Yin Tat Lee is an Associate Professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering , University of Washington, and a Senior Principal Researcher in Microsoft AI. His research spans convex optimization , convex geometry , graph algorithms , online algorithms , and differential privacy , with applications in machine learning and theoretical computer science.
Benjamin Lange is a Research Professor and Junior Research Group Leader in the Ethics of AI and Machine Learning at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (LMU) and the Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML). He is also an Associate Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Institute for Practical Ethics and a member of LMU's Zentrum für Ethik und Philosophie in der Praxis (ZEPP). His research bridges foundational ethical theory with practical challenges in technology, business, and organizational ethics. Lange holds a BSc from the London School of Economics, and a B.Phil and D.Phil from the University of Oxford. He previously held visiting positions at Google’s Responsible Innovation team and the University of Hamburg. His research focuses on ethical frameworks for AI, digital ethics, and corporate responsibility. Key themes include the ethics of human-AI collaboration, moral partiality in relationships, and organizational ethics. He has advised the European Commission on AI governance and developed assurance audit methodologies for algorithmic systems, including work for NYC’s AI Bias Law. His consulting practice focuses on helping organizations build ethical cultures through capabilities like moral imagination and compliance frameworks. Lange’s work has been featured in media such as CBS News, Business Insider, and ZDF heute journal. He is completing a book on the ethics of interpersonal relationships and partiality, aiming to connect philosophical insights with practical applications. His recent publications explore moral imagination in engineering teams, bias mitigation in AI systems, and the ethical implications of digital duplication technologies. He advises Fortune 500 companies, startups, and public institutions across sectors including finance, technology, and education. His approach emphasizes aligning ethical practices with organizational growth and social impact through tailored ethical frameworks and stakeholder engagement strategies.
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for InformaticsGermany
Julian McAuley is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering. His research spans recommender systems, machine learning, natural language processing, music information retrieval, and multimodal learning. He maintains an active research group with numerous PhD students and postdocs working on cutting-edge AI problems. His research interests focus on developing advanced algorithms for personalized recommendation systems, with particular emphasis on sequential recommendation, multimodal learning, and integrating large language models with traditional recommendation approaches. His work bridges the gap between theoretical machine learning and practical applications across multiple domains including e-commerce, music, and healthcare. McAuley has published extensively in top-tier conferences including NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, SIGIR, and ACL, with his most recent work exploring the intersection of large language models and recommendation systems. His publications reveal a strong trend toward multimodal approaches that combine text, vision, and audio for more comprehensive understanding and recommendation. He has received significant research funding from major technology companies including Google, Amazon, Facebook, Adobe, and Samsung, as well as government agencies like the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense. His work has practical applications across multiple industries, with a focus on improving user experience through better personalization. McAuley advises numerous PhD students who have gone on to successful careers at leading technology companies and academic institutions. His former students include Wang-Cheng Kang and Jianmo Ni at Google DeepMind, Chris Donahue and Zachary Lipton as assistant professors at CMU, and Ruining He at Google Deepmind.
Prof. Dr. Ina Christin Meier serves as Head of Department and Head of Research Unit for Functional Forest Ecology at the University of Hamburg, within the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences. She is affiliated with the Institute of Wood Sciences (Institut für Holzwissenschaften) in the Department of Biology, where she leads research on forest ecosystem responses to global environmental changes at Ohnhorststrasse 18, 22609 Hamburg. Dr. Meier's research focuses on the impacts of global change factors —including increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentration, summer drought, nitrogen deposition, and intensified management—on the biogeochemistry and biodiversity of temperate, boreal, Mediterranean, and global forest biomes. Her work spans functional ecology of forest trees and grasslands , interactions between roots, mycorrhizal fungi and soil , ecophysiology , and long-term changes in forest ecosystems . She has made significant contributions to understanding root carbon allocation, tropical forest responses to climate change, and the role of mycorrhizal relationships in forest ecosystems. Analysis of Dr. Meier's publication record reveals a strong emphasis on belowground ecology and global change biology , with particular attention to root systems across diverse biomes. Her research bridges plant physiology, ecosystem ecology, and climate science, often synthesizing data from multiple studies to identify broader patterns. She frequently investigates how carbon allocation to root exudates affects soil sequestration and drought response, and has developed important frameworks for understanding root trait responses to multiple global change drivers. Dr. Meier actively collaborates with international research teams across continents. Her work on Nature's Contributions to People has demonstrated that securing essential ecosystem services requires maintaining at least 20-25% semi-natural habitat in human-modified landscapes. She also investigates the chemical complexity of root exudates and their ecological significance, contributing methodological advances to this challenging area of research.
Prof. Dr. Steffen Marburg is a Full Professor at the Chair of Acoustics of Mobile Systems within the TUM School of Engineering and Design at the Technical University of Munich. His research focuses on numerical methods in vibroacoustics, structural optimization, and acoustic modeling for applications in automotive, maritime, and musical instrument domains. Education: PhD from Technical University of Dresden (1998). Academic Career: Junior Professor at TU Dresden (2004), Chair of Technical Dynamics at University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich (2010), Full Professor at TUM (2015–present). Editorial Roles: Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Theoretical and Computational Acoustics, Associate Editor of Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Editor of Acoustics Australia and Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. His research integrates computational acoustics, boundary element methods, and machine learning to address noise control and structural optimization challenges. Recent work explores acoustic metamaterials, viscothermal losses, and data-driven modeling. He has co-authored over 150 publications and led advancements in multifrequency solution methods and noise-insulating structures. Scientific awards include the Innovation Award of the Industrieclub Sachsen e.V. (1999). His editorial contributions and leadership in journals highlight his influence in computational acoustics and structural dynamics.
Prof. Dr. André Bardow is a Full Professor in Energy and Process Systems Engineering at ETH Zurich , leading research at the intersection of thermodynamics, machine learning, and sustainable energy systems. Previously, he held professorships at RWTH Aachen University (2010-2020) and TU Delft (2007-2010). He also served as part-time director at Forschungszentrum Jülich (2017-2022) and visiting professor at UC Santa Barbara (2015/16). His work focuses on energy systems optimization , computer-aided molecular design , and CO2 capture & utilization . PhD from RWTH Aachen University Current ETH Zurich affiliation Former roles at RWTH Aachen, TU Delft, Jülich Research Center His research integrates machine learning with thermodynamic modeling to optimize processes like crystallization and electrochemical cooling . Recent publications demonstrate advancements in solvent design, CO2 transport LCA, and ORC working fluid optimization. He chairs the VDI Technical Committee for Thermodynamics (2016-2024) and has received multiple awards including the Covestro Science Award and Arnold-Eucken-Award . Current projects address carbon circular economies , electrified chemical production , and AI-driven process optimization . His lab at ETH Zurich develops cutting-edge technologies like ML-CAMPD frameworks for sustainable separation processes and photoacid-based CO2 capture systems. Funding from the H2020 Systemic Expansion of Circular Ecosystems (grant 101036854) supports these initiatives. 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2022 Inaugural Lecture: "To sustainability and beyond: A computer-animated story on energy & chemicals" Recipient of multiple teaching and research excellence awards
Prof. Dr. Christian Homburg holds the Chair of Business-to-Business Marketing, Sales & Pricing at the University of Mannheim's Faculty of Business Administration. Since 2007, he has been a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne. His research spans marketing strategy, sales management, pricing, and customer relationship management, with a focus on business-to-business contexts. He collaborates with global firms such as Accenture, BOSCH, SAP, and BASF. Research Interests: Prof. Homburg explores topics like sales force automation, key account management, IoT in marketing, and augmented reality in sales. His work bridges academic theory and practical implementation, emphasizing organizational systems driving customer and competitor responsiveness. Scientific Awards: Hermann Billing Prize (1989) Multiple Best Paper Awards from the American Marketing Association (1997-2010) Louis W. Stern Award (2009) Best Paper Awards from Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Journal of Business to Business Marketing Publications: Author of 7+ editions of Marketing Management , co-editor of the Handbook of Customer Loyalty Management , and contributor to leading journals like Journal of Marketing and Strategic Management Journal .
Marina Alberti is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Washington, affiliated with the Department of Urban Design and Planning. She directs the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Urban Design and Planning and leads the Urban Ecology Research Laboratory. Her expertise lies in studying the interactions between urban development patterns and ecosystem dynamics, focusing on resilience, socio-ecological innovation, and biocomplexity. Her research emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to urban ecological problems, with a strong focus on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), land cover change, and environmental performance metrics. She has developed simulation models integrating urban development and ecological processes, supported by NSF, NOAA, and Washington state grants. NSF Biocomplexity Program Grant : Developing simulation models for urban-ecological integration. Washington State Department of Transportation Grant : Remote sensing for impervious surface estimation. NOAA/Washington Department of Ecology Grant : GIS analysis of land use and shoreline habitats. Her work spans urban planning, ecological assessment, and policy-making, with a methodological emphasis on GIS, remote sensing, and land use dynamics. She has contributed extensively to journals like International Regional Science Review , Urban Ecosystems , and BioScience , addressing topics such as urban gradients, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability. Alberti's teaching includes Urban Ecology, Environmental Planning, GIS, and advanced research design, reflecting her commitment to training the next generation of urban ecologists.
Madelon Hulsebos is a Researcher at CWI in Amsterdam, where she leads the Table Representation Learning (TRL) Lab and contributes to the Database Architectures group. She is also a faculty member of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) Amsterdam unit. Her career bridges academia and industry, including a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley and prior industry experience in automating data analysis pipelines with ML. Education : PhD in Computer Science (University of Amsterdam, 2023), with research at Sigma Computing and MIT; Postdoctoral Fellow (UC Berkeley, 2024). Her research focuses on establishing tabular data as a key AI modality through Table Representation Learning , generative models for relational data, and robust systems for data analysis. Key interests include: Relational Table Embeddings LLMs for QA/text2SQL and data wrangling Retrieval over Data Lakes and Databases Agentic Systems for Data Science Democratizing insights from structured data Recent work highlights trends in benchmarking table retrieval (TARGET), semantic column detection (AdaTyper, Sherlock), and large-scale tabular data curation (GitTables, SchemaPile). These projects address challenges in metadata utilization, data lake search, and end-to-end systems for structured data. She has secured significant funding, including the NWO AiNed Fellowship Grant ($1M) for her 5-year DataLibra project. Madelon organizes workshops at NeurIPS , SIGMOD , and ACL , and reviews for top venues like VLDB and NeurIPS. Scientific Awards : NWO AiNed Fellowship Grant ($1M) She actively mentors students and collaborates on European AI initiatives, including monthly TRL seminars and workshops. Her lab's tools (GitTables, TARGET) are widely adopted for training foundation models on tabular data.
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent SystemsGermany
Michael J. Black is a Professor and Honorarprofessor at the University of Tübingen's Faculty of Science, Department of Computer Science, and a founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, leading the Perceiving Systems department. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia (1985), M.S. from Stanford (1989), and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Yale (1992). His research focuses on computer vision, 3D human modeling, motion capture, and AI-driven digital humans. Key contributions include the SMPL body model, optical flow algorithms, and datasets like Middlebury Flow and Sintel. He has received major awards such as the PAMI Distinguished Researcher Award, multiple Koenderink and Longuet-Higgins Prizes, and is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. His commercial ventures include co-founding Body Labs (acquired by Amazon) and Meshcapade, advancing 3D human generation and interaction technologies. Recent work includes markerless motion capture systems (e.g., MAMMA, PICO), 3D hair and garment synthesis, and AI tools like ChatHuman for 3D human interaction analysis. His research bridges vision, graphics, and robotics, with applications in animation, healthcare, and robotics.
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for InformaticsGermany
Teruko Mitamura is a prominent researcher at Carnegie Mellon University with over three decades of contributions to natural language processing, computational linguistics, and artificial intelligence. Her work spans from foundational research in event representation to advanced applications in multimodal systems and question answering. Her research interests focus on event detection and understanding, question answering systems, information retrieval, and multimodal processing. She has made significant contributions to event coreference resolution, timeline construction, and cross-document event analysis, developing methodologies that have become standard in the field. Her work often bridges theoretical advances with practical applications, particularly in complex information environments requiring deep semantic understanding. Natural Language Processing : Specializing in event extraction, coreference resolution, and narrative understanding with over 179 publications Question Answering Systems : Developing advanced techniques for complex question answering, particularly through NTCIR QA Lab and PoliInfo tasks Multimodal Processing : Integrating textual, visual, and temporal information for richer understanding in systems like ProMQA Evaluation Methodologies : Creating robust frameworks for assessing NLP systems through TAC KBP Event Tracks Her recent publication trends show a strong focus on leveraging large language models for event understanding, multimodal question answering, and timeline construction. She has expanded her research into specialized domains including patent analysis and novelty examination, demonstrating the breadth of her research impact across academic and practical applications. Active participant in major NLP conferences including ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, and AAAI with consistent publications Long-standing collaborator with researchers at CMU's Language Technologies Institute including Eduard H. Hovy and Eric Nyberg Contributor to shared tasks that have shaped research directions in event processing and question answering Organizer of multiple NTCIR QA Lab tasks focused on political information question answering Dr. Mitamura has mentored numerous researchers who have gone on to make their own contributions to the field, as evidenced by her extensive co-authorship network and the progression of her former students and collaborators into faculty and research positions. Her work continues to evolve with the field while maintaining her focus on deep semantic understanding of events and narratives.
Holger Fröning is a full professor at Heidelberg University’s Institute of Computer Engineering (ZITI), where he leads the Hardware and Artificial Intelligence (HAWAII) Lab. His research focuses on embedded machine learning , high-performance computing , and hardware-software co-design , with emphasis on resource efficiency, power optimization, and emerging architectures like analog , photonic , and resistive memory systems. He has held leadership roles including Managing Director of ZITI (2023–present) and Dean of Studies for Computer Science (2019–2022) , and has collaborated with institutions such as NVIDIA Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Graz University of Technology. Research Trends : His recent publications explore Bayesian neural networks , green machine learning , analog computing noise mitigation , and GPU/FPGA optimization . Articles highlight photonic computing for AI , memory-efficient training , and hardware-aware DNN compression . Scientific Awards : 2025 HiPEAC Paper Award (Nature Computational Science) 2014 Google Faculty Research Award Multiple Best Paper Awards (IPDPS, ICPP, ECML-PKDD workshops) Leadership & Service : Organized workshops (WEML, ITEM, F4HD), chaired tracks at EuroPar and ISC, and served on program committees for ICPR, ECAI, and FPL. Education & Affiliations : PhD and MSc from University of Mannheim (2007/2001). Sponsors include DFG, FWF, FFG, NVIDIA, SAP, and XILINX.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Reiser is a full Professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry within the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Regensburg. His research group focuses on cutting-edge developments in organic synthesis, particularly in the areas of photocatalysis and visible light chemistry. He leads the Collaborative Research Centre CRC 325 on "Assembly Controlled Chemical Photocatalysis," which aims to develop new frontiers in photocatalysis for organic synthesis through designed control of catalyst-substrate interactions. University of Hamburg (PhD, 1989) IBM Research Center (Postdoc) Harvard University (Postdoc) University of Göttingen (Habilitation, 1995) Prof. Reiser's research spans multiple interconnected fields with a strong emphasis on sustainable chemistry. His group extensively utilizes modern techniques for organic synthesis including flow reactors, microwaves, and high-pressure systems. The primary research thrusts include catalysis (both metal and organocatalysts), unnatural amino acids and peptide foldamers, and natural product synthesis. His work on visible light photocatalysis has been particularly influential, with numerous publications in high-impact journals like Angewandte Chemie and Nature Catalysis. The group's research integrates experimental, spectroscopic, and computational techniques to analyze catalyst-substrate interactions for more rational design of photochemical reactions. Analysis of Prof. Reiser's recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a strong focus on copper-based photocatalysis, sustainable chemistry using earth-abundant metals, and innovative approaches to heterocycle synthesis. His work demonstrates a clear trend toward developing more efficient and environmentally friendly catalytic processes, with particular emphasis on visible light activation, catalyst immobilization for recyclability, and applications in medicinal chemistry. The research spans from fundamental mechanistic studies to practical applications in synthesis. German Academic Scholarship Foundation Minerva Foundation NATO Fellowship German Research Foundation Support Karl Winnacker Foundation Prof. Reiser has supervised numerous doctoral students, with recent PhD theses focusing on copper photoredox catalysis, magnetic nanoparticle-supported catalysts, and the synthesis of bioactive compounds. His research is supported by multiple collaborative projects, including the Collaborative Research Centre CRC 325, and involves extensive national and international collaborations with institutions such as the University of Kansas, the National Institute of Chemistry in Pune, the Institut Chimie de Coordination du CNRS in Toulouse, and the University of Zaragoza. The group maintains strong ties with pharmaceutical research through collaborations with Prof. A. Beck-Sickinger in Leipzig on neuropeptide ligands. The research group operates well-equipped laboratories with capabilities for advanced organic synthesis and characterization. They have developed specialized expertise in flow chemistry, high-pressure techniques, and magnetic nanoparticle-based catalyst systems. The CRC 325 initiative has provided significant infrastructure for collaborative research in photocatalysis, bringing together multiple research groups with complementary expertise in organic synthesis, spectroscopy, and computational chemistry.
Max Planck Institute for Security and PrivacyGermany
Toby Jia-Jun Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where he leads the SaNDwich Lab. He also serves as the Director of the Human-Centered Responsible AI Lab in the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society and is a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI). Previously, he was affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and GroupLens Research. Dr. Li's research spans the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), End-User Software Engineering, Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP), with recent work focusing on addressing societal challenges in the future of work through human-AI collaborative approaches. His work has resulted in over 40 publications at premier venues including CHI, UIST, CSCW, ACL, and ICSE, with 8 papers winning Best Paper or Honorable Mention awards. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on human-AI collaboration across various domains, including code understanding, privacy, accessibility, and creative tools. The work shows a trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated integration of human-centered design with AI capabilities, particularly using large language models to enhance human productivity and address societal challenges. Google Research Scholar Award recipient Recipient of Yahoo! Fellowship ($100,000/year) Best Paper Award at UIST 2020 Best Paper Honorable Mention Award at CHI 2021 Best Paper Award at CSCW 2024 Best Paper Award at CHI 2025 Dr. Li actively mentors Ph.D. students and has established collaborations with Google, Microsoft Research, IBM Research, Adobe, Verizon, and J.P. Morgan. His research has been supported by NSF, Google Research Scholar Program, AnalytiXIN Initiative, Yahoo! InMind project, and J.P. Morgan. He is currently recruiting Ph.D. students and undergraduate researchers for his SaNDwich Lab, which focuses on developing interactive systems to empower individuals to create, configure, and extend AI-powered computing systems.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Müller is a Professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of Freiburg, and serves as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. His academic journey includes a doctorate from Humboldt University Berlin (2005) and a habilitation in Philosophy (2012). Müller leads research on Philosophical Anthropology, Philosophy of Technology, and Ethics, with a focus on human-machine interactions and Anthropocene ethics. He supervises doctoral and postdoctoral researchers across projects like livMatS and BrainLinks-BrainTools. Research interests span neuroethics, transhumanism, and socio-technological systems, emphasizing ethical frameworks for emerging technologies. Publications explore AI ethics, drone warfare, and phenomenological embodiment, reflecting interdisciplinary engagement with neuroscience and environmental philosophy. Honors include the MTZ Bioethics Award and Heisenberg Fellowship. Müller directs participatory discourse initiatives bridging art and science, fostering public engagement with technological ethics. His work advances critical dialogues on human enhancement and ecological responsibility in the digital age.