Dr. Danfeng Wu is a Research Fellow at Magdalen College, University of Oxford, conducting interdisciplinary research in syntax-semantics and syntax-prosody mappings. Her work focuses on ellipsis, focus in coordination, and the empirical interplay between syntactic structure and prosody, employing experimental phonetic methods. She investigates languages like English and Mandarin Chinese to explore the cognitive and computational aspects of linguistic structure. Her research themes include phonetics, prosody, semantics, and syntax, with a particular emphasis on how syntactic configurations interact with prosodic phrasing and stress patterns. She has contributed to studies on corrective constructions, clitic climbing in Wolof, and vowel lengthening in Zulu, demonstrating a broad methodological approach combining theoretical linguistics with experimental and computational methods. Dr. Wu is affiliated with the Phonetics Lab and Language & Brain Lab within the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics. She has organized interdisciplinary events such as the Oxford workshop on AI language models and developed linguistics courses for computer scientists and cognitive scientists at MIT. Her work bridges formal linguistics with cognitive science and computational linguistics, emphasizing realistic models of language acquisition and evolution.
Dr. Giovanna Fassetta is a Senior Lecturer in Social Inclusion at the University of Glasgow's School of Education, specializing in the Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy department. With over 20 years of teaching experience across Italy, Eritrea, and the UK, she focuses on inclusive education for migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking youth, linguistic diversity, and crisis-affected contexts. She teaches on the MSc Education for Sustainable Future and MEd Inclusive Education programs, leading courses like Approaches to Inclusive Learning and Dissertation supervision. Research Interests: Her work explores multilingualism's role in inclusion, resilience in conflict zones, and decolonial pedagogies using qualitative and participatory methods. She emphasizes visual and arts-based methodologies, particularly in marginalized communities. Grants & Projects: Co-Investigator in Education in Conflict (2024) and LINEs4Palestine (2024) Principal Investigator of Welcoming Languages 2 (2023) and AHRC-funded projects on Palestinian Arabic education Contributor to the Culture for Sustainable and Inclusive Peace (CUSP) Network Teaching & Supervision: Supervises PhD students researching refugee education, trauma, and inclusion. Leads courses on inclusive pedagogy and dissertation methodologies. Additional Roles: Member of the School of Education Ethics Committee and co-convenor of Glasgow Refugee Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet).
Ed Chien is an Assistant Professor at Boston University's Department of Computer Science within the College of Arts & Sciences. He specializes in applying differential geometry and topology to graphics, computational engineering, and machine learning. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT's CSAIL and Bar-Ilan University. His work focuses on mathematically rigorous solutions to problems in geometric data processing and optimal transport. Education PhD in Mathematics, Rutgers University (2015) A.B. in Mathematics & Physics, Dartmouth College (2009) Research Highlights Dr. Chien's research includes fundamental studies on hexahedral mesh topology for Finite Element Modeling, optimal transport applications in machine learning, and singularity-free geometric algorithms. His work bridges theoretical mathematics with computational tools for engineering and graphics. Publications span top venues like NeurIPS, Eurographics, and SIGGRAPH, reflecting contributions to geometry processing and machine learning intersections. Program committee roles include Eurographics SGP (2019) and AAAI (2020). Awards & Recognition No specific awards listed, but notable service includes program committee memberships and peer-reviewed contributions to leading conferences. Grants & Advising Active in mentoring through academic positions but no explicit grant details provided. Research focuses on advancing geometric algorithms and optimal transport methodologies.
Associate Professor Margaret Grose is an academic at the University of Melbourne's Melbourne School of Design, specialising in Landscape Architecture. She holds an Associate Professorship and teaches ecological design principles in the Masters of Landscape Architecture and Bachelor of Environments programs. Her work bridges design and ecological science, with a focus on urban ecosystems, water management, and cultural landscapes. Education: Grose began in Agricultural Science (soils/water processes), completed a PhD in ecophysiology of Australian plants, followed by postdoctoral research at Oxford University and the University of Cambridge’s Mathematical Biology group. She later trained in Landscape Architecture and practiced as an environmental scientist in urban design projects. Research interests include integrating ecological science into design, the role of historical ecological knowledge in contemporary design, and urban water systems. Her recent Universitas 21 Fellowship explores teaching ecology to built environment students globally. Publications span topics like urban forestry in China, dryland river parks, and impacts of artificial light on ecosystems. She has received the 2011 Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in the Masters program. Supervision focuses on river design, urban waterways, ecological planting resilience, and design of public spaces in Mediterranean climates. She collaborates on interdisciplinary projects combining ecology, urban planning, and cultural heritage.
Mauro Calcagno is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in opera studies, early modern music, performance studies, critical theory, and digital humanities. He holds a Ph.D. in Music from Yale University (2000) and previously taught at Harvard University (until 2008) and Stony Brook University (until 2013). His research focuses on Baroque opera, Monteverdi’s works, and digital editions of early music. Notable publications include From Madrigal to Opera: Monteverdi's Staging of the Self and contributions to the Journal of the American Musicological Society . His edition of Cavalli's Eliogabalo has been internationally performed and critically praised. He co-directs the Marenzio Online Digital Edition (MODE), funded by a NEH grant, and is involved in initiatives like the Bibliotheca Dantesca online journal and the Music in the Pavilion concert series. His awards include the Alfred Einstein Award for an essay on 17th-century vocal aesthetics. At Penn, he directs undergraduate education in the Music Department, chairs the Center for Italian Studies (2017–2021), and co-leads the Rodin Arts Collective. His teaching spans doctoral seminars on opera theory, Baroque music, and digital editing, as well as undergraduate courses on opera history. He actively collaborates with institutions like the Juilliard School and the Centre for Baroque Music in Versailles, offering workshops on Baroque performance practices. His current projects include a book on modern stagings of Baroque opera and a comparative literature initiative through Penn’s graduate programs.
Dr. Damian Arellanes is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Computer Science at Lancaster University, UK, affiliated with the Software Engineering Group and Lancaster Centre for Intelligent, Robotic and Autonomous Systems (LIRA). He holds a PhD from The University of Manchester (2020) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from Lancaster University (2023). His research focuses on theoretical foundations of algebraic composition for high-level computation models, including emergent/self-organising systems and software composition. He has contributed to areas such as category theory, control-flow separation, and compositional programming for IoT systems. Education: PhD in Computer Science, University of Manchester (2020) Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, Lancaster University (2023) MSc in Computer Science, supported by CONACYT (2012–2014) BEng in Computer Engineering, supported by PRONABES (2009–2012) Research Interests: Damian’s work emphasizes algebraic semantics, compositional models for software, and theoretical computer science principles. He explores how abstract mathematical frameworks (e.g., category theory) can formalize computational systems and enable scalable IoT solutions. Publications: Damian has published extensively on algebraic composition, IoT systems, and formal methods. Key themes include compositional programming, self-organizing software, and scalable service architectures. Awards: Official Nominator for the VinFuture Prize (2024) Honourable Mention for Most Outstanding Mexican Student in STEM (2021) Nick Sanders Kickstarter Fund (2019) Outstanding Doctoral Paper Award (2019) Best MSc Thesis in AI (2015) Advising & Grants: Damian supervises PhD students, such as Mina Yavari, and actively reviews for journals like IEEE TSC and conferences like TASE. He has secured scholarships and fellowships from CONACYT and the Mexican government. Labs/Teams: Member of LIRA’s Fundamentals Section and the Software Engineering Group at Lancaster University.
Pablo Aragón is a Research Scientist at the Wikimedia Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. His work bridges computational social science, civic technology, and technopolitics, with a focus on Wikipedia's governance, digital democracy tools, and participatory systems. He co-founded the Democratic Innovation Lab in Barcelona and the DatAnalysis15M research network. Key research interests include analyzing knowledge integrity in Wikipedia, configuring digital participatory budgeting systems, and studying platform effects in civic technologies. He has led projects like DECODE (decentralized citizen engagement) and contributed to platforms like Decidim, which empower participatory democracy in cities like Barcelona. Recent conference engagements include KDD 2024 (data mining), ICWSM 2024 (social media analysis), and Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024. His work emphasizes cross-cultural collaboration, with studies published in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction and peer-reviewed conferences like CIKM and ACM SIGKDD. Professional affiliations include the Decidim association, Amnistía Internacional España, and the open knowledge advocacy group Civio. His research often intersects with open science, free culture movements, and gender equity in urban mobility.
Vance Byrd is an Associate Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania , with a secondary appointment in History of Art. He serves as Special Advisor in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty (2024–2025) and is completing an Ivy+ Mellon Leadership Fellowship. Education: Ph.D., M.A. University of Pennsylvania B.A., University of Georgia Research Interests: Byrd’s work focuses on late-eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German literature , visual and print culture , media history , and commemoration . He engages with race, gender, and sexuality studies , environmental humanities , and the history of books and periodicals . His scholarship examines how panoramic media, illustrated journals, and printed materials shaped cultural memory and identity. Scientific Awards: New Directions Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (2019) Residential Fellow, National Humanities Center (2021–2022) Getty Scholar, Getty Research Institute (2021–2022) Ivy+ Mellon Leadership Fellow (2024–2025) Grants and Affiliations: His research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright Commission, and the Quadrangle Historical Research Foundation. He serves on editorial boards for Monatshefte , The German Quarterly , and the Signale book series, and participates in international academic networks like the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies.
Dr. Martin Savransky is a Reader in Social and Environmental Thought at the University of Bath's Department of Social & Policy Sciences and a member of the Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change. His work bridges philosophy, environmental humanities, and global social theory to address planetary instability and socioenvironmental transformations. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London (2014) and has held visiting positions at institutions including Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development and Leuphana University Lüneburg. His research focuses on decolonial approaches to climate adaptation, pluriversal politics, and critical Anthropocene studies. He has authored/co-edited works such as Around the Day in Eighty Worlds (2021) and co-edited Speculative Research: The Lure of Possible Futures (2017). His teaching includes pioneering climate change and environmental justice programs. He currently serves as Honorary Professor at Goldsmiths and holds international research fellowships. Research interests include exploring how modernity shapes planetary challenges and how communities craft resilient futures amid environmental crises. His work emphasizes Southern Theory perspectives and transformative ethics in social inquiry.
Sophie Othman is a Lecturer at the University of Franche-Comté, affiliated with the Centre de Linguistique Appliquée (CLA) and the DEFLET department. She is actively engaged in research and teaching in language didactics, digital education, and innovative pedagogical practices. Her work spans multiple roles in research coordination, program leadership, and international academic collaboration. Research Interests: Her primary research areas include digital technology in language teaching and learning, design of online and distance learning environments, digital engineering in education, pedagogical innovation, comodal and hybrid training models, MOOCs, e-portfolios, and teacher training in ICT. She explores how digital tools transform language education, especially in multilingual and multicultural contexts. The recent scholarly output shows a consistent focus on post-pandemic educational transformation, AI integration in learning systems, and the design of flexible pedagogical scenarios. Her publications appear in journals such as ALSIC and in international conference proceedings, reflecting a strong engagement with digital pedagogy and language education innovation. Leadership and Service: Vice-President, Scientific and Pedagogical Commission, CLA – University of Franche-Comté (2021–present) Co-Responsible, TIPED Research Program, ELLIADD (2017–present) Scientific Coordinator, Innov'FLE Thematic Thursdays (2022–present) Former Coordinator, Master 2 FLE 'Political and Digital Environments' and FLE Track at CTU Besançon (2018–2020) Scientific Committee Member for international conferences (e.g., ADCUEFE, CEDIL, UBEST, EIAH) Expert reviewer for language didactics journals and collective works International trainer for the French Ministry and OIF in over 15 countries Projects and Grants: #ApproprIA: AI Appropriation in Education (2025–...) UNPEAA: Digital Use by Allophone Adults (2024–...) Innov'FLE: Innovation in FLE Teaching (2022–...) HUMANE: Digital Humanities for Education (2019–2022) ANR-IDEFI Innovalangues (2013–2016) Advising and Grants: While no formal students are listed, she has supervised research teams and mentored junior researchers through collaborative projects and editorial roles. She has secured national and international funding, notably through the ANR-IDEFI program, and contributes to large-scale educational initiatives supported by governmental and Francophone institutions. Labs and Teams: She is affiliated with the ELLIADD research laboratory (University of Franche-Comté) and was previously associated with LIDILEM (Université Grenoble Alpes). She leads and participates in interdisciplinary research groups focused on digital language education, teacher training, and innovation in didactics.
Janet Gyatso is the Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), affiliated with Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She holds academic ties to the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies. Her research focuses on Tibetan and South Asian cultural/intellectual history, Buddhist epistemology, gender studies, and the intersection of religion and medicine. Dr. Gyatso earned her BA, MA, and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. She previously taught at Amherst College before joining HDS in 2014 as Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs (until June 2024). Her major works include Being Human in a Buddhist World (2015) and Women in Tibet (2006), exploring themes like early modern Tibetan medicine and Buddhist gender dynamics. Her current research addresses ethical relationships with animals and Buddhist ministerial training. She has held leadership roles, including president of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (2000–2006) and co-chair of the American Academy of Religion's Buddhism Section (2004–2010). She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018. Gyatso's teaching spans Buddhist history, ritual, and Tibetan literary practices. She actively develops programs like the Buddhist Lay Ministry Initiative at HDS, blending academic rigor with practical ministry training.
Parisa Kordjamshidi is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU), leading the Heterogeneous Learning and Reasoning (HLR) Lab. Her research focuses on Neuro-Symbolic AI, spatial language understanding, and structured learning, with notable contributions to frameworks like Saul for declarative programming. She joined MSU in 2019 after roles at Tulane University and the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science from KU Leuven (2013), postdoctoral research at UIUC's Cognitive Computation Group, and work in the KnowEng project. Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Neuro-Symbolic systems, spatial semantics extraction, structured output learning, and multimodal reasoning. Key projects include NSF CAREER awards for spatial language understanding and ONR grants for integrating domain knowledge into AI. Awards: NSF CAREER (2019), Amazon Faculty Research Award (2022), Fulbright Scholar (2025), and Rising Stars at MIT EECS (2015). Grants: Active projects on Neuro-Symbolic compositional generalization (ONR), spatial language learning (NSF), and collaborations with the Department of Media and Information for health misinformation management. Professional Activities: Editorial roles at JAIR, TACL, and Frontiers journals; service on program committees for ACL, EMNLP, and AAAI; organization of workshops like Spatial Language Understanding (SpLU) and CLeaR. Lab and Software: HLR Lab develops Saul (declarative learning-based programming framework) and tools for spatial role labeling. Her team emphasizes mentoring, with structured weekly meetings, reading groups, and conference participation for students.
Shawn Miller is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of California, Davis, where he also earned his PhD. His work focuses on philosophy of biology, science studies, and ethical inquiries. He maintains a prominent resource at philbio.net , curating a comprehensive reading list for philosophy of biology graduate programs. His research interests include functional analysis in biology, evolutionary theory critiques, and scientific methodology. He has contributed to debates around adaptationism, gene-environment interaction, and feminist approaches in science. Miller's published works appear in Anarchist Review of Books , The Montréal Review , and Crack the Spine . His 2016 article ' There is No Future Tree ' explores temporal ontology, while recent publications reflect interdisciplinary engagement with anarchist thought and cultural critique. He has maintained active involvement in journalism, writing for outlets like Sacramento News & Review and The Pacific Sun , often blending philosophical perspectives with social commentary. His creative writing includes poetic reflections on existence and ethical decision-making.
Andreas Abel is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Computing Science at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg. He has previously served as an Assistant Professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich and has been a visiting researcher at INRIA in Paris. His primary affiliations are with Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg, where he conducts research and teaches in programming languages and type theory. Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Senior Lecturer University of Gothenburg, Division of Computing Science LMU Munich, Assistant Professor (former) INRIA Paris, Visiting Researcher Abel’s research lies at the intersection of type theory, functional programming, and formal verification. He is particularly known for his work on dependent types, normalization by evaluation, and the development of the Agda proof assistant. His interests include constructive logic, logical frameworks, modal and linear typing, program verification, and compiler construction. He leads the Modal Dependent Type Theory project funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) and has contributed to several other major research initiatives in programming language theory. His recent publications reflect a strong focus on foundational aspects of type systems, including cubical type theory, decidability of conversion, and formalization of algebraic completeness. These works appear in top-tier venues such as ICFP, LICS, POPL, and TYPES, showcasing both theoretical depth and practical implementation in Agda. Distinguished Paper Award, ICFP 2019 Editor, Theoretical Pearls column, Journal of Functional Programming Member, IFIP WG 1.3 on Foundations of System Specification Abel actively supervises students and contributes to the research community through program committee memberships for major conferences including LICS, ICFP, and CPP. He is a senior developer of Agda and the maintainer of the BNFC (Backus-Naur Form Compiler) tool. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical software development for formal methods. He is involved in several research groups and projects, including the Programming Logic Group at Chalmers and the international EUTYPES network. His role as principal investigator and core contributor in multiple funded projects highlights his leadership in the field of programming language foundations.
Associate Professor Antonia Rubino is a leading scholar in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics at The University of Sydney , specializing in multilingualism within migration contexts and its educational implications. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and has conducted groundbreaking research on Italian language maintenance among Australian migrant communities across generations. Key research areas: multilingualism, language maintenance/shift, language and identity, intercultural pragmatics Current projects: Multilingualism and identity among third-generation Italo-Australian youth; WUN international project on multilingualism and mobility Collaborations: 'Helping first-year students flourish through languages' project with Flinders University Her work spans family language policies, media, education, and public health contexts. She has supervised numerous postgraduate students in topics ranging from classroom climate to multicultural workplace communication. In 2024, she received the NSW Co.As.It. Medal for contributions to Italian language and culture.
