Shamik Sengupta is the Ralph E. and Rose A. Hoeper Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) , where he serves as Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Center . He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida (2007) and a BE in Computer Science from Jadavpur University (2002). IEEE Senior Member Director, UNR Cybersecurity Center NSF CAREER Award Recipient
Katarzyna Wac is a researcher at the University of Geneva affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Management and the Information Science Institute . Her work bridges Digital Health , Mobile Computing , and Human-Computer Interaction , focusing on leveraging wearable devices, smartphones, and AI for health and quality of life (QoL) quantification. Research Themes: Digital biomarkers for Alzheimer's and migraines, QoL assessment via ubiquitous computing, peer- and self-reported behavioral data, and QoE of mobile applications. Labs: Leads the mQoL Lab , a platform for interactive, mobile, and wearable-based studies. Her recent publications explore Transformer models for health data analysis, social robots in homecare, and ethical frameworks for digital mental health. She has contributed to standards for proxy-reported QoL measures and personalized drug delivery systems in digital health. The multimodal integration of emotional signals and context-aware QoS/QoE provisioning for m-health services are recurring technical themes. Key collaborations include the MobiHealth project and COPD24 , translating future internet technologies into telemonitoring solutions. Her work spans from foundational studies on mobile cognition to applied ambulatory assessment of affect and health risks.
Jun Shen is a Professor at the School of Computing and Information Technology, University of Wollongong. He specializes in computational intelligence, cloud computing, and big data applications, with a focus on AI-driven solutions for real-world challenges in transport systems, healthcare, education, and environmental management. He has secured over 40 research grants totaling AU$4.5 million and supervised 26 completed PhD projects. His work spans interdisciplinary areas including bioinformatics, smart manufacturing, and digital health. Research interests include bio-inspired algorithmic optimization, AI in arts/media, and edge computing for IoT systems. He has pioneered research centers in applied computing since 2014 and holds editorial roles in top journals like IEEE Transactions. As an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, he actively promotes AI ethics and interdisciplinary collaboration. Recent publications emphasize adversarial machine learning defenses, UAV systems, and multimodal data fusion. His supervision includes projects in intelligent transport systems, cloud computing, and e-learning. Grants include projects on resilient energy systems and UAV geolocation verification. Leadership roles include leading over 20 researchers and chairing conferences. He advocates for digital transformation in public services and has conducted fieldwork at MIT, UCI, and Georgia Tech.
Iwijn De Vlaminck is an Associate Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. His research focuses on developing precision medicine technologies, including liquid biopsies for diagnosing infectious and immune-related diseases, and spatial profiling of microbiomes and host-microbiome interactions. He leads the De Vlaminck Lab, which integrates engineering, biophysics, and computational biology to advance diagnostics and therapeutics. Key affiliations include the College of Engineering and interdisciplinary graduate fields such as Biomedical and Biological Sciences and Computational Biology. Education: B.S., Electronic Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (2000) M.S., Electronic Engineering, K.U. Leuven (2003) Ph.D., Science and Engineering, K.U. Leuven (2008) Research Interests: His lab develops high-throughput technologies for studying diseases like organ transplant rejection, urinary tract infections, and viral myocarditis. Innovations include spatial transcriptomics and methods to map microbial communities in tissues. Recent work addresses biomarkers for MIS-C in children and applications of cell-free DNA in spaceflight studies. Awards: NIH New Innovator Award (2017) Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2025) Rainin Foundation Synergy Award (2019) Teaching Excellence Awards (2017, 2022) Grants & Collaborations: Recipient of a $3M NSF grant for bio-inspired architecture and a $9.5M NIH grant for chronic fatigue syndrome research. Collaborates with institutions like Weill Cornell Medicine and NASA on spaceflight biology and clinical diagnostics. Labs & Teams: Directs the De Vlaminck Lab, which includes interdisciplinary researchers working on spatial omics, liquid biopsies, and microbiome technologies. Engaged in industry partnerships, including co-founding Kanvas Biosciences.
Andrew Robb is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computing at Clemson University. His research focuses on the societal impact of consumer virtual reality (VR), including user behavior adaptation, avatar embodiment effects, presence in VR, and perception studies. Prior to Clemson, he earned his PhD in the Virtual Experience Research Group at the University of Florida. He is funded by the NSF CHS Small grant #1717937 and collaborates with researchers like Sabarish Babu and Chris Pagano. His work explores topics such as cybersickness mitigation, pedestrian-AV interactions, and VR's therapeutic applications for social anxiety disorders. Education: PhD in Virtual Experience Research, University of Florida Research Interests: Longitudinal effects of VR exposure on user behavior Avatar embodiment and its real-world behavioral implications Measuring and enhancing presence in VR environments Perception of space and motion in virtual vs. real-world contexts Human-VR interaction design for accessibility and safety Social and ethical considerations of emerging VR technologies Key Research Trends: His recent work emphasizes VR's impact on spatial cognition, cybersickness reduction through interaction design, and leveraging VR for mental health interventions. Over 2023-2024, he has published extensively on avatarization effects, near-field interactions, and pedestrian-AV dynamics in immersive environments. Grants & Lab: Hosts the McAdams Hall 120 lab and has NSF-funded research on longitudinal VR exposure effects. Collaborates with automotive engineering teams on VR-based autonomous vehicle interaction studies.
Dr. Chao Fan is an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at Clemson University, affiliated with the Glenn Department of Civil Engineering. His research focuses on climate change adaptation, socio-environmental systems dynamics, and urban resilience, leveraging AI and data science. He holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University (2020), an M.S. from UC Davis (2017), and a B.S. from China University of Mining and Technology (2016). Dr. Fan's work integrates interdisciplinary approaches to address challenges in disaster management, smart cities, and environmental justice. Key interests include social sensing for infrastructure disruptions, equity in urban mobility networks, and leveraging digital twins for resilience planning. His recent publications explore topics like wildfire impacts, PM2.5 exposure inequity, and carbon market mechanisms for infrastructure adaptation. Professional memberships include ASCE, ACM SIGKDD, AGU, and AAAS. His lab (fanchaolab.com) develops innovative solutions for climate adaptation and equitable urban systems, emphasizing fairness in AI-driven models and network analysis.
Gunho Sohn is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Earth and Space Science and Engineering (ESSE) Department at York University's Lassonde School of Engineering. His research focuses on advanced geomatics engineering applications, including 3D urban modeling, photogrammetric computer vision, and geospatial data integration. He specializes in developing innovative solutions for navigation systems, energy optimization, and autonomous robotics through interdisciplinary approaches. Dr. Sohn's work emphasizes practical implementations of remote sensing technologies, with notable contributions to LiDAR data processing, SLAM systems, and BIM-GIS integration. His research has addressed real-world challenges such as improving air quality models using industrial plume observations and creating inclusive pedestrian navigation tools using open geospatial datasets. Recent trends in his publications highlight advancements in deep learning for geospatial tasks, including semantic segmentation of aerial LiDAR data, noise reduction in sensor networks, and UAV positioning systems. His work also explores digital twin applications for simulating urban environments and optimizing building energy consumption through BIM data analysis. While no specific awards or grants are listed, his extensive publication record reflects significant contributions to the fields of geomatics and computer vision. His research group collaborates on large-scale datasets like YUTO MMS and Yuto Semantic, advancing mobile mapping and semantic understanding of urban infrastructure.
Dr. Xialing Lin is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on risk and crisis communication, communication technology, and the effective use of media for community resilience. She has authored/co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, earning multiple Top Paper awards from prominent communication associations. Dr. Lin teaches courses such as Crisis Communication (PUR 4400), Honors Public Relations (PUR 4000H), and Theories of Public Relations (PUR 6005). She is a faculty fellow at Western Michigan University’s Communication & Social Robotics Laboratory and serves on editorial boards for Communication Studies and the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research . She holds leadership roles in professional organizations, including the Communication and Technology Interest Group at the Central States Communication Association. Her research explores intersections of AI in education, crisis communication strategies, and the impact of social media on public discourse. Recent work examines AI’s role in classroom discussions and the ethical implications of AI grading systems. She has consistently published on topics like risk behavior intentions, source credibility, and the mediating effects of communication technologies. Key awards include the Five-Year Service Award (2021), Dr. Richard J. & Sally Matthews Award for Scholarly Activity (2020), and the Faculty Endowed Research Award (2017). Her interdisciplinary approach bridges strategic communication theory with practical applications in technology and education. Dr. Lin’s academic service includes editorial contributions and conference leadership, reflecting her commitment to advancing communication research and pedagogy. She actively contributes to both theoretical and applied studies in crisis communication, social media dynamics, and human-AI interaction.
Denghui Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the School of Business at Stevens Institute of Technology. His research focuses on data science, large language models (LLMs), and business analytics, with particular emphasis on applications in financial systems, knowledge graphs, and spatio-temporal prediction. He is a member of the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence and has held academic roles including reviewer positions for prestigious journals like Nature Communications and conferences such as AAAI and SIGKDD. Dr. Zhang holds a PhD in Information Systems from Rutgers University (2023) and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2018). His educational background bridges computer science and business analytics, enabling his cross-disciplinary research. His research explores cutting-edge topics like federated learning optimization for LLMs, theory-of-mind reasoning mechanisms, and ethical AI governance. Notable contributions include turbulence forecasting models, traffic prediction frameworks, and venture capital investment strategies leveraging reinforcement learning. Dr. Zhang has received prestigious recognitions including the ICIS 2023 Best Student Paper Award and AAAI-23 Student Scholar distinction. His work frequently addresses practical challenges in AI ethics, financial decision-making systems, and scalable machine learning architectures. He actively contributes to academic communities through program committee roles for top conferences and has pioneered novel methodologies in multi-agent financial systems and graph neural network design.
Rhiannon Kallis is an Assistant Professor at the School of Communication, University of Akron, where she has been affiliated since Fall 2019. Her research focuses on the qualitative analysis of social media's influence on interpersonal relationships, particularly in the context of dating apps, romantic dynamics, and workplace cyberbullying. Ph.D., Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2017) M.A., University of Delaware (2011) B.A., California University of Pennsylvania (2008) Her research explores dating app motivation , romantic relationship escalation via digital platforms , social media-induced jealousy , and organizational impacts of cyberbullying . Recent publications include studies on the Ovia Pregnancy App's role in social support and analyses of Disney princess narratives' cultural evolution. Dr. Kallis's peer-reviewed articles span topics such as technology-mediated relationships , digital emotional regulation , and online harassment frameworks . Her work has been featured in journals like the Atlantic Journal of Communication and the Journal of Communication Technology . She teaches undergraduate courses on Principles of Social Media , Advanced Strategic Social Media , and PR Writing , alongside graduate-level Strategic Social Media and Applied Communication Theory classes. Her responsibilities center on public relations and social media pedagogy.
Di Zhu is an Assistant Professor of Geographic Information Science at the University of Minnesota's Department of Geography, Environment and Society. He directs the Geospatial Data Intelligence (GeoDI) Lab, focusing on GeoAI and social sensing to analyze human-environment interactions in urban systems, public health, and socioeconomic dynamics. His educational background includes a PhD in Cartology and GIScience from Peking University, complemented by a BSc in GIS and a BA in Economics from the same institution. Key research interests include spatial regression models, human mobility patterns, and GeoAI applications. He has collaborated on projects funded by NIH, NSF, and other agencies, exploring topics like spatiotemporal data imputation, urban flow analysis, and pandemic spatial dynamics. His work bridges traditional GIScience with modern machine learning techniques, emphasizing actionable insights from big geospatial data. Teaching focuses on advanced GIS, numerical spatial analysis, and urban sensing. He actively mentors students through the University of Minnesota's Master of GIS program and serves on academic boards including CPGIS. Current projects include analyzing Twin Cities mobility networks and developing intelligent spatial prediction frameworks.
Christos Nicolaides is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Business and Public Administration within the School of Economics and Management at the University of Cyprus (UCY), holding a secondary appointment as a Digital Fellow at MIT's Initiative on the Digital Economy. Previously, he spent three years as a James McDonnell Foundation-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT Sloan School of Management. His educational background includes a PhD in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014), SM from MIT (2011), MSc in Applied Mathematics from Imperial College London (2009), and BSc in Physics from University of Thessaloniki (2008). Nicolaides' research applies mathematical, statistical, and computational tools to large-scale empirical questions in social influence mediated by digital technologies. His work spans Data Science , Machine Learning , Social Networks , and Computational Social Science , with significant contributions to understanding human mobility patterns, disease transmission dynamics, and social contagion effects. His research has established novel methodologies for analyzing complex network structures in mobility data and social interactions. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent focus on applying network science to real-world problems, particularly in pandemic response (12 publications), human mobility analytics (9 publications), and social contagion dynamics (7 publications). His work demonstrates increasing interdisciplinary integration, combining computer science, epidemiology, and organizational behavior since 2020. Marie S. Curie Fellow Two Highly Cited Papers by Web of Science (2017, 2020) Best Paper Award by Risk Analysis Society (2019) Professor of The Week by Poets & Quants (2020) As principal institutional investigator, Nicolaides has secured over €1 million in research funding from the European Commission, industry partners, Cyprus Innovation and Research Foundation, and Cyprus Ministry of Health. His current teaching includes Social Networks and Entrepreneurship, Introduction to Operations Management, and Quantitative Methods in Management. Media coverage of his work spans major outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Nature, and Science, with significant impact on public health policy discussions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Gregoris Mentzas is a faculty member at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he directs the Division of Industrial Electric Devices and Decision Systems. His research focuses on AI-enabled decision systems, knowledge management, and semantic technologies applied to digital enterprises and e-government. With over 350 publications, he ranks among the top 2% most cited scientists globally. Research Interests: Artificial intelligence for decision augmentation, big data analytics in personalized health and smart mobility, semantic web technologies, and industrial internet of things. Current projects investigate trustworthy AI frameworks and hybrid intelligence systems for Industry 5.0. Teaching: Leads courses in Digital Enterprise Management, Strategic Information Systems, and Project Management at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, incorporating industry case studies and experiential learning approaches. Awards & Leadership: Top 2% Highly Cited Scientist (PLOS Biology 2021) 5 Best Paper Awards in international conferences Director of Information Management Unit (1997-present) Board Member of Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (2006-2009) Projects & Funding: Secured over €18 million in research grants through 60+ European projects with industry partners including SAP, IBM, and Siemens. Research outcomes led to three technology spin-offs.
Stephanie Posthumus serves as Associate Professor at McGill University, specializing in contemporary French and Québécois literature through the lens of ecocriticism, animal studies, and plant studies. Her research interrogates representations of the non-human across European literary traditions while examining cultural specificities in environmental discourse. Professor Posthumus develops French-specific ecocritical frameworks by engaging with thinkers like Guattari ( écosophie ), Latour ( nature-culture ), and Serres ( contrat naturel ), arguing against universal ecocritical models. Her work spans three interconnected domains: constructing French ecocriticism through monographs like French Écocritique (2017); analyzing animal representations via co-edited volumes including French Thinking about Animals (2015); and pioneering plant studies in Québécois contexts through recent works like Entre les feuilles (2024). She further bridges digital and environmental humanities through SSHRC-funded platform development. Her publication trajectory (2016-2024) reveals intensifying focus on vegetal agency and digital methodologies within ecocritical practice. Articles consistently address cultural differences in environmental representation, with increasing attention to sensory plant studies and posthumanist reconfigurations of human/non-human boundaries across French and Québécois literary landscapes. Professor Posthumus leads the Digital Environmental Humanities initiative, which functions as a research hub featuring digital exhibits, analytical tools like topic modeling, and pedagogical resources. This SSHRC Connections grant project (2013) exemplifies her commitment to interdisciplinary knowledge mobilization through digital innovation. She currently directs collaborative research networks connecting Canadian environmental humanities scholars with digital humanities practitioners, fostering experimental approaches to ecological representation through multimodal projects examining plant intelligence and sensory environmental engagement.
Nilanjan Sarkar is the Vice Dean and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at Vanderbilt University's School of Engineering, holding the David K. Wilson Professorship in Engineering. He is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. His research focuses on intelligent systems for human interaction, including robotics, virtual/augmented reality, and assistive technologies for neurodevelopmental disorders and aging populations. Education: PhD (Mechanical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania), ME (Indian Institute of Science), BE (Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur). Research interests span human-robot interaction, sensor fusion, and rehabilitation engineering. His lab develops systems for autism intervention, stroke rehabilitation, and elderly engagement through socially assistive robotics and VR/AR. Notable projects include robot-mediated therapy for children and AR telepresence systems for long-term care facilities. Labs/Teams: Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory. Key contributions include CoMove, RASSLE, and the Career Interview Readiness in VR platform. His work emphasizes participatory design with end-users for ethical and inclusive technology.
