves as Professor of Design for Experience at Delft University of Technology's Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, specifically within the Department of Human-Centered Design. He directs the Delft Institute of Positive Design, focusing on advancing knowledge for designing human flourishing. His research centers on emotional design mechanisms, particularly how product design evokes emotions and contributes to individual and community well-being. Key interests include Positive Design frameworks, mood-regulation interventions, AI-emotion alignment, and multisensory experiences in packaging and museum contexts. Recent work explores liminal spaces in exhibits, autoethnography ethics, and group mood dynamics in workplaces. Analysis of his 275+ publications reveals consistent focus on emotional design theory with expanding applications in AI, healthcare, and sustainability. His work bridges academic research with practical design tools for emotional well-being. No scientific awards are documented in the provided materials. Desmet actively supervises doctoral candidates (evidenced by PhD thesis datasets) and secures research grants through institutional collaborations. His leadership in organizing major conferences like IASDR 2023 and Design & Emotion events demonstrates significant academic influence. He leads the Delft Institute of Positive Design research group, which investigates user experience aspects through interdisciplinary projects integrating psychology, design, and technology.
Stefano Galelli is a tenured Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, where he leads the Critical Infrastructure Systems Lab. He also holds an adjunct position as a Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. His career spans roles in Singapore, including a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at NUS (2011–2013) and faculty at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (2013–2023). Dr. Galelli earned his B.Sc. (2004), M.Sc. (2007), and Ph.D. (2011) in Environmental and Land Planning Engineering and Information Technology from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. His research focuses on the interactions between critical infrastructure systems and natural environments, emphasizing adaptive management solutions for water-energy systems. Techniques include process-based modeling, climatology, statistical learning, control theory, and optimization. He explores topics like hydro-climatic variability impacts, dam re-operation for environmental flows, and cyber-physical security in infrastructure. His contributions to journals such as Nature Sustainability, Earth’s Future, and Environmental Modelling & Software have earned him multiple awards, including the Early Career Research Excellence Award (2014) and SUTD Excellence in Research Award (2017). He has served as an editor for several journals and is recognized for advancing interdisciplinary approaches to water-energy nexus challenges. Teaching highlights include foundational mathematics courses and advanced topics in data analytics, optimization, and water-energy management. He is developing new courses on data-driven control of coupled human-natural systems and risk management for interconnected systems.
James Malazita is Associate Professor of Science & Technology Studies and Associate Director of the Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He is affiliated with the Department of Science and Technology Studies in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and contributes to the GEM (Games and Experiential Media) research group. Education: Ph.D. in Communication, Culture, and Media, Drexel University (2014) BS/MS in Digital Media, Drexel University (2009) Malazita's research lies at the intersection of game studies, platform studies, feminist technoscience, and social justice in computing. He critically investigates how game engines like Unreal shape technological and cultural infrastructures, particularly through the lenses of gender, race, and power. His forthcoming book, Enacting Platforms: Feminist Technoscience and the Unreal Engine (MIT Press, July 2024), offers a groundbreaking feminist and critical analysis of one of the most influential game development platforms. His work also extends to digital humanities, critical design, and the politics of computer science education. His recent publications reveal a strong thematic focus on the co-production of technology and society, with recurring interests in epistemic cultures, disciplinary formation, localization, and critical pedagogy. These works span journals in game studies, design, digital humanities, and STS, reflecting an interdisciplinary approach that bridges technical systems and humanistic critique. Scientific Support and Affiliations: Supported by NEH Office of Digital Humanities Supported by NEH Division of Educational Programs Supported by Popular Culture Association Supported by New Jersey Historical Commission Supported by Red Hat Inc. Supported by Rensselaer’s Teaching and Learning Collaboratory Member of GEM (Games and Experiential Media) ORCID: 0000-0003-3206-3682 Malazita advises graduate students in STS and Games, with former advisees placed at Yale, NYU, and UT Austin. He teaches courses in game studies, human-centered design, interpretive methods, and critical technology studies. His current course includes STSO 2610: DSIS Studio II (Spring 2024). His research raises fundamental questions about the material and cultural limits of platforms, the analyst-platform relationship, and the future of the web as shaped by game technologies.
Toni Kotnik is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at Aalto University, Finland. He holds dual expertise in mathematics and architecture, with a Ph.D. from the University of Zurich and a second degree in architecture. His roles include principal of d’HKL , a Zurich-based experimental architecture firm, and adjunct lecturer at institutions like Harvard University and the Bartlett School of Architecture. His research focuses on integrating science, engineering, and computation into architectural design, emphasizing structural innovation and sustainability. Education: Ph.D. in Mathematics (Dr. sc. Nat.), University of Zurich, 1999 Second degree in Architecture Research Interests: Computational design and generative systems Structural aesthetics and neuroaesthetics Sustainable urban and architectural solutions Parametric modeling and material systems Key Contributions: Advances in graphic statics and form-finding Design strategies for high-density urban environments Integration of AI and generative tools in architectural practice Recent Work Trends: Recent articles emphasize computational methods for industrial layout optimization, AI’s role in architecture, and embodied perception in structural design. His work bridges theoretical research with practical applications, such as the Singapore Hawker Centre redesign and experimental structures like hypar-combined shells. Awards: Aalto University Doctoral Thesis Awards (2022) Best Presentation Award (2019) Oscari-Vilamo Award (2023) Advising & Grants: Supervised 4 theses, including recipients of awards like the Metex Award shortlist. Active in international academic networks, serving on conference committees (e.g., International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures) and editorial roles (e.g., Automation in Construction journal). Labs & Teams: Leads the d’HKL studio, collaborating globally on projects like the AA/ETH Pavilion and the Hypercube for Gardens by the Bay. Research focuses on experimental design and material systems.
Keigo Kobayashi is an Associate Professor at Waseda University's Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of Architecture. He has served in this position since 2016, previously holding the rank of Assistant Professor from 2012 to 2016. His professional journey includes significant experience at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam, where he worked as a Senior Architect and Project Architect from 2007 to 2012. His educational background includes a Master of Architecture II from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (2005), a Master of Architecture from Waseda University's Graduate School of Science and Engineering (2003), and a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from Waseda University's School of Science and Engineering (2002). Kobayashi's research focuses on architectural planning and city planning, with particular interests in food-related architecture, spatial behavior, and sustainable design. His work explores the intersection of architecture with everyday life, examining how spatial configurations influence human behavior and community formation. Recent research has investigated food systems in urban contexts, playful approaches to spatial design, and the relationship between architectural form and environmental performance. His publications demonstrate a strong focus on practical applications of architectural theory, with projects spanning from food truck design in Shodoshima to zero-energy housing solutions and innovative approaches to architectural education. His work shows a consistent interest in how architecture can respond to contemporary social challenges while maintaining theoretical rigor. Excellence in Concrete Construction Award 2019, American Concrete Institute (ACI), Qatar National Library / OMA Kobayashi actively contributes to architectural education through various committee memberships, including serving as Chief of the Subcommittee on Strategies for International Compatibility in Architectural Education at the Architectural Institute of Japan and leading the Caberra Accord Correspondence Subcommittee at the Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education. His teaching portfolio at Waseda University is extensive, covering architectural design studios from undergraduate to doctoral levels. He leads several research initiatives, including the Wakusei Project in Tosa, Kochi, NPO PLAT (Platform for Architectural Thinking), and the European Thinkbelt/McDonald's Radio University project which represents an innovative approach to architectural education and community engagement, particularly in contexts of migration and cultural exchange.
Joakim Nivre is a Professor at Uppsala University's Department of Linguistics and Philology. He is a leading researcher in computational linguistics, with a focus on dependency parsing, Universal Dependencies (UD) framework development, and multilingual NLP applications. His recent work explores LLMs in climate change discourse analysis, pharmacovigilance explainability, and historical text processing. Key research areas: Dependency parsing theory, Universal Dependencies standardization, LLM evaluation Collaborations: SweSAT-1.0 benchmark development, ClimateEval project, PARSEME integration His 2025-2023 publications demonstrate expertise in explainable AI for healthcare, synthetic data generation for idioms, and multilingual benchmark design. Notably, he co-developed SweSAT-1.0 to evaluate Swedish LLMs and contributed to typology-informed UD revisions. Despite extensive work in NLP, no scientific awards are mentioned in available texts.
Ari Schlesinger is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Georgia (UGA), directing the Socially Responsible Tech Lab. She holds a PhD from the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on anti-discriminatory computing, technology policy, and equitable sociotechnical systems. She advocates for reducing computing-enabled harm to advance justice in technology. Education : PhD in Human-Centered Computing (HCC), Georgia Tech Affiliations : ACM's U.S. Technology Policy Committee Her work spans Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and broader CS applications. Key interests include addressing algorithmic bias, inclusive design, and policy frameworks for ethical computing. She has developed strategies to mitigate discrimination in technical systems through frameworks like anti-discriminatory computing. Awards include the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award and a Best Paper Award at CHI 2018. Her research has been featured in venues like CSCW and CHI, focusing on topics from chatbot ethics to decentralized social networks. Lab : Socially Responsible Tech Lab at UGA Grants/Advising : Advises graduate student Eddie Alexander Gomez Schieber. Active in policy advocacy and academic leadership roles.
James Zou is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University, with courtesy appointments in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on advancing machine learning methodologies for healthcare applications, emphasizing reliability, fairness, and statistical rigor. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has held positions at Microsoft Research, Cambridge University (as a Gates Scholar), and UC Berkeley (Simons Fellow). Zou leads the Stanford Data4Health hub and is a Chan-Zuckerberg Investigator. His work spans AI-driven diagnostics, spatial transcriptomics, and ethical AI frameworks. Key achievements include the EchoNet AI system for echocardiography and foundational contributions to data valuation (e.g., Data Shapley). Awards include the Sloan Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, and Google/Tencent AI awards. Education: Ph.D., Harvard University (2014); Postdoctoral roles at Microsoft Research, Cambridge, and Berkeley. Research Interests: Machine learning for healthcare, algorithmic fairness, interpretable AI, spatial omics, and translational bioinformatics. His lab develops tools like TextGrad (PyTorch for text agents) and frameworks for evaluating medical AI systems. Recent work addresses LLMs in peer review and clinical decision-making. Grants/Grants: Supported by NSF, Sloan Foundation, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and industry partnerships (Google, Amazon, Adobe). Advises on over 20 doctoral students, many contributing to high-impact papers in Nature , Science , and top conferences (NeurIPS, ICML). Leads collaborations in cardiology, oncology, and veterinary medicine. Labs/Teams: Stanford AI Lab, Stanford Data4Health, and interdisciplinary groups in precision medicine. Active in open-source projects like FrugalML and MetaViz.
Pascale Biron is a Professor in the Department of Geography, Urban Planning and Environment at Concordia University, Montreal. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Université de Montréal (1995) and has been with Concordia since 1998. Her research focuses on river dynamics, stream restoration for fish habitat, flood modeling, and climate change impacts. She specializes in hydrogeomorphology, river management in agricultural watersheds, and numerical modeling of fluvial processes. Research Interests: Her work includes river restoration strategies, flood risk assessment using LiDAR technology, and the 'river freedom' concept promoting ecosystem resilience. She collaborates closely with government agencies to translate research into practical river management policies. Professional Affiliations: Canadian Geomorphology Research Group, Canadian Association of Geographers, American Geophysical Union, GRIL (Limnology Research Group), and RIISQ (Quebec Flood Risk Network). Publications & Research: Recent studies address global salmonid biomass patterns, fluvial hazard detection via machine learning, and large-scale flood modeling. She supervises 19 graduate students in Ph.D./M.Sc. programs in Geography and Environmental Studies, focusing on topics like river confluence hydraulics and agricultural stream restoration. Grants & Funding: Active projects include river dynamics in fish habitats, flood modeling for road infrastructure vulnerability, and computational fluid dynamics simulations of river flows. She also leads research on societal dimensions of river restoration and policy frameworks for flood resilience.
Martin Volk is a Full Professor of Computational Linguistics at the University of Zurich, with a dual affiliation to the Department of Informatics since 2019. He holds a PhD from the University of Koblenz and has held academic positions at institutions including Stockholm University (part-time from 2008-2011), Zurich University of Applied Sciences, and the University of Georgia. His research focuses on grammar engineering, machine translation evaluation, multilingual text analysis, and cross-language information retrieval. Education : Born in Cochem, Germany Studied Computer Science and Computational Linguistics at EWH University, Koblenz Master's in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Georgia (Fulbright Scholar) PhD in Computational Linguistics from the University of Koblenz Research Interests : His work emphasizes data-driven NLP methods, including corpus-based approaches, parsing technologies, and the application of machine learning to historical and multilingual texts. Key focuses include: Machine translation systems and evaluation frameworks Grammar testing environments (e.g., GTU) OCR and digitization of historical documents (e.g., Gothic script) Development of parallel corpora for linguistic research Projects : SMULTRON: Multilingual parallel treebank project Bullinger Digital: Historical document digitization initiative Text+Berg: Digital Humanities project for alpine textual heritage EU-funded MuchMore (cross-language medical IR) Grants & Collaborations : Recipient of grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, EU projects, and industry partnerships (e.g., Siemens, Xerox). His work integrates academic and industrial perspectives in NLP tool development. Labs & Teams : Leads research teams in the Institute of Computational Linguistics at UZH, focusing on projects like the Zurich Parallel Corpus Collection and MODERN (modeling discourse for MT).
Anand Bhattad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, starting Fall 2025. Previously, he held positions as a Research Assistant Professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC) and a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on the intersection of computer vision, generative modeling, and physical reasoning, aiming to develop perception-driven and physics-aware visual models. His academic journey includes a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under David Forsyth, with mentorship from Derek Hoiem, Svetlana Lazebnik, Greg Shakhnarovich, and Shenlong Wang. Prior to his PhD, he earned dual master’s degrees in Computer Science and Civil and Environmental Engineering at UIUC and a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from NITK Surathkal, India. Research interests center on how generative models encode physical and perceptual knowledge, with key contributions in intrinsic image emergence, projective geometry limitations, and physics-aware relighting techniques. His work bridges classical computer vision concepts with modern deep learning, producing state-of-the-art methods for 3D scene synthesis and image editing. Articles span topics like 3P Vision , diffusion models, and 360° video datasets, reflecting interdisciplinary approaches in computer graphics and computational photography. Scientific awards include Outstanding Reviewer at ICCV 2023, CVPR 2022 Best Paper Finalist, and multiple conference service roles as workshop organizer and area chair. He designed the TTIC course Past Meets Present: A Tale of Two Visions , teaching connections between historical and modern computer vision research.
Giuliano Di Baldassarre is a Professor of Hydrology and Environmental Analysis at the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University , Sweden. He serves as Head of Division for LUVAL (Air, Water and Landscape Sciences) and directs the Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS) (2016–2025). His work bridges water, environment, and society through interdisciplinary methods , focusing on disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and sustainable development. Education : Details not explicitly provided in the text. His research examines feedbacks between human activities and hydrological processes , including floods, droughts, and reservoir management . Key themes include social-ecological systems , inequalities in water crises , and policy implications of hydrological extremes . He has pioneered sociohydrology and human-water system modeling . Recent articles highlight global drought-flood interactions , urban water inequality , climate service maladaptation , and sociohydrological modeling . His work spans Nature Sustainability , Science Advances , and Hydrological Sciences Journal . Scientific Awards : International Hydrology Prize (Volker Medal) Plinius Medal (EGU) Witherspoon Lecture Award (AGU) European Research Council Consolidator Grant He led Panta Rhei - Everything Flows (2013–2022), IAHS’s global initiative on water-society interactions. Current efforts include transdisciplinary praxis and climate risk reduction frameworks .
Professor Awadhesh N. Jha is a Professor in Genetic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology at the School of Biological and Marine Sciences , University of Plymouth, UK. He has been a leading figure in environmental toxicology since joining the university in 1996, rising to full professorship in 2010. He leads the Environmental and Applied Biology Research Group and the Genetic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Research Group, and served as REF UoA6 Coordinator (2014–2022). His educational background includes a PhD in Radiation Cytogenetics from Banaras Hindu University, India (1989), followed by post-doctoral work at Leiden University, Netherlands, and a role at ICI/Zeneca’s marine toxicology lab before transitioning to academia. Professor Jha’s research focuses on the genotoxic and ecotoxic impacts of environmental stressors such as radionuclides, engineered nanoparticles, PAHs, and emerging contaminants on aquatic organisms. He employs multidisciplinary and innovative methodologies, including in vitro models like fish cell spheroids (‘Virtual Fish’ project), to assess DNA damage, develop biomarkers, and reduce reliance on live animal testing. His work integrates molecular biology, chemistry, and environmental science to evaluate risks to marine ecosystems and human health. The recent research articles reflect a strong trend in marine pollution, radiation biology, and environmental risk assessment , with increasing emphasis on emerging issues like tritium release from nuclear facilities, AI-assisted landfill risk modeling, and sunscreen toxicity. His studies often involve international collaborations and real-world policy implications. Scientific Awards and Recognitions: Jim Parry Award, UKEMS (2021) Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB, 2015) VC’s World Class Researcher Award Finalist (2010, 2012) Plymouth Pioneers Recognition UK Nominated Expert, UN WOA III (2023) Supervision and Grants: Professor Jha has supervised 26 PhD students to completion and mentored over 10 post-doctoral researchers. He has led major funded projects including TRANSAT (€5M, Horizon 2020), SPHERTOX , and TITANS , funded by EU, NERC, BBSRC, IAEA, and industry partners like AstraZeneca and Unilever. His work directly informs environmental policy and nuclear safety regulations. Laboratories and Teams: He leads the Genetic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Research Group and is central to the Environmental and Applied Biology Research Group at Plymouth. His team collaborates internationally with institutions in France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and India, and contributes to the South West Nuclear Hub. The lab specializes in advanced analytical methods, comet assays, and 3D cell culture models.
Dorina Siebert is a Researcher at the Chair of Metal Construction within the School of Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. She has been working as a research assistant at the Chair since 2019, contributing to various research projects related to steel and aluminum construction, fracture mechanics, and additive manufacturing in construction. Education: M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Technical University of Munich (2012-2019) Affiliation: Chair of Metal Construction, School of Engineering, Technical University of Munich Contact: dorina.siebert@tum.de, Room 0101.Z1.038, +49 (89) 289-22527 Dorina's research primarily focuses on the fatigue strength of aluminum structures, fracture mechanics in railway bridges, and the application of additive manufacturing techniques in construction. Her work on powder bed-based laser beam melting of metal has significant implications for modern construction methods. She also investigates safe operating time intervals for historic steel bridges and has contributed to the development of a mobile vehicle barrier, demonstrating the practical applications of her theoretical work. Her publication record shows a strong trend toward computational and experimental analysis of material behavior under stress, particularly in aluminum alloys and steel structures. She has published extensively on fatigue properties, fracture mechanics calculations, and additive manufacturing applications, with a clear progression toward more complex modeling techniques and practical engineering solutions. Her work bridges theoretical computational models with real-world infrastructure challenges. Dorina teaches courses including 'Constructing with aluminum' for the Summer semester 2025 and 'Fracture mechanics and fatigue' for the Winter semester 2024/25. She also leads a seminar on plate buckling and steel bridge construction, sharing her specialized knowledge with engineering students. Her teaching directly reflects her research expertise, creating a strong connection between theoretical knowledge and practical application for her students.
