Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of BonnGermany
Jens Behley is a Lecturer (Privatdozent) and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Photogrammetry, University of Bonn. He completed his habilitation in 2023 with a thesis on LiDAR-based spatio-temporal scene understanding for autonomous vehicles and earned his PhD in 2014 under Prof. Armin Cremers. His research focuses on LiDAR perception, agricultural robotics, and 3D scene understanding. Behley is an Associate Editor at IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) and has authored influential datasets like SemanticKITTI and BonnBeetClouds3D. Education: PhD in Computer Science, University of Bonn, 2014 Habilitation in Photogrammetry, University of Bonn, 2023 Research Interests: LiDAR-based perception in urban and agricultural environments, machine learning for robotics, semantic mapping, SLAM algorithms, and 3D reconstruction. His work bridges computer vision and robotics, with applications in autonomous vehicles and precision agriculture. Awards: Best Agri-Robotics Paper Award (IROS 2024) Outstanding Reviewer Awards (ECCV, CVPR, ICRA) Faculty Award for Geodesy (2021) Advisees & Grants: Behley collaborates extensively with the PRBonn lab and researchers like Cyrill Stachniss, focusing on projects funded by EU Horizon and industry partners. His team develops open-source tools for LiDAR processing (e.g., KISS-ICP, VDBFusion). Labs/Teams: Part of the Photogrammetry and Robotics Institute (IGG) at the University of Bonn, contributing to the PRBonn research group.
Dr. Samuel Cheng is an Associate Professor at the Gallogly College of Engineering , University of Oklahoma , specializing in Electrical and Computer Engineering . He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University (2004), preceded by M.S. and M.Phil. degrees from the University of Hawaii and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Education: B.S. (University of Hong Kong, 1995), M.Phil. (HKUST, 1997), M.S. (University of Hawaii, 2000), Ph.D. (Texas A&M, 2004) Professional Experience: Senior Research Engineer at Advanced Digital Imaging Research (2004-2005), prior internships at Microsoft Asia and Panasonic Technologies His research focuses on Information Theory , Signal and Image Processing , and Pattern Recognition , with applications in remote sensing, urbanization analysis, and disaster monitoring. His publications span topics including urban impervious surface mapping , nighttime light analysis , and machine learning for environmental data . His work often integrates multi-source datasets (e.g., Landsat, LiDAR, social media) for spatiotemporal modeling. Technical Expertise: Spectral unmixing, machine learning, thermal remote sensing, GIS integration Key Applications: Power outage detection, vegetation-crime correlation, PM2.5 estimation, smart meter data fusion Dr. Cheng holds three US patents in digital watermarking and is affiliated with IEEE, Sigma Xi, and AAAS. His recent articles demonstrate a trend toward leveraging AI for remote sensing challenges and analyzing urbanization impacts on ecosystems.
Professor George Siemens is a leading academic in the field of learning analytics and AI-driven education, serving as Professor and Director of the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning at UniSA Education Futures, University of South Australia. His work focuses on advancing educational practices through data analytics, artificial intelligence, and understanding online learning dynamics. His research spans MOOCs, social and emotional learning analytics, and the ethical integration of AI in education. Notable contributions include the development of frameworks like the MOOC Replication Framework (MORF) and the DAIR infrastructure for educational AI research. Key publications include studies on student agency in AI environments, practicum effectiveness in teacher education, and synthetic data fairness in learning analytics. He collaborates internationally, with affiliations previously including the University of Texas Arlington. As a Research Degree Supervisor, he guides students in transformative educational technology research. His work emphasizes actionable intelligence for educators and scalable solutions for lifelong learning in the digital age.
Caterina Urban is a Research Scientist (Chargé de Recherche) at INRIA and École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris, France. She is a member of the INRIA research team ANTIQUE (ANalyse StaTIQUE), where she focuses on formal methods and static analysis. Prior to her current position, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Programming Methodology, led by Peter Müller at ETH Zurich. Dr. Urban holds a PhD in Computer Science (2015) from École Normale Supérieure, Paris, where she worked under the joint supervision of Radhia Cousot and Antoine Miné. She also earned a Master's degree (2011) and Bachelor's degree (2009) in Computer Science, both with full marks and honors (summa cum laude) from the Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy. Her research interests span the whole spectrum of formal methods with a focus on developing rigorous methods and tools to enhance the reliability of computer software, particularly data science applications. Her main area of expertise is static analysis based on abstract interpretation. Dr. Urban is currently engaged in several research projects including Lyra (focusing on data science software), Libra (fairness certification for neural networks), and SAIF (addressing safety concerns in machine learning-based systems). Dr. Urban's recent publications demonstrate her expertise in applying abstract interpretation to diverse areas including machine learning, data science, program verification, and security. Her work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications, particularly in ensuring the reliability and trustworthiness of increasingly critical data science and machine learning systems. She has received recognition for her work through invitations to serve on program committees for major conferences including OOPSLA 2026, PLDI 2026, and CAV 2026. She is also the general chair of iFM 2025 in Paris. Dr. Urban actively mentors the next generation of researchers, supervising PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. She teaches courses on abstract interpretation and its applications at the Master Parisien de Recherche en Informatique (MPRI) and various international summer schools. She has developed several open-source software tools including Lyra (a static analyzer for data science applications), Libra (for fairness certification of neural networks), and Typpete (SMT-based static type inference for Python).
Oisin Mac Aodha is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Machine Learning at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. He is also an ELLIS Scholar and founder of the Turing interest group on biodiversity monitoring and forecasting, having previously served as a Turing Fellow from 2021-2025. Mac Aodha completed his undergraduate degree in electronic engineering from the University of Galway in Ireland, followed by his MSc and PhD at University College London (UCL). His academic journey includes postdoctoral positions at UCL (2013-2016) working with Prof. Gabriel Brostow and Prof. Kate Jones, and at Caltech (2016-2019) in Prof. Pietro Perona's Computational Vision Lab as part of the Visipedia team. His research centers on computer vision and machine learning with emphasis on 3D understanding, human-in-the-loop methods, and AI for conservation and biodiversity monitoring. He has made significant contributions to monocular depth estimation (including the influential Monodepth2 paper), fine-grained visual categorization, and biodiversity monitoring systems. His work bridges theoretical machine learning with practical ecological applications, developing tools for species identification, range estimation, and conservation efforts. Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward ecological applications while maintaining fundamental contributions to 3D vision and representation learning. His major scientific achievements include: Turing Fellow (2021-2025) ELLIS Scholar Founder of the Turing interest group on biodiversity monitoring and forecasting Co-organizer of the Fine-Grained Visual Categorization (FGVC) workshop series at major vision conferences Mac Aodha advises multiple PhD students and postdocs working on computer vision for biodiversity monitoring, 3D understanding, and human-in-the-loop learning. His team has developed practical tools like Whombat (an open-source annotation tool for bioacoustics) and contributed to field-deployed biodiversity monitoring systems. He has served as Area Chair for top conferences including NeurIPS, CVPR, ICCV, and ICML, demonstrating his standing in the computer vision community. His research group collaborates extensively with ecologists at University College London, particularly with Prof. Kate Jones' team, bridging machine learning expertise with ecological domain knowledge. The Vision at Edinburgh group he contributes to focuses on developing practical AI tools that address real-world conservation challenges while advancing fundamental computer vision research.
Ross Meentemeyer is a Professor and Director of the Center for Geospatial Analytics at North Carolina State University, affiliated with the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2000) and a B.S. in Geography from the University of Georgia (1993). His research focuses on geospatial analytics, ecological forecasting, biological invasions, and forest health, with a strong emphasis on integrating geospatial data and modeling to address environmental challenges. Dr. Meentemeyer's work includes developing decision-support tools for pest management, climate adaptation, and land-use planning. Notable projects involve forecasting invasive species spread via international trade, creating open-source geospatial platforms, and modeling floodplain development risks. He collaborates extensively with federal agencies like USDA, DOI, and NPS to translate research into practical solutions. His grants include multi-million dollar NSF and USDA-funded initiatives addressing plant disease pandemics, agricultural pest threats, and geospatial infrastructure development. Key outcomes include the PAdb system for pandemic prediction and the FUTURES model for urbanization forecasting. He also leads efforts to enhance stakeholder engagement through participatory modeling tools like Tangible Landscape. Research contributions span 20+ years, with over 100 peer-reviewed articles on topics like viewscape modeling, river water dynamics, and wildfire-epidemic interactions. His work bridges ecological and social sciences, emphasizing actionable solutions for sustainable land management and climate resilience.
Antonello Monti is a Professor and Director of the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems at RWTH Aachen University. His research focuses on modern power systems, including smart grid technologies, hybrid AC-DC grids, and quantum computing applications in energy systems. Recent publications demonstrate innovations in grid resilience, EV charging optimization, quantum-assisted power system planning, and advanced simulation techniques. His team develops open-source tools like JuliaGrid for power system analysis and validates concepts through real-time testing platforms. Research addresses energy transition challenges including renewable integration, grid modernization, cyber-physical security, and next-generation optimization methods combining quantum computing with traditional power engineering approaches.
Dr. Alastair Key serves as Director of Studies in Archaeology and Official Fellow in Archaeology at Queens' College, University of Cambridge. His research bridges Paleolithic archaeology, stone tool technology, and hominin behavioral evolution through experimental and computational approaches. Director of Studies and Official Fellow at Queens' College, Cambridge Specializes in Paleolithic stone tool analysis, Acheulean technology, and hominin adaptation Conducts experimental archaeology and computational modelling to assess tool functionality Key's research focuses on Acheulean handaxe production , lithic microwear patterns , and ergonomic constraints in prehistoric tool use . He has extensively published on topics including glacial-stage hominin occupations , Oldowan toolmakers , and machine learning applications to archaeological analysis . His recent publications (2025-2023) span diverse subfields: Acheulean chronology , hominin tool use biomechanics , experimental projectile testing , and computational morphometric methods . The work often integrates multidisciplinary datasets and open-source analytical tools to address fundamental questions about human technological evolution. Current research directions include stone tool sharpness quantification , handaxe social signaling potential , and cross-species tool use comparisons through primate studies.
Prof. Dr. Frank T. Piller is a University Professor and Co-Leader of the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) at RWTH Aachen University, where he also serves as Academic Director of the Executive MBA program at RWTH Business School. He leads a research team of approximately 30 doctoral students, 5 postdocs, and over 20 student researchers within the TIME Research Area of the School of Business and Economics. His educational background includes a doctoral degree in Operations Management from the University of Würzburg (1999) and a Habilitation degree from TUM Business School (2004) on "Innovation and Value Co-Creation." Prior to joining RWTH Aachen in 2007, he was a Research Fellow at MIT Sloan School of Management and faculty at TUM Business School. Prof. Piller is recognized as one of the world's leading experts in customer-centered value creation, specializing in mass customization, personalization, and customer co-creation. His current research focuses on how established companies can transform in response to disruptive business model innovations, with particular emphasis on digital transformation (Industry 4.0), AI-augmented innovation, and sustainable business models. He is particularly known for his work on innovation ecosystems, platform-based business models, and stakeholder-oriented technology development. His recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward integrating artificial intelligence with traditional innovation management frameworks, exploring how AI transforms manufacturing systems, innovation processes, and business models. His work increasingly addresses the challenges of digital transformation in established industries while maintaining focus on customer co-creation and mass customization principles. His scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous awards: Co-Creation Award of the PDMA Nomination for "Innovating Innovation" Prize by Harvard Business Review and McKinsey "Lecturer of the Year" by Executive MBA students at TU Munich RWTH Aachen Rector's Prize for Excellent Teaching (since 2010) Grant for innovative "Flipping the Classroom" teaching concept ERC Synergy Grant for SAFER Grid project (2025-2031) Prof. Piller maintains an extensive research network spanning academia and industry. He collaborates with numerous corporations including 3M, Adidas, BASF, EON, J&J, P&G, Siemens, and Vodafone, as well as many technology startups across Europe and North America. As a co-founder, supervisory board member, and investor in innovative startups, he actively transfers research into practice. His research has received significant funding, most notably the prestigious ERC Synergy Grant for the SAFER Grid project. He leads the Technology and Innovation Management Group (TIM) within the TIME Research Area at RWTH Aachen, which comprises over 100 senior and junior researchers working at the intersection of innovation, technology management, marketing, and entrepreneurship. The institute is a leading European research institution for strategic, behavioral, and computer-supported technology and innovation management.
Stephen D. Reese is the Jesse H. Jones Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communication. He has been on the faculty since 1982, serving as Director of the School of Journalism and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. His research focuses on media framing, globalization of journalism, and the sociology of news. Reese holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.S. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Tennessee, respectively. Education: Ph.D. (1982), M.A. (1980), and B.S. (1976) in Communication and Journalism. Affiliations: Salzburg Academy for Media and Global Change Visiting Professor, Kurt Baschwitz Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam. Awards: Paul J. Deutschmann Award (2017), Harold L. Nelson Award (2015), Krieghbaum Under-40 Award (1994). Reese's research interests span media sociology, global journalism dynamics, and the interplay between news media and public perception. He has authored/co-authored seminal works like Mediating the Message and Framing Public Life . His recent work explores digital media's role in civic engagement in China and the evolving global news arena. Reese has advised numerous doctoral students and secured grants for initiatives like the High School Journalism Institute. His teaching includes courses on critical journalism issues and global media literacy. Grants: Knight Foundation grants for media education, Texas Long-Distance Telephone Use Survey funding. Labs/Teams: Involved with the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, contributing to global journalism education initiatives.
Chinmay Kulkarni is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, where he leads the Expertise@Scale lab. His research integrates large-scale data and automation to transform learning, work, and mentoring systems. Education : Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University (recipient of the Arthur P Samuel Award) Previous Affiliations : Microsoft Research, Barcelona Supercomputing Center His research spans: Human-Computer Interaction design for massive collaboration Voice-controlled interfaces and AI tools Future of work in remote/hybrid environments Behavioral economics through tech interventions Creative entrepreneurship support systems Algorithmic feedback in education Recent publications with AI and education focus show strong trends in voice technology, peer feedback mechanisms, and scalable learning platforms. His lab's systems have been used by >100,000 users across 150 countries. Scientific Awards : Arthur P Samuel Award (Stanford thesis award) Advising & Grants : NSF grant recipient US Department of Education funding Office of Naval Research support Departmental fellowship Labs : Directs Expertise@Scale lab developing systems adopted by Coursera and edX. Current research group includes PhD students Yasmine Kotturi, Julia Cambre, Pranav Khadpe and Masters student Sayan Chaudhry.
Can Güler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Lifelong Learning and Adult Education at the Faculty of Education, Anadolu University, Turkey. Previously, from 2002 to 2023, he served as a Lecturer in the Department of Distance Education at the Faculty of Open Education, Anadolu University. His academic career spans over two decades with continuous contributions to open and distance education systems. His educational background includes: Bachelor's degree in Computer and Instructional Technologies Education, Anadolu University (2002) Master's degree in Distance Education, Institute of Social Sciences, Anadolu University (2007) Ph.D. in Distance Education, Institute of Social Sciences, Anadolu University (2022) Güler's research centers on open and distance learning methodologies, educational technology integration, and instructional material development. He specializes in video-based learning systems, interactive media design, and gamification strategies for enhancing learner engagement. His work addresses practical challenges in digital content creation and accessibility for diverse learner demographics, particularly adult populations. Analysis of his publication trajectory reveals consistent innovation in multimedia applications for distance education, with recent emphasis on generative AI awareness among educators and interactive video transformation techniques. His research frequently employs design-based methodologies and institutional case studies from Anadolu University's open education infrastructure. Scientific Awards: None mentioned in available sources. Advising and Grants: No information provided regarding student supervision or research funding in current documentation.
Benoit Decreton is an Assistant Professor in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE) . He previously held visiting scholar positions at INSEAD and Stanford University, and conducted fieldwork in Silicon Valley. His academic journey includes a PhD in Economic and Social Sciences from WU Vienna (2020), dual Master's degrees from Copenhagen Business School (2014) and CEMS (2014), with professional experience across France, Germany, Denmark, Hong Kong, Austria, the USA, and Portugal.
Mehmet Koyutürk serves as the Andrew R. Jennings Professor in the Department of Computer and Data Sciences at Case Western Reserve University's Case School of Engineering, with additional affiliation as a Member of the Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. His computational research bridges algorithm development with biological applications, focusing on network-structured data analysis to address complex biomedical challenges. Dr. Koyutürk earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University following B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from Bilkent University. His primary research domains include high-throughput biological data analysis, systems/network biology methodologies, data mining algorithms, and scientific computing optimization, with particular emphasis on phosphorylation networks, genomic interactions, and multi-omics integration. Recent publication trends reveal expanding applications of his network science expertise into Alzheimer's disease phosphoproteomics, bipolar disorder biomarker discovery, and intimate partner violence analysis, while maintaining core contributions to graph neural networks and biological link prediction. His group actively develops open-source analytical tools like RokaiXplorer for phospho-proteomic data accessibility. Scientific Recognition Andrew R. Jennings Professorship Dr. Koyutürk leads multiple NIH-funded initiatives including R01-LM012980 for phosphoproteomics analysis, U01-CA198941 (BD2K program) for big network integration, and R01-LM011247 for GWAS enhancement, complemented by NSF CAREER Award CCF-0953195. He serves on the steering committee for CWRU's Systems Biology and Bioinformatics graduate programs and as Associate Editor for IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (TCBB), with extensive collaboration through Mark Chance's Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics. His laboratory specializes in developing scalable algorithms for biological network analysis, currently advancing projects on kinase-substrate association prediction, co-phosphorylation network characterization in cancer, and network-based approaches to intimate partner violence data mining, with strong emphasis on translating computational methods into biomedical insights through open-source software dissemination.
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States
Richard Szeliski is a Distinguished Scientist at Google DeepMind and Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington's Department of Computer Science & Engineering. He previously led the Interactive Visual Media Group at Microsoft Research and founded the Computational Photography group at Facebook. His research focuses on computer vision, computer graphics, and numerical methods, with specialties in 3D modeling from imagery, computational photography, and neural rendering. Education details are not explicitly listed, but his career trajectory indicates advanced academic training in computer science. Research interests include algorithms for 3D reconstruction, image stitching, and optimization techniques. His recent work emphasizes neural rendering, volumetric representations, and large-scale scene modeling. Key contributions include the widely cited textbook Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications and foundational papers on multi-view stereo, panorama stitching, and energy minimization in MRFs. Publications span 40+ years, with recent focus on radiance fields (NeRF), 3D scene understanding, and real-time rendering systems. Though no explicit awards are listed, his textbook adoption and industry roles reflect significant academic and industrial impact. He advises through his academic role and has contributed to open-source projects like the Bundle Adjustment Library (BAL). Labs/teams include collaborations with Google DeepMind, prior work at Microsoft Research's Interactive Visual Media Group, and academic partnerships at UW's Graphics & Imaging Lab. His work bridges theory and application, addressing challenges in both academic research and industrial-scale systems.
