Dr. Shanshan Lan is a researcher affiliated with the University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, where she contributes to the Moving Matters programme group. Her work focuses on urban anthropology, migration patterns, and racial formations across Asia and Euro-America. She examines transnational student mobility, global cities, African diasporas in China, and Chinese diasporas in the U.S., with a particular emphasis on class dynamics and social change. Her research employs ethnographic methods, including walking ethnography in urban environments, to explore how race and migration intersect with globalization. Notable projects include studies on African communities in Guangzhou, the role of the Catholic Church in African diasporas, and the experiences of Western entrepreneurs during the pandemic. Key Interests: Transnational migration, racial knowledge circulation, pandemic sociology, and global urban studies. Recent Focus: Whiteness studies in China, precarious migrant identities, and the impact of globalization on education and labor markets. Lan has received recognition for her work, including the Honorary Mention of the 2006 SUNTA Graduate Student Prize. Her publications span academic journals and edited volumes, addressing topics from racial inclusion policies to transnational business networks.
Alan Hammond is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on rigorous mathematical probability techniques applied to problems in statistical mechanics, including percolation theory, polymer models, and random growth processes. He has contributed to understanding critical phenomena, phase transitions, and universality classes in stochastic systems. Hammond's work spans topics such as KPZ universality, Brownian motion, and the geometry of random media. He has investigated models like last passage percolation, self-avoiding walks, and tug-of-war games, often uncovering deep connections between stochastic processes and nonlinear PDEs. His teaching includes courses on stochastic processes and statistical theory at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Notable research highlights include studies on fractal properties of Airy processes, stability in dynamical last passage percolation, and the behavior of geodesics in random environments. His contributions bridge probability theory with applications in physics and combinatorics.
David Whitney is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley , with affiliations in Cognitive Science and Neuroscience . His research focuses on visual perception, particularly how humans process information in cluttered environments through mechanisms like ensemble perception , serial dependence , and perceptual crowding . He employs techniques such as psychophysics, fMRI, and TMS to study these phenomena. Whitney's recent work examines serial dependence in schizophrenia, emotion perception in crowds , and medical image analysis for dermatology and radiology. His studies reveal how the brain uses dynamic predictive templates and motion cues to stabilize perception despite neural processing delays. Publications span Current Biology , Nature Reviews Psychology , and PLoS ONE , with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary applications of perceptual science. Scientific contributions include foundational studies on visuomotor control , blind spot filling-in , and holistic face processing . His lab investigates perceptual stability across eye movements, spatial localization, and cross-modal interactions. Whitney has received grants such as NIH EY018216 to support his research on motion-dependent visual coding. Detailed information about his work is available on the Whitney Lab website .
Aurora Maccarone serves as an RAEng Research Fellow within the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences at Heriot-Watt University's School of Engineering & Physical Sciences. Her work focuses on advanced photonics applications for challenging environments, particularly underwater and obscured conditions. Her research expertise spans: Single-photon LiDAR systems for underwater 3D imaging Photon-counting detector arrays for depth profiling Real-time reconstruction algorithms for obscurant-penetrating imaging Quantum sensing applications in marine environments Recent publications demonstrate consistent innovation in single-photon imaging techniques, with emphasis on underwater applications (2023-2024) and obscurant penetration (2022). Her work shows strong interdisciplinary connections between optical engineering, computational imaging, and environmental sensing. Key publications reveal growing impact in underwater LiDAR technology, with multiple high-citation papers on photon-efficient imaging systems. Dr. Maccarone actively supervises PhD students and has created significant research datasets. Her collaborations span international institutions, with notable contributions to sensor hardware development and computational imaging algorithms. Recent work shows increasing integration of machine learning techniques with traditional photon-counting approaches.
Dr. Cathy Oke OAM is an Associate Professor and Melbourne Enterprise Principal Fellow in Informed Cities at the Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne. She serves as Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities and holds roles as a Senior Advisor to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. Her work bridges research, policy, and practice to advance nature and climate action in urban environments. Previously, she served as a Councillor for the City of Melbourne (2008–2020) and contributed to the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub (CAUL) as a Knowledge Broker. Cathy holds a PhD in Genetics and over 20 years of experience in environmental communications and project management. Her research focuses on urban sustainability, climate resilience, and nature-based solutions. Key initiatives include Innovate4Cities, which drives city-led climate innovation, and projects on urban biodiversity restoration. Cathy’s work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of scientific evidence into actionable policies. Educations: PhD in Genetics RMIT University affiliation as a former research fellow Awards: 2023 Order of Australia Medal for service to Local Government and the Environment Her articles highlight themes such as urban climate governance, nature-based solutions, and global city networks. She collaborates with international bodies to enhance city diplomacy and accelerate climate action. Cathy leads the Melbourne Centre for Cities, a hub for urban research and policy engagement.
Jessica C. Beckman is Assistant Professor of English at Dartmouth College, specializing in 16th-17th century literature. Holding PhD from Stanford, her research examines material texts and reading practices through formalist and book history lenses. Her monograph 'The Kinetic Text' analyzes how early modern books used spatial design to create literary effects. Current projects investigate embodiment in pre-modern character representation. Recognized with Huntington Library Fellowship and teaching awards for interdisciplinary humanities instruction.
Thomas Smith is an Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics (LSE), specializing in wildland fires, tropical environmental change, and peatland management. He joined LSE in 2018 after lecturing at King’s College London and has held visiting fellowships at institutions including the National University of Singapore and Monash University Malaysia. His research focuses on biomass burning’s role in the Earth system, particularly greenhouse gas emissions from tropical peatlands and savannas. Smith’s expertise includes infrared spectroscopy, wildfire modeling, and land management decision support. He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to address fire emissions, agricultural practices, and their environmental impacts. Notable awards include being Highly Commended for Research Guidance & Support at the LSESU Teaching Excellence Awards 2019. His recent work involves field experiments (e.g., GAMBUT project) and citizen science initiatives to measure air pollution. Collaborative research spans global wildfire dynamics, climate change impacts, and policy interventions in Southeast Asia’s haze season. Smith contributes to both academic discourse and practical solutions for sustainable land use and climate resilience.
Roberto Dainotto is a Professor of Italian and Literature at Duke University, specializing in modern and contemporary Italian literature, European studies, and critical theory. He is affiliated with the Bologna-Duke Summer School on Global Studies and Critical Theory, and co-founded the Transnational Decolonial Institute. His research explores intersections of meridionalismo (Southern Italy's cultural identity) with the Global South, historicism, and the novel's formal innovations. Key works include Mafia: A Cultural History (2015) and Europe (in Theory) (2007), which won the 2010 Shannon Prize. Current projects address Antonio Labriola's thought and decolonial methodologies. Teaches courses on Vico, Pirandello, the global novel, and fascism's cultural representations. Co-organizes interdisciplinary summer programs blending critical theory and global studies. His scholarship bridges literature, history, and political philosophy, emphasizing postcolonial and decolonial frameworks. Recent work examines the novel's role in mediating historical consciousness and regional/global power dynamics.
Sangeeta Kamat is a Grace Lee Boggs Faculty Fellow at the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research, and Program Coordinator for International Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a joint affiliation with the Department of Educational Policy, Research & Administration (EPRA). Her academic journey includes a B.A. from Sophia College (Bombay, India, 1985), an M.A. from the Tata Institute of Social Science (1988), and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh (1998). Kamat’s research focuses on globalization’s impact on education systems, critical theory applications in policy analysis, gender dynamics in educational access, and South Asian sociopolitical contexts. She critiques neoliberal educational reforms, multinational edu-businesses, and NGO roles in development. Her work often intersects with questions of equity, power structures, and postcolonial theory. Her recent publications (2018–2023) emphasize privatization trends in education for marginalized populations, NGO discourse in neoliberal frameworks, and global development architectures. Earlier work (2000–2014) explored World Bank policies, urbanization’s educational implications, and postcolonial contradictions. She has consistently challenged hegemonic narratives in development and education through interdisciplinary lenses. Kamat’s grants and advising activities are reflected in her focus areas, though specific details are not provided in the text. She contributes to laboratories/teams focused on racial justice, youth engagement, and international educational equity through her center’s initiatives.
Luc Anselin is the Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology and the College at the University of Chicago. He serves as Director of the Center for Spatial Data Science and Senior Fellow at NORC, with affiliations in the Department of Sociology and the Committee on Quantitative Research Methods in Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences. B.S., Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1975 M.S., Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1976 M.A., Cornell University, 1979 Ph.D., Cornell University, 1980 Anselin is a pioneer in spatial data science, spatial econometrics, and computational social science. His work bridges quantitative geography, regional science, and computer science, with applications in urban studies, economic analysis, and health research. His recent publications focus on spatial regimes, software ecosystems like GeoDa and PySAL, stigma analysis in public health, and computational methods for urban equity. These reflect interdisciplinary trends in spatial statistical modeling, open-source development, and geospatial policy evaluation. Scientific recognition includes: Fellow, Regional Science Association International (2004) Walter Isard Prize (2005) William Alonso Memorial Prize (2006) National Academy of Sciences (2008) American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011) Anselin has led major grants and directed institutions like the GeoDa Center for Geospatial Analysis and Computation at Arizona State University. He has mentored interdisciplinary collaborations across sociology, economics, and data science. His laboratories and teams include the Center for Spatial Data Science at the University of Chicago and the GeoDa Center at Arizona State University, fostering innovation in geospatial computation and open-source spatial analytics.
Professor Holly Thorpe is a Professor of Sociology in Te Huataki Waiora / School of Health at the University of Waikato, specializing in Sport and Human Movement. She serves as Associate Dean Research in the Division of Health PVC Office and is an internationally recognized sociologist of sport, physical culture and gender whose work has earned prestigious fellowships and awards including Fulbright, Leverhulme, and Royal Society honors. Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of Waikato and Papa Reo Level 1 certification from Te Wananga o Aotearoa, reflecting both academic excellence and cultural engagement with Māori language and knowledge systems. Professor Thorpe's research centers on equity and inclusion in sporting cultures, with particular attention to women's health and wellbeing, sport and gender, and the impact of social media on athletic experiences. She employs critical and feminist theoretical frameworks with expertise in qualitative methods to examine how sport, physical activity, and health intersect in rapidly changing social landscapes. Her work spans gender studies, feminist methodologies, sports science, sociology of health, and digital media studies within sporting contexts, with a strong commitment to community-engaged research. Her extensive publication record reveals consistent thematic focus on contemporary issues including menstruation in sport, digital technologies and athlete experiences, pandemic impacts on wellbeing, and the gendered dimensions of mega-sport events. Her work frequently employs intersectional analysis and collaborates across disciplines to address complex questions about embodiment, identity, and social change in sporting cultures, particularly as they relate to women and marginalized communities. Professor Thorpe's significant scholarly recognition includes: Royal Society Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences (2018) Fellow of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (2018) Royal Society James Cook Fellowship for a two-year project focused on women's wellbeing through and beyond pandemic (2021) She actively supervises students and has secured substantial research funding including the Te Punaha Matatini CORE Research Institute project 'Youth Wellbeing in Uncertain Times: The Voices of Rangatahi from Flood-Effected Tairāwhiti Gisborne' (2023-2025). Professor Thorpe collaborates extensively with international and national sports organizations including the International Olympic Committee, High Performance New Zealand, Sport New Zealand, Skateistan, and Voice in Sport to ensure her research has real-world impact on policy and practice. She serves as Series co-editor for 'New Femininities in Digital, Physical and Sporting Cultures' and maintains active media engagement through The Conversation and other outlets. Professor Thorpe leads several significant research initiatives including 'Reimagining Fields of Play' (2023) and co-organized the 'Gender, Health and Wellbeing Symposium' (2022), demonstrating her commitment to creating spaces for critical dialogue about sport, gender, and health while advancing culturally responsive methodologies that center Indigenous and diverse perspectives.
Saurabh Amin is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also serves as the Edmund K. Turner Professor and Undergraduate Officer. He is a Principal Investigator at the Laboratory of Information and Decision Systems and holds affiliations with the Operations Research Center and the Center for Computational Science and Engineering. His educational background includes: B.Tech. 2002, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee M.S. 2004, University of Texas (UT) Austin Ph.D. 2011, University of California (UC) Berkeley Saurabh Amin's research focuses on the design and control of infrastructure systems using game theory and optimization in networks. His work spans three main areas: resilient network control, information systems and incentive design, and optimal resource allocation in large-scale infrastructure systems. By concentrating on critical infrastructure domains including highway transportation, electric power distribution, and urban water networks, his research develops innovative theory and tools to enhance system performance against both stochastic and adversarial disruptions. His approach involves modeling cyber-physical interactions in infrastructures to assess vulnerabilities, developing detection and response tools for failures at various scales, and designing economic incentive schemes that improve aggregate public good while accounting for dependencies and private information among strategic entities. Amin's work bridges mathematical systems theory with practical civil engineering applications, creating a rigorous theoretical foundation for infrastructure resilience that addresses diverse failure mechanisms from natural disasters to deliberate malicious actions. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on decarbonization of energy systems, resilient infrastructure planning under climate uncertainty, optimization methods for complex networked systems, and game-theoretic approaches to sustainable infrastructure management. His work increasingly integrates artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques with traditional control theory to address contemporary challenges in infrastructure resilience and sustainability. The research shows a clear trajectory toward addressing climate change impacts on infrastructure systems while maintaining economic efficiency and operational reliability. Professor Amin has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: Common Ground Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025 HSCC Test-of-Time Award, 2024 MIT CEE, Distinguished Service and Leadership Award, 2023 Samuel M. Seegal Prize (SoE) – inspiring students in pursuing and achieving excellence, 2022 Earll M. Murman for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, 2022 C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute Research Award, 2020 MIT, Ole Madsen Mentoring Award, 2020 MIT, Energy Initiative Research Award, 2020 National Academy of Engineering, China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium speaker, 2019 MIT, Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor, 2015-2018 Google Faculty Research Award, 2015 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2015 Siebel Energy Institute Research Award, 2015 MIT, Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fund Award, 2012 Professor Amin has been actively involved in significant research projects including the C3.ai DTI project on Causal Reasoning for Real-Time Attack Identification in Cyber-Physical Systems and another on Learning in Routing Games for Sustainable Electromobility. He serves as the chief scientist on multi-institutional NSF grants, including the $9 million Foundations of Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) project. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as 1.008 Engineering for a Sustainable World, 1.104 Sensing and Intelligent Systems, 1.020 Engineering Sustainability: Analysis and Design, and 1.208 Resilient Networks. As Undergraduate Officer, he plays a key role in shaping the educational experience for civil and environmental engineering students at MIT. Professor Amin leads the Resilient Infrastructure Networks Lab at MIT, where his team develops theoretical foundations and practical tools for infrastructure resilience. The lab focuses on the intersection of control theory, game theory, and optimization applied to cyber-physical infrastructure systems. Current research directions include pandemic-resilient urban mobility and hurricane-resilient smart grid operations, reflecting the lab's commitment to addressing pressing societal challenges through rigorous systems engineering approaches.
Brice Kuhl is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon , where he leads the Kuhl Lab. His research focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of memory formation, retrieval, and forgetting , utilizing advanced neuroimaging techniques like fMRI and EEG combined with machine learning algorithms to analyze distributed neural activity patterns. His work explores mechanisms of memory interference resolution , forgetting , and neural representation transformation . Recent publications emphasize spaced learning , temporal memory dynamics , and memory-cognitive control interactions . The lab has received attention for decoding perceptual content from neural activity and reconstructing face images based on brain states. Current lab members include graduate students Anisha Babu , Tongle Cai , and America Romero , alongside postdocs like Soroush Mirjalili and Yoonjung Lee . The lab frequently presents at conferences like CNS and SFN , and maintains active collaborations in memory research and neuroimaging methodology . Notable projects include investigations into hippocampal pattern differentiation and parietal cortex roles in memory . The lab also contributes to open science initiatives with publicly available experimental codes and data .
Ozlem Gezgin is a Lecturer at the School of Design, The Glasgow School of Art, focusing on immersive theatre and environment-behavior studies. Her work explores audience interaction dynamics in spatially driven performance settings. Her research integrates methodologies from environmental psychology and theatre studies to analyze how immersive environments influence audience behavior. A recent publication in Studies in Theatre and Performance examines Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More as a case study, highlighting trends in spatial design and interactive performance frameworks. The absence of listed scientific awards or student advisement information suggests these aspects may not be publicly documented in the provided materials.
Dhruv Shah is an Incoming Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University starting January 2026 and currently serves as a Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind. He is also an Associated Faculty member in Princeton's Center for Statistics and Machine Learning, focusing on the convergence of machine learning and robotics for real-world deployment. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley (2024) and a B.Tech. (Honors) in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (2019). Shah's research pioneers foundation models for robotics, emphasizing large-scale robot learning, out-of-distribution generalization, and long-horizon reasoning. His group adopts a full-stack methodology spanning algorithmic innovation to system design, drawing from cognitive science to develop physical AI systems at the perception-learning-control interface. Key focus areas include reinforcement learning, human-robot interaction, and continual learning for challenging environments. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in foundation models for visual navigation, language-conditioned policies, and multi-agent systems. His work increasingly integrates multimodal inputs (vision, language) while addressing generalization gaps in real-world settings, with strong emphasis on efficient data curation and scalable robot learning frameworks. His accolades feature the Microsoft Future Leaders in Robotics & AI Fellowship (2024), two IEEE ICRA Best Conference Paper Awards (2024), multiple ICRA finalist awards across cognitive robotics and manipulation categories, and the Berkeley Fellowship (2019-2024). Shah will recruit PhD students for Princeton's upcoming admissions cycle, establishing a research group dedicated to full-stack robotics development. While specific grant details aren't provided, his trajectory indicates significant funding for AI-robotics convergence projects, particularly in foundation model development and real-world deployment challenges. His laboratory at Princeton will integrate algorithmic innovation with system design, focusing on physical AI systems that bridge perception, learning, and control while maintaining strong ties to cognitive science principles for human-aligned robotic intelligence.
