Find Academic Supervisors

Ferdinando FiorettoView profile

Assistant Professor

• Machine Learning
• Responsible AI
• Optimization
• +3 more

Ferdinando Fioretto is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Virginia, leading the Responsible AI for Science and Engineering (RAISE) group. His research focuses on foundational challenges in AI, privacy, fairness, and the intersection of machine learning and optimization. He holds a dual PhD in Computer Science from the University of Udine and New Mexico State University. Affiliations: University of Virginia (current), Syracuse University (former), Georgia Institute of Technology (postdoc), University of Michigan (research fellow) Education: PhD (Udine & NMSU), B.S. (University of Parma) Research Interests: Machine Learning, Responsible AI, Optimization, Differential Privacy, Algorithmic Fairness. His work emphasizes practical applications in energy systems, court scheduling, and privacy-preserving machine learning. Recent projects include neuro-symbolic diffusion models, fairness-aware optimization, and privacy guarantees in LLMs. Grants & Funding: NSF CAREER Award, Google Faculty Research Award, Amazon Research Award, NVIDIA Academic Grant, and grants from the LaCross Institute and 4-VA. His group collaborates with institutions like George Mason University and Virginia Tech. Key Awards: NSF CAREER (2022), IJCAI Early Career Spotlight (2022), Caspar Bowden PET Award (2022), ACP Early Career Researcher Award (2021) Labs/Teams: RAISE group at UVA, focused on trustworthy AI, fair optimization, and privacy-preserving systems. Active in organizing workshops like NeurIPS Algorithmic Fairness and AAAI Privacy-Preserving AI.

James ConantView profile

Professor

• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Aesthetics
• +3 more

James Conant is the Chester D. Tripp Professor of Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor in the College at the University of Chicago. He also served as Humboldt Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at Leipzig University (2017–2022). He holds a BA (1982) and PhD (1990) from Harvard University. His academic roles include Interim Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago (2014–2015, 2025–2026), co-director of the Forschungskolleg Analytic German Idealism, and director of the Center for German Philosophy at Chicago. Education: Bachelor of Arts, Harvard University (1982) Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University (1990) Research Interests: Focuses on Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Aesthetics, German Idealism, and the History of Analytic Philosophy. He explores themes such as skepticism, Wittgenstein’s methods, rule-following paradoxes, and the interplay between German Idealism and analytic philosophy. Publications Trends: Conant’s recent work includes monographs on skepticism and film aesthetics, co-authored volumes on Wittgenstein, and edited collections of Hilary Putnam’s papers. His articles often critically engage with figures like Kant, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, and Frege, emphasizing methodological rigor and historical context. Scientific Awards: Anneliese Meier Research Award (2012) Humboldt Prize (2017) Neubauer Collegium Award Grants and Advising: Co-recipient of Mellon Sawyer Seminar Grants (2006–2008) and Humboldt TransCoop Awards. Advised numerous postdoctoral and doctoral researchers through initiatives like the Leipzig-Chicago collaborative projects. Labs/Teams: Leads the Center for German Philosophy at Chicago and co-directs the Center for Analytic German Idealism in Leipzig. Collaborates internationally on projects bridging analytic and continental philosophy.

• Film Aesthetics
• Film Performance Analysis
• Film Criticism History
• +3 more

Professor Andrew Klevan is a leading scholar in film aesthetics and close cinematic analysis, holding a professorial position at the University of Oxford's Faculty of English and serving as a Non-tutorial Fellow at St Anne's College. His work focuses on film form, performance, critical methodology, and pedagogy, advocating for detailed close analysis as a core practice in film studies. Research interests include the interplay between film medium and narrative structure, particularly exploring 'undramatic' forms that capture mundane experiences. He has authored monographs on film performance (e.g., Barbara Stanwyck studies), aesthetic evaluation frameworks, and the philosophy of film criticism. Recent work critiques theoretical approaches in film studies and develops 'ordinary language film studies' to emphasize practical criticism over abstract theory. Publications span over two decades, with notable contributions to journals like Movie , Film-Philosophy , and Aesthetic Investigations . His edited collection The Language and Style of Film Criticism (with Alex Clayton) remains influential in critical discourse. Teaching focuses on advanced film analysis and methodology. No formal academic awards are listed, though his contributions to film scholarship are widely recognized. He supervises Master’s and DPhil students in film studies, emphasizing close textual analysis and critical writing. His academic affiliations include the St Anne's College community and the broader Oxford film studies network.

Toril MoiView profile

Professor

• Feminist Theory
• Literary Theory
• Philosophy of Literature
• +4 more

Toril Moi is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Literature at Duke University, holding additional professorships in English, Romance Studies, Philosophy, and Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies. She directs the Center for Philosophy, Arts, and Literature (PAL). Her work bridges feminist theory, literary criticism, and philosophy, with a focus on modernism, existentialism, and ordinary language philosophy. Educated at the University of Bergen (Dr. Art., 1985), her research spans Simone de Beauvoir, Ibsen, and Cavellian thought. She has held fellowships at the Radcliffe Institute, Guggenheim Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation. Recognized with honorary doctorates from four universities, her teaching emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, including courses on Wittgenstein, existentialism, and feminist classics. Moi advises graduate students across disciplines and has supervised over 20 PhD dissertations, many winning top academic prizes. Her research explores intersections between literature and philosophy, particularly through feminist frameworks. Notable books include Sexual/Textual Politics (1985) and Henrik Ibsen and the Birth of Modernism (2006). Recent work addresses Beauvoir’s literary theory and crises in humanities education. Moi’s global lectures span 29 countries, and she advises institutions like Norway’s National Library. Awards highlight her contributions to feminist scholarship and mentorship.

Kaiqun FuView profile

Assistant Professor

• Spatial Data Mining
• Machine Learning
• Deep Learning
• +3 more

Dr. Kaiqun Fu is an Assistant Professor in the McComish Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at South Dakota State University (SDSU). He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech (2021 and 2016). His research focuses on spatial data mining, spatiotemporal event analysis, graph neural networks, and urban computing applications such as traffic impact prediction and social media-driven insights. He also explores physics-informed machine learning for power systems and interdisciplinary topics like 'deaths of despair' in rural areas. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, Virginia Tech, 2021 M.S. in Computer Science, Virginia Tech, 2016 Research Interests: His work emphasizes machine learning and deep learning applications in spatial-temporal domains, including: Graph neural networks for traffic incident prediction Social media analysis for urban challenges Physics-informed models for power grid stability Citation forecasting in scientific publications Grants & Projects: NSF CRII ($174,734): Spatiotemporal impacts of traffic events via graph neural networks (2024–2026) NSF EAGER ($300,000): Socio-economic impacts of emerging technologies (2024–2026) SDSU RSCA ($10,118): Graph transformer-based location learning (2023–2024) Professional Involvement: He chairs ACM SIGSPATIAL's SRC committee, serves on SDSU's Computer Science curriculum committees, and is an IEEE member. He co-edits Frontiers in Big Data and advises on interdisciplinary projects like climate-impacted grid security (NSF RII Track-2, $750,000). Labs/Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary groups focusing on smart cities, data-driven infrastructure resilience, and GeoAI applications.

Benjamin MangrumView profile

Associate Professor

• Contemporary Literature
• Digital Humanities
• Environmental Humanities
• +3 more

Benjamin Mangrum is Associate Professor of Literature at MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, specializing in 20th/21st-century literature, digital humanities, and environmental humanities. His scholarship examines literature's engagement with technology, environmental crisis, and political liberalism. Dr. Mangrum's research analyzes computational obsolescence, environmental rights discourse, and the intersections of literary form with political thought. His publications demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches combining literary criticism with philosophy, digital studies, and environmental theory. Recent publications show growing engagement with energy humanities, data visualization ecologies, and artificial intelligence's cultural implications. His work consistently examines how literary forms mediate technological change and environmental consciousness. Awards: Levitan Prize (2023) Fellowships: Michigan Society of Fellows Professor Mangrum teaches courses on comedy, science fiction, environmental literature, and AI at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

• Political Thought
• African American Political Thought
• American Legal History
• +3 more

Samuel Burry is a Procter Fellow in Politics at Princeton University, having recently completed his DPhil in Politics at the University of Oxford under supervisors Sophie Smith and Cécile Laborde. His doctoral research was fully funded by the Rothermere American Institute. He earned a BA in History and Politics and an MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History from the University of Cambridge, graduating with a starred first and receiving the History and Politics Prize for top performance. Burry specializes in twentieth-century American and African American political thought, with deep expertise in legal theory, intellectual history, and American political development. His work critically examines figures like Derrick Bell, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson, exploring intergenerational obligations, judicial decision-making frameworks, and the intersection of ordinary language philosophy with legal principles. His publications in leading journals reveal a consistent trajectory analyzing the evolution of American political-legal thought across the 20th century, with particular focus on foundational jurisprudential debates and the conceptual underpinnings of rights discourse. Key recognitions include: Cambridge University History and Politics Prize Rothermere American Institute Fellowship Procter Fellowship at Princeton University As a postdoctoral fellow, Burry does not currently supervise graduate students but contributes significantly through his editorial role at Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review, where he bridges political theory with contemporary climate discourse.

Siegfried HandschuhView profile

Professor

• Semantic Technologies
• Information Linguistics
• Information Extraction
• +4 more

Professor Siegfried Handschuh holds dual academic appointments as Associate Professor at the University of Passau and Ordinary Professor for Data Science at the University of St. Gallen. His research spans semantic technologies, information linguistics, and artificial intelligence applications in the humanities, with significant funding from the EU, Science Foundation Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland. His research focuses on making big data workable for humanities scholars through innovative AI approaches. Handschuh's work addresses critical challenges in digital humanities including inconsistent and non-integrated data with varying quality. His research interests encompass semantic technologies, information linguistics, information extraction, and distributional semantics, with particular emphasis on applying AI to art history and cultural heritage. Handschuh has coordinated numerous international research projects including the Digital Aristotle project initiated by Microsoft founder Paul Allen, which aimed to develop AI-powered educational tools. His Neoclassica project teaches machines to recognize neoclassical objects through formal language processing, while the PACE initiative establishes the Passau Centre for eHumanities as a research hub. Other significant projects include EU-Project MARIO for healthy aging with care robots and various studies on human-machine interaction. His scientific contributions focus on developing new tools for humanities researchers that leverage artificial intelligence to uncover novel contexts and relationships in cultural data. Handschuh's work bridges computer science with humanities disciplines, creating practical applications for semantic technologies in cultural heritage analysis.

Adnan MahmutovicView profile

Professor

• World Literature
• Postcolonial Literature
• Transnational Writing
• +4 more

Adnan Mahmutovic is a Professor at the Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Stockholm University. He has been lecturing at the department since 2007 and holds a PhD in English Literature from Stockholm University, as well as an MFA in Creative Writing from City University of Hong Kong. His academic expertise spans multiple areas: World Literature and Transnational Writing Postcolonial and Diasporic Literature Comics and Graphic Narrative Studies Creative Writing and Literary Editing Muslim and Islamic Cultural Studies Professor Mahmutovic's research focuses on the intersections of literature, space, and identity, particularly examining how writers navigate cultural and linguistic borders. His work explores how literary works claim space through dynamic relations between locations and orientations, as seen in his book "Claiming Space: Locations and Orientations in World Literatures" (2021). He has also made significant contributions to comics studies with "Visions of the Future in Comics" (2017) and "The Craft of Editing" (2018), which explores editorial practices in contemporary literature. His academic publications demonstrate a consistent engagement with postcolonial theory, particularly examining works by authors like Michael Ondaatje, Salman Rushdie, and Ben Okri. His early scholarly work "Ways of Being Free" (2012) established his interest in how migrant writers articulate existential conditions through their fictional worlds. More recent publications show an expansion into contemporary topics like Muslim-American writing, transnational superhero narratives, and Bosnian refugee experiences. Professor Mahmutovic has received numerous awards for his fiction writing and has served as a judge for prestigious literary prizes including the Neustadt Prize for Literature. He has also acted as fiction editor for "Two Thirds North," a journal of transnational writing, since 2010. His creative work complements his academic pursuits, with publications including "Thinner than a Hair" (2010), "How to Fare Well and Stay Fair" (2012), and "At the Feet of Mothers" (2020). His essay "Comics, War and Ordinary Miracles" has been adapted for BBC Radio, demonstrating the broader cultural impact of his work.

• Transnational Modernist Literature
• Feminist Theory
• Posthumanism
• +5 more

Eret Talviste is a Research Fellow in Contemporary English Literature at the University of Tartu , affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures . She joined Tartu in 2020 as a part-time researcher in Raili Marling’s project Imagining Crisis Ordinariness and received the Estonian Research Council’s postdoctoral fellowship (2022-2024) for her project Women, Nations, and Affect . PhD (2020) from Northumbria University MA (2015) from University of Glasgow BA (2014) from University of Portsmouth Her research bridges transnational modernist women writers and critical theory , focusing on intersections of feminism , posthumanism , affect theory , and postcolonialism . She explores themes like wonder and wander , race and ethnicity , and ecocriticism through works by Elizabeth Bowen, Virginia Woolf, Zora Neale Hurston, and Leida Kibuvits. Recent publications highlight her expertise in Estonian-UK comparative studies and decolonial approaches to English literature. She has contributed to journals such as Feminist Modernist Studies , Journal of Baltic Studies , and Keel ja Kirjandus , with a forthcoming monograph Strange Intimacies (Edinburgh University Press, 2025). Her awards include the Estonian Research Council’s postdoctoral fellowship and a 2016 Northumbria scholarship. Eret is keen to supervise BA and MA theses on comparative studies between Estonia and Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada, or England. She has served in administrative roles, including organizing conferences like BodyWorks and editing The Kelvingrove Review .

Luca BarraView profile

Professor

• Media Studies
• Television History
• Transnational Media Circulation
• +5 more

Luca Barra is Full Professor of Television and Digital Media at the Department of Arts, University of Bologna. His research focuses on media studies, particularly television history and contemporary evolution, transnational circulation of content, serialization, and comic/humorous genres. He has coordinated the Master's Degree in Information, Cultures and Media Organization since 2021 and serves as editor-in-chief of VIEW. Journal of European TV History and Culture. University of Bologna, Department of Arts Research areas: Television History, Transnational Media, Digital Transformation, Italian TV Production Barra's work examines the international mediation of ready-made TV formats, Italian streaming partnerships, and the cultural implications of digital television. His recent articles analyze dystopian narratives, sitcom reception in Italy, and the redefinition of celebrity during the pandemic. He contributes to academic discourse through editorial roles in journals like SERIES and Comunicazioni Sociali. His publications include monographs on Italian television programming, sitcoms, and co-edited volumes exploring European premium TV fiction and digital media frameworks. Barra has led research projects such as ATLas and F-ACTOR, and collaborates with international institutions including Brown University and NECS.

Walter JostView profile

Professor

• Critical Theory
• Literary Theory
• Rhetoric
• +4 more

Walter Jost is a Professor at the University of Virginia, specializing in Critical Theory, Literary Theory, and Rhetoric. His work bridges philosophy, literature, and religious communication, with a focus on ordinary language criticism and modernist literary analysis. Educational Background: Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1985 M.A., University of Chicago, 1979 M.A., University of Chicago, 1974 B.A. (cum laude), St. Louis University, 1973 Research Interests: Jost’s scholarship examines rhetoric in poetry and narrative, the intersections of philosophy and literature, and the application of ordinary language methods to literary analysis. His work frequently explores themes like pluralism, ethical communication, and modernist aesthetics. Recent Trends in Publications: His recent articles (2025–2000) analyze rhetorical structures in Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, and Wittgensteinian frameworks, while his books like Rhetorical Investigations and Ordinary Language Criticism establish foundational theories in literary and rhetorical studies. Awards & Recognition: 2018 Religious Communication Association Scholar of the Year 2001 International Society for the History of Rhetoric Travel Grant Multiple University of Virginia Sesquicentennial Research Awards 1994 Senior Fellow at the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change Grants & Contributions: Jost has received grants for teaching innovation and research, including the 1999 Teaching Initiative Grant. His edited works, such as The Blackwell Companion to the Philosophy of Literature , reflect his leadership in interdisciplinary scholarship.

• machine learning
• robotics
• machine vision
• +9 more

Dr. Hamidreza Mohades Kasaei is an Associate Professor in the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He holds positions in both the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Medical Sciences/UMCG, focusing on Robotics and image-guided minimally-invasive surgery. His work bridges theoretical advances in machine learning with practical robotic applications. Dr. Kasaei's research focuses on developing algorithms for adaptive perception systems through interactive environment exploration and open-ended learning. His specific interests include 3D object perception, grasp affordance detection, object manipulation, and active perception. He has evaluated his research on various robotic platforms including PR2, UR5e, Kinova, Franka robotic arms, and humanoid robots. His work enables robots to learn from past experiences and intelligently interact with non-expert human users using data-efficient techniques. Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong trends toward increasingly sophisticated manipulation capabilities, particularly in dual-arm coordination and handling dense clutter. There's a clear progression toward integrating language models with robotic control systems, as seen in works like 'Lifelong Robot Library Learning' and 'Towards Open-World Grasping with Large Vision-Language Models.' His research consistently addresses real-world challenges in agricultural robotics, assistive technologies, and service robotics applications. Gratama Science Award (2022) Google Research Scholar Award in Machine Learning (2023) Outstanding Associate Editor for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2023) Dr. Kasaei has successfully supervised multiple PhD students including Zhenxing Zhang (thesis on 'Generative Adversarial Networks for Diverse and Explainable Text-to-Image Generation') and Hamed Ayoobi (thesis on 'Explain What You See: Argumentation-Based Learning and Robotic Vision'). His research is supported by significant grants including the Google Research Scholar Award for 'Continual Robot Learning in Human-centered Environments' and various conference organization roles including workshops at RSS 2023 and NeurIPS 2022. He leads the Lifelong Interactive Robot Learning Lab (IRL-Lab), which focuses on six key research directions: Perception and Perceptual Learning, Object Grasping and Manipulation, Lifelong Interactive Robot Learning, Dual-Arm Manipulation, Dynamic Robot Motion Planning, and Exploiting Multimodality. The lab develops cutting-edge approaches for robots to learn in open-ended fashion through interaction with non-expert human users, with applications in assistive robotics for people with disabilities.

• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Action
• History of Analytic Philosophy
• +7 more

Martin Gustafsson is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Åbo Akademi University, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, and the Department of Culture, History and Philosophy. He has held this position since 2010 and continues to be an active researcher, teacher, and supervisor. His research focuses on the interplay between the Philosophy of Language and the Philosophy of Action, particularly how these are embedded in human life. Influenced by Elizabeth Anscombe, Stanley Cavell, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, his work spans the history of analytic philosophy, philosophical methodology, and the philosophy of logic. He has led significant research projects funded by the Academy of Finland, the Swedish Central Bank's Tercentenary Foundation, and the Swedish Research Council. His recent publications reflect deep engagement with thinkers like Frege, Weierstrass, Kant, and Quine, exploring themes such as the paradox of analysis, aesthetic judgment, and the role of passivity in action. His research output is extensive and consistently contributes to core debates in analytic philosophy. Letterstedt Translation Award (2022), Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences He currently supervises six PhD students and organizes advanced research seminars. His teaching includes epistemology, logic, Kant, Frege, and Quine, as well as interdisciplinary courses on AI and surveillance. He also leads the BA program in Culture, History and Philosophy since 2017. Gustafsson co-translated Wittgenstein’s Philosophische Untersuchungen into Swedish, a contribution recognized internationally. His ongoing book projects continue to push boundaries in understanding analysis and human agency.

Emma WilliamsView profile

Associate Professor

• Philosophy of Education
• Mental Health Education
• Critical Thinking
• +5 more

Emma Williams is an Associate Professor in the Education Studies Department at the University of Warwick, where she joined in 2015. She serves as Director of Research Impact for the Education Studies department and is Co-Editor for Regular Issues of the Journal of Philosophy of Education. Williams is also a member of the Centre for Research in Post-Kantian Continental Philosophy at Warwick. Her educational background includes: BA (1st Class) in Philosophy from the University of Warwick MA (with Distinction) in Continental Philosophy from the University of Warwick MRes and PhD in Philosophy of Education from the UCL Institute of Education (funded by ESRC) Williams' research focuses on philosophical approaches to education, with particular emphasis on mental health education, critical thinking, and the value of humanities in educational contexts. Her work bridges different philosophical traditions including phenomenology, post-structuralism, ordinary language philosophy, and psychoanalysis. She explores the productive tensions between these traditions and takes seriously philosophy's relation to neighboring fields like literature and psychoanalysis. At Warwick, she teaches 'Introduction to Philosophy of Education' at the undergraduate level and 'Rethinking Wellbeing and Education' at the postgraduate level. Her recent publications reveal a strong focus on mental health and education, with many articles examining the philosophical dimensions of mental health crises in educational settings. There's also a consistent thread exploring the relationship between literature and philosophy in educational contexts, particularly through the works of J.M. Coetzee. Her scholarship demonstrates an interdisciplinary approach that connects philosophy of education with psychoanalysis, phenomenology, and political theory. Williams has received research funding from several prestigious organizations: British Academy Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain UN-Women She currently supervises four PhD students working on diverse topics including managerial rationality in education, educational justice, global citizenship education, and philosophy in prison settings. Williams also leads impactful engagement activities including the 'Disquieted Life' podcast series and the annual 'Thinking Philosophically' workshop for A Level students. Her current research projects include 'Political Education for Living with the Other' (collaboration with scholars in Japan, France, and Finland) and a UN-Women funded project on 'education and violence against women and girls.' She is working on two monographs: 'Education Without Cure' (on mental health) and 'J.M. Coetzee and the Fiction of Education.'