Bernardo Ribeiro de Almeida is an Assistant Professor at Leiden University College (LUC) and the Van Vollenhoven Institute within the Governance and Global Affairs faculty at Leiden University. His work focuses on land tenure, lawmaking, and development, particularly in post-conflict and weak institutional contexts. He holds a PhD from Leiden University, with research analyzing Timor-Leste's formal land tenure system, published as a Routledge monograph in 2022. Education and Career: Trained in law, Bernardo began his career as a lawyer in Portugal. He later worked in Timor-Leste as a legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice (2009–2015) and as a consultant for UNDP, World Bank, and others. His research spans Timor-Leste, Mozambique, Afghanistan, and South Sudan, addressing land rights and climate change impacts. Research Interests: His studies explore the interplay between legal frameworks, political dynamics, and land governance. Current projects include an NWO-funded study (2024–2028) on climate change policies' effects on vulnerable land rights in Mozambique and South Sudan. He emphasizes lawmaking processes and administrative challenges in young democracies. Awards: Awarded the Veni Grant (NWO, 2023) for research on climate change and land rights in weak rule-of-law environments. His work bridges sociolegal analysis with policy recommendations. Teaching: At LUC, he teaches courses on International Environmental Law, Law & Governance, and Natural Resource Management. He collaborates with the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam) on urban development programs.
Cobus Jooste is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the Department of Law, Faculty of Business and Law, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). He specializes in Intellectual Property Law, with a strong focus on digital environments, cyberlaw, artificial intelligence, and technology law. He teaches courses including Intellectual Property Law (LLB), International Intellectual Property Law (LLM), Cyberlaw (LLB), and Technology Law (LLM), and serves as one of the Assessment Offences Advisors in Bristol Law School. His research centers on the intersection of law and technology, particularly the digital exploitation of intellectual property rights. Key areas include: Intellectual Property Law in the digital environment Cyberlaw and ICT law Copyright exceptions, particularly software decompilation Data protection and privacy AI and intellectual property His doctoral research addressed the decompilation of computer object code and permissible copyright exceptions in the UK, USA, and South Africa, with findings published in the SAIIPL . He is the sole or co-author of four book chapters across three books on IP, data protection, and electronic IP law. While recent articles are not listed due to technical loading issues, his scholarly output reflects a consistent focus on emerging technological challenges in IP law. Cobus was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Law and a Lecturer in the Department of Mercantile Law, where he taught similar subjects. He also served as a Fellow at the Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property Law. His expertise bridges academic rigor and practical application in evolving digital legal frameworks. He holds the following qualifications: BA(Law) LLB LLD PGCert LTHE FHEA (Fellow of the Higher Education Academy) Though no formal advisees or awards are listed in the current profile, his role as a senior lecturer and active researcher suggests ongoing supervision and potential grant involvement. He is actively engaged in curriculum development and academic governance through his teaching and advisory roles.
Maxim Bolt is an Associate Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford's Department of International Development (ODID). He also holds positions as a Research Associate at the Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the Witwatersrand, and a Senior Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of African Studies and Anthropology at the University of Birmingham. Previously, he worked at the University of Birmingham and the British Museum, where he conducted fieldwork for the 'Money in Africa' project. Bolt's research focuses on economic anthropology in southern Africa, particularly examining labor, migration, borders, money, property inheritance, class, and the state. His early work investigated South Africa's border with Zimbabwe, focusing on commercial agriculture, black workforces, and white landowners during Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis. His current research explores property inheritance, state institutions, and class reproduction in Johannesburg, analyzing how inheritance processes connect to kinship, property, and legal systems in post-apartheid South Africa. Bolt's publication record reveals a consistent focus on economic anthropology with growing emphasis on legal anthropology and urban studies. His earlier works centered on border studies, farm labor, and migration patterns, while recent publications increasingly address property law, inheritance systems, and urban governance in South Africa. His research shows a clear trajectory from examining labor relations in rural border contexts to analyzing how legal frameworks shape urban property relations and class formation. Scientific Awards Recipient of the 2016 British Sociological Association / BBC Thinking Allowed Ethnography Award for 'Zimbabwe's Migrants and South Africa's Border Farms: The Roots of Impermanence' Shortlisted for the 2016 Herskovits Prize (African Studies Association, USA) Shortlisted for the 2016 biennial Fage and Oliver Prize (African Studies Association of the UK) Delivered the prestigious Malinowski Memorial Lecture in 2018 Bolt serves as a doctoral supervisor for DPhil projects taking ethnographic approaches to economic life, state institutions, and formal/informal institutions, primarily focused on African contexts. His research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK. He has previously held editorial positions as Editor of AFRICA: Journal of the International African Institute and the Journal of Southern African Studies , and currently serves on the editorial boards of these journals plus African Studies Review . Bolt's scholarly work demonstrates strong institutional connections across British and South African academic networks, with particular emphasis on how legal frameworks intersect with everyday economic practices in urban South Africa, especially regarding property inheritance and class reproduction in the post-apartheid context.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Martin Spitzer holds the Chair of Civil Law and Civil Procedure at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien), where he has been a full professor since 2011. He serves as Program Director for Business Law and Institute Director at WU. Professor Spitzer is Editor-in-Chief of the Austrian Jurists' Journal (ÖJZ) and the Austrian Legal Archives (ÖJA), and co-editor of prominent legal commentaries including the ABGB commentary ("KBB"). His academic work spans both traditional civil law topics and modern commercial legal challenges. Professor Spitzer's research interests focus on the intersection of substantive and procedural civil law, with particular emphasis on banking law, inheritance law, insolvency law, collective legal protection, credit security law, tort law, and contract law. His work often takes comparative and historical perspectives, examining how civil law principles apply in contemporary commercial contexts. He has published extensively across all fields of civil and civil procedure law, with recent work exploring digitalization of legal processes, climate change liability, and human rights violations in global supply chains. His recent scholarly output demonstrates a clear trend toward addressing contemporary legal challenges through traditional civil law frameworks. Many publications examine how digital transformation impacts civil procedure, with particular focus on video hearings and electronic evidence. Other significant themes include banking regulation in times of crisis, consumer protection in financial services, and the evolving relationship between administrative decisions and civil proceedings. His work consistently bridges theoretical legal scholarship with practical applications for legal professionals. Excellent Teaching Award (2021, 2020, 2016) Innovative Teaching Award (2017) Insolvency Law Prize (Main Prize, 2014) Cardinal Innitzer Promotion Prize (2012) Walther Kastner Main Prize (2012) Capital Markets Prize (2012) Professor Spitzer plays a significant role in legal education through his position as Program Director for Business Law at WU Vienna. He co-founded Austria's best-selling legal textbook series (PSK, Bürgerliches Recht) with Stefan Perner, now in its 7th edition. He has supervised numerous doctoral students and research assistants who contribute to the chair's publication projects. Beyond academia, he maintains strong connections with legal practitioners through continuing education events for the judiciary and legal profession, including the Vienna Civil Court Day and Austrian Lawyers' Civil Law Day. His work extends to media commentary, expert opinions for public and private clients, and projects addressing social responsibility such as pharmaceutical supply chain resilience. The chair under Professor Spitzer organizes several major scientific events including the Banking Law Forum (since 2019), Forum for Civil Law (since 2016), Private Law Course including Civil Procedure (since 2014), Insurance Law Day (since 2021), Vienna Civil Court Day (since 2019), and Vienna Civil Law Day (since 2023). These events bring together academics, practitioners, and judges to discuss current developments in civil law. The chair also houses the editorial team for the Austrian Jurists' Journal and oversees publication of standard commentaries on key Austrian legal codes.
Prof. Dr. Nesim Şeker is a prominent historian and Chair of the Department of History at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara. His research focuses on Ottoman and modern Turkish history, nationalism, Cold War dynamics, and media analysis. He holds an office in the Social Sciences Building and can be reached at nesim@metu.edu.tr. Key research interests include the formation of Turkish national identity post-WWI, Cold War-era religious-political interactions, and the socio-economic policies of early Turkish republicanism. His work also examines media framing of political events, including coup attempts and constitutional developments. Prof. Şeker’s publications span over decades, analyzing topics such as demographic engineering, ideological conflicts in media, and the role of religious institutions in international politics. His interdisciplinary approach bridges historical analysis with contemporary social issues. He currently advises no formally listed students and has not received explicitly mentioned awards, though his academic contributions are widely recognized in his field.
Niloufer Selvadurai is Professor and Director of Research & Innovation at Macquarie Law School, where she also co-directs the Data Horizons Research Centre and co-chairs the Australian Law Associate Deans Research Network. A technology law scholar focusing on AI regulation, she examines how laws can calibrate technological innovation benefits and risks. Her interdisciplinary research collaborates with computing, engineering, finance, and health fields. Key leadership roles and recognitions include: Co-Director, Data Horizons Research Centre Program Leader for 'AI and Law' at Centre for Applied AI 2022 Australian Legal Education Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Supervision 2023 Higher Degree Research Supervisor of the Year Her publications extensively cover AI governance, digital finance, copyright, and smart contracts law, with recent work examining AI inventorship and regulatory frameworks for central bank digital currencies.
Michele Graff is an Assistant Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy, part of Georgia Institute of Technology's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. Her research focuses on energy policy, climate justice, and administrative barriers in social welfare programs. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on environmental policy and politics. Her work examines spatial disparities in energy assistance access, the intersection of housing costs and energy burdens, and the impacts of utility disconnection policies. Graff advocates for equitable energy transition frameworks and has analyzed how the pandemic exacerbated energy insecurity among marginalized groups. Key themes in her research include racial disparities in energy access, the design of effective energy assistance programs, and leveraging interdisciplinary methods to address climate policy challenges. Her articles highlight systemic issues like asset tests reducing program participation and propose solutions to reduce administrative burdens. While no formal awards are listed, her contributions to energy justice research have informed policy discussions on federal and state levels. Graff collaborates with stakeholders to bridge academic research and practical implementation, emphasizing the need for data-driven approaches to energy inequities.
Kirsikka Riekkinen is an Assistant Professor at Aalto University in the Built Environment domain, specializing in land administration , cadastral systems , and property rights . Her research bridges technological innovation with policy analysis, focusing on digitalization , security implications , and climate impacts of land governance frameworks. Research Focus Development of holistic cadastral frameworks for mature systems Land consolidation in Finland and Africa, including climate effects Security-based property restrictions in Northern Europe Integration of blockchain , text mining , and 3D modeling into land administration Comparative analysis of Nordic and African land policies Scientific Trends in Publications Her article corpus (2012-2025) reveals a sustained focus on land consolidation (with climate implications), cadastral modernization (digitalization, blockchain), and cross-national policy analysis (Finland, Nigeria, Rwanda). Recent works emphasize public value perspectives and security challenges in cadastral systems. Teaching & Professional Role As an Assistant Professor, she contributes to academic discourse in land governance. Contact: kirsikka.riekkinen@aalto.fi
Merva Tuulia Hämäläinen is a Doctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki. She is affiliated with the Doctoral Programme in Law and actively engaged in legal research and academic activities. University: University of Helsinki School: Faculty of Law Role: Researcher Email: merva.hamalainen@helsinki.fi Research Interests : Her work spans diverse legal domains, including justice systems, economic perspectives in law, insurance law, financial regulation, gender studies, and practical legal training. She has focused on lay judge systems, legal reforms, and interdisciplinary legal applications. Scientific Awards: No specific awards were mentioned in the provided text. Advising and Grants: No formal advising roles or grants were explicitly detailed in the available descriptions.
Jessica L'Roe is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Middlebury College. Her research focuses on human-environment relationships in forest landscapes undergoing rapid change, with emphasis on conservation and development initiatives, land access, inequality, and livelihood transitions. She conducts fieldwork in the Amazon Basin, East Africa, and collaborates with organizations globally. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, alongside an M.A. in Agricultural and Applied Economics, an M.Sc. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from the University of North Carolina. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on natural history, land and livelihoods, environmental change in Latin America, and place-based data analysis. She actively involves students in data science projects, such as analyzing disaster vulnerability through social media data and exploring historical race-land connections using U.S. agricultural census data. Her courses emphasize fieldwork, statistical analysis, and critical engagement with global environmental challenges. L'Roe's research spans topics like deforestation dynamics in the Amazon, well-being indices in DRC forests, and land competition in Uganda. She combines quantitative and qualitative methods, often using spatial data tools like R and GeoDa. Her work bridges academic inquiry with applied solutions for sustainable development challenges. Outside academia, she enjoys natural history, gardening, and raising a family, reflecting her commitment to connecting human and environmental well-being.
Dr. Tate Fegley is an Assistant Professor of Business and Economics at Montreat College, where he also chairs the Studies in Business and Economics program within the Faculty of Technology and Human Industry. His academic background includes a B.A. in Criminal Justice and Economics, an M.A. in Criminal Justice from Boise State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University. His research focuses on institutional economics, libertarian philosophy, policing reforms, and property rights. Key themes include the analysis of community policing on American Indian reservations, the disutility of labor, and the interplay between police unions and officer privileges. He frequently engages with political economy topics like regulatory frameworks for healthcare and critiques of incarceration rates in industrialized nations. Dr. Fegley’s work often bridges theoretical frameworks (e.g., Austrian economics, contractualism) with real-world policy analysis. His publications span journals like Journal of Institutional Economics and Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics , addressing topics from gun control debates to economic calculation challenges in modern markets. His academic contributions also include book reviews critiquing criminal justice systems and decarceration policies. While no formal grants or lab affiliations are noted, his research demonstrates a focus on interdisciplinary approaches to public policy and institutional design.
Nina Dethloff is a Full Professor at the University of Bonn since 2001 and Director of the Institute for German, European and International Family Law since 2003. She holds fellowships at the Käte Hamburger Centre 'Law as Culture' (2012-present) and previously served as an Ad hoc Judge at the European Court of Human Rights (2006-2008). Her academic background includes legal education at Hamburg, Geneva, and Freiburg Universities, an LL.M. from Georgetown University, admission to the New York Bar, a summa cum laude PhD from Freiburg, and Habilitation in 2000. She received multiple chair offers from Hamburg and Bonn Universities following her Habilitation. Dethloff's research focuses on Family Law , Private International Law , Comparative Law , Unification of Law , and Competition Law , with particular emphasis on European harmonization of family law, cross-border matrimonial property, reproductive medicine implications, and new family forms. Her work bridges doctrinal legal analysis with socio-legal perspectives on demographic change. Her recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on European family law integration, addressing challenges from polygamy recognition to same-sex parenting rights. The research trajectory shows increasing engagement with human rights frameworks and comparative methodology in resolving transnational family conflicts. Board of German Jurists Association (2012) American Law Institute membership (2011) Deutscher Rat für Internationales Privatrecht (2010) Two major DFG-funded research projects on European marriage law (2006-2008, 2010-2013) Habilitation scholarship from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (1996-1999) Dethloff directs the Institute for German, European and International Family Law, which serves as her primary research hub. Her work combines theoretical scholarship with practical engagement through international commissions and judicial experience. Current research appears focused on developing common European principles for family law while addressing demographic challenges through legal frameworks.
Sandra Macpherson is an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on Eighteenth-century British literature, Feminist theory, and Critical theory. She holds an MA from McGill University and a BA from the University of Alberta. Her work examines literary form, tragic responsibility, and intersections of gender with political and economic systems. Key publications include Harm's Way: Tragic Responsibility and the Novel Form (2010) and essays exploring formalism, political critique, and sexual politics in historical texts. Articles span topics from textual analysis to genre evolution, reflecting a commitment to interdisciplinary literary scholarship.
Barry Smith is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo, holding the Julian Park Chair in the Department of Philosophy. He also serves as Director of the National Center for Ontological Research (NCOR) and maintains affiliate appointments in Biomedical Informatics and Computer Science & Engineering. With joint appointments across multiple departments, Smith is a leading figure in the field of applied ontology and its applications across disciplines. Smith received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Manchester in 1976, following MA and BA degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy from Oxford University. His educational background reflects his interdisciplinary approach that bridges philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. Smith's research focuses primarily on applied ontology, with significant contributions to biomedical informatics, artificial intelligence, and philosophy of science. His work has established foundational frameworks that enable data integration and knowledge representation across multiple domains. He has pioneered the development of Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), which has become the most widely adopted top-level ontology framework and was approved as an ISO standard (ISO/IEC:21838-2). His research has significantly influenced the Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Foundry, a suite of interoperable ontology modules supporting biology and biomedicine research. Smith's publications over the past five years demonstrate a consistent focus on the applications of ontology to pressing scientific challenges, particularly in biomedical domains (including COVID-19 research), artificial intelligence limitations, and knowledge representation. His work spans theoretical developments in formal ontology while maintaining strong practical applications in real-world information systems. Wolfgang Paul Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2002) Paolo Bozzi Prize in Ontology (2011) Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (FACMI) (2013) Smith has supervised numerous graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, contributing to the development of a new generation of ontologists. His research has been supported by major funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundations of the US, Switzerland and Austria, the Volkswagen Foundation, the European Union, and the US Department of Defense. Since 2000, he has served as a consultant to Hernando de Soto on projects related to property and business rights among the poor in developing countries. As Director of the National Center for Ontological Research, Smith leads a team focused on advancing ontological methods and applying them to diverse domains including biomedical informatics, defense intelligence, and industrial engineering. His work continues to shape how we represent and integrate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries.
Michael A. Lacombe is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Adelphi University’s College of Arts and Sciences. He has been a dedicated faculty member since 2004, teaching a wide range of courses in early American history, colonial America, Native American history, and food in U.S. history. He is also the Academic Integrity Officer and co-chairs the Committee on Academic Integrity as of 2023. Ph.D., New York University (2006) B.A., Yale University (1992) Professor LaCombe specializes in early American history, with a focus on the role of food, travel writing, and cultural interactions in the English Atlantic world before 1650. His research explores how commensality, status, and authority were negotiated in colonial settings, particularly through food and diplomatic practices. He has a strong interest in pedagogy, especially the use of Reacting to the Past role-playing games in historical education. His recent research centers on Lusum, a fictional place imagined by Robert and Sarah Williams on Long Island, and on property formation in 17th-century Long Island. His publications span topics such as credibility in travel narratives, land deeds, and the political economy of food in the early Atlantic. The articles reflect a consistent interdisciplinary approach combining food studies, cultural history, and Atlantic world scholarship. Professor LaCombe has presented his work internationally, including at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Regensburg University, and the Huntington Library. His scholarly contributions are widely recognized through invited presentations at major institutions. He is actively involved in university service, having chaired multiple committees including the General Education Committee’s Humanities subcommittee and the Senate Committee on Academic IT. He also served on assessment, curriculum, and search committees within the History Department. While no formal scientific awards are listed, his invited talks and sustained scholarly output indicate significant academic recognition. Professor LaCombe is an engaged educator and scholar, contributing to both undergraduate education and the broader academic community through research, service, and public scholarship. He continues to mentor students through senior seminars and research methods courses, though specific advisees are not named in the text.
