Thomas Ertl is a Professor at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), leading the Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control. His research focuses on urban water systems, emphasizing sustainable drainage, climate change adaptation, and nature-based solutions. He has coordinated 55 projects, including international initiatives in Albania and Austria, addressing stormwater management, wastewater heat recovery, and sewer infrastructure resilience. Key Projects : Analysing re-activated watercourses for urban resilience (2024–2028) Resilient rainwater management in Austria (2024–2028) Assessing pollutant emissions in Albania (2024–2027) Research Themes : Building Information Modeling (BIM) in wastewater systems Uncertainty analysis under climate change Stormwater pollution and heat island mitigation Awards : 2018: Goldene Ehrennadel des ÖWAV 1993: Best student award at AGIT 93 His recent publications highlight multidisciplinary approaches to wastewater energy recovery, spatial compatibility of nature-based solutions, and prioritization of stormwater management sites. He has supervised numerous theses and contributed to media discussions on urban climate resilience, including articles in Austrian outlets like futurezone.at and Der Kurier.
Rainer Schuhmacher is a Full Professor for Plant and Microbe Metabolomics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), affiliated with the Department of Agricultural Sciences and the Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics in Tulln an der Donau. His research focuses on metabolomics, analytical chemistry, and plant-microbe interactions, with emphasis on fungal secondary metabolites, mycotoxin resistance, and environmental stress responses in crops. He leads projects funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), European Commission, and national agencies. Research interests span: Metabolomic profiling of plant-pathogen interactions (e.g., Fusarium -wheat systems) Stable isotope-assisted techniques for metabolic pathway analysis Cold stress mitigation in plants using Antarctic bacteria Development of computational tools for untargeted metabolomics data processing His work integrates analytical chemistry, bioinformatics, and molecular biology to study metabolic crosstalk in agricultural systems. Awards include the Fritz-Feigl-Preis (2012) and Dr.-Wolfgang-Houska-Preis (2005). He has supervised multiple PhD projects and leads the Plant-Microbe Metabolomics group, managing core metabolomics platforms and international collaborations. Key projects: Chemical crosstalk in mycoparasitic interactions (FWF) Metabolomics of cold stress tolerance mediated by psychrotolerant bacteria Extension of metabolomics platforms for plant-pathogen studies
Christa Cuchiero is a Professor at the Department of Statistics and Operations Research , University of Vienna , and an elected member of the Austrian Young Academy (Junge Akademie) since 2020. Her research bridges rigorous mathematics and cutting-edge applications in finance, machine learning, and stochastic analysis. Education: Christa earned her M.Sc. in 2006 from TU Wien with a thesis on affine interest-rate models, her Ph.D. in 2011 from ETH Zürich on affine and polynomial processes, and completed her Habilitation at the University of Vienna in 2018 on high-dimensional finance beyond classical paradigms. Research Interests: Her work centers on affine and polynomial processes , stochastic portfolio theory , signature methods , and infinite-dimensional stochastic analysis . Recent projects explore signature-based neural SDEs for option calibration, measure-valued diffusions for energy markets, and universal approximation properties of signature transforms. Awards & Recognition: Among her accolades are the FWF START Award 2019 , the Bruti-Liberati Visiting Fellowship 2018 , the ETH Medal 2012 for an outstanding Ph.D. dissertation, and the Prix de l’Institut Europlace de Finance 2017 for the best paper in finance. Contact: christa.cuchiero@univie.ac.at , Kolingasse 14-16, 05.47, 1090 Wien, Austria.
Iñigo J. Losada is a Full Professor at the School of Civil Engineering, University of Cantabria, and Research Director at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute (IHCantabria). He co-founded the Cantabria-Cornell Engineering Exchange Program and serves as Scientific Director of the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Wave Basin. His work focuses on coastal dynamics, climate change adaptation, and ocean renewable energy. Coordinating Lead Author for IPCC reports (2014-2019) Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Engineering Ranked 2nd in Ocean Engineering citations (1992-2019) His research emphasizes: Coastal protection using green and grey solutions Wave interaction modeling with coastal features Climate change risk assessment and adaptation Wind and wave energy conversion systems Recent publications analyze global wave power variability, coral reef flood protection benefits, and nature-based coastal defenses. His work bridges experimental facilities (Cantabria Coastal Basin) with policy impact across 25+ countries. Scientific Awards King Jaime I Award (2018) John G. Moffat-Frank E. Nichol Award (2017) Navy Medal of Merit (2017) Member of Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering Losada has led over 25 EU/national projects, >80 technology transfer initiatives, and supervised 23 PhD students, shaping coastal protection policies and ocean energy development in Europe. His experimental infrastructure ranks 6th globally in Ocean Engineering (Shanghai Ranking, 2017).
Professor Dong Xu is a Tenured Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), part of the School of Computing and Data Science. He holds a B.Eng. and Ph.D. from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). His career includes tenured roles at Nanyang Technological University and the University of Sydney, alongside postdoctoral research at Columbia University. His research focuses on Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Multimedia, and Machine Learning , with applications in autonomous driving, AR/VR, medical image analysis, and video surveillance. Xu has authored over 150 papers in top journals and conferences, including CVPR, ICCV, and IEEE Transactions. He actively contributes to the academic community as an editorial board member for journals like ACM Computing Surveys and IEEE Transactions, and through leadership roles in conferences such as ACM Multimedia and ICME. Notable awards include Fellowships from IEEE and IAPR, and the IEEE Signal Processing Society Distinguished Lecturer title (2021–2022). Education: B.Eng. (USTC, 2001), Ph.D. (USTC, 2005) Professional Service: Program Coordinator of ACM Multimedia 2024, Guest Editor of over ten special issues.
Marie Farge is a distinguished French mathematician and physicist currently serving as Directrice de Recherche 1ère classe at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) since 2008. She maintains strong affiliations with École Normale Supérieure in Paris where she has been based since 1981, and teaches at multiple institutions including Institut des Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris since 2011. Her extensive academic career includes visiting positions at prestigious institutions worldwide including Cambridge University, Harvard University, and the Max Planck Institute. Dr. Farge's research focuses on the intersection of mathematics and physics, with particular emphasis on wavelets , turbulence , and computational fluid dynamics . Her pioneering work has established wavelet analysis as a fundamental tool for studying turbulent flows and extracting coherent structures. She has developed the Coherent Vortex Simulation (CVS) method, which has become influential in turbulence modeling. Her research spans theoretical mathematics, numerical methods, and practical applications in fluid dynamics and plasma physics. Analysis of her publication record reveals a consistent focus on applying wavelet transforms to fluid dynamics problems, with increasing sophistication in handling three-dimensional turbulence and plasma phenomena. Her work demonstrates a progression from theoretical foundations of wavelet analysis to practical computational methods for complex fluid systems. The interdisciplinary nature of her research bridges mathematics, physics, and engineering applications. Prix Poncelet from the French Academy of Sciences (1993) American Physical Society Gallery of Fluid Motion award (1990) Seymour Cray Award for Scientific Computing (1988) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Award (1985) Fulbright Fellowship at Harvard University (1981) ESRO Award (1971) Elected member of Academia Europaea (2005) Grand Prix du CNRS 'La Recherche en Action' (1989) As an educator, Dr. Farge has taught extensively across France and internationally at institutions including Stanford University, Cambridge University, and numerous European and Asian universities. She has served on the editorial boards of major journals including the Journal of Applied and Computational Harmonic Analysis since 1993 and has been active in the Ethics Committee of CNRS since 2007. Her teaching spans wavelet theory, computational physics, turbulence, and signal processing, reflecting the breadth of her expertise. Dr. Farge maintains active research collaborations worldwide, evidenced by her numerous visiting positions at leading research centers including the Center for Turbulence Research at Stanford University, the Newton Institute in Cambridge, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Her work continues to influence both theoretical developments in wavelet analysis and practical applications in fluid dynamics and related fields.
Georgios B. Giannakis is a Full Professor, Endowed Chair, and Presidential Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota since 1999. He directs the Digital Technology Center and has held academic roles at the University of Virginia (1987-1999) and USC (1982-1986). His research spans Data Science, Wireless Communications, Network Science, and Statistical Signal Processing , with applications to IoT and power systems. Diploma in Electrical Engineering, NTUA (1981) MSc in Electrical Engineering, USC (1983) MSc in Mathematics, USC (1986) PhD in Electrical Engineering, USC (1986) His publications (470+ journals, 770+ conferences, 34 patents) focus on fading channel modeling, UWB localization, blind signal estimation, and cross-layer wireless design . Articles emphasize multicarrier systems, time-varying channels, and ultra-wideband communication , with citations exceeding 76,000 (H-index 145). Scientific Awards : EURASIP 'Athanasios Papoulis' Society Award (2020) IEEE Fourier Technical Field Award (2015) Gugliermo Marconi Prize Paper Award (2003) 9 Best Journal Paper Awards (IEEE/SPS & ComSoc) IEEE SPS Technical Achievement Award (2001) He has mentored over 50 PhD students and 25 postdocs, served IEEE as Distinguished Lecturer, and contributed to Greek university accreditation panels. His work bridges theoretical signal processing and practical communication systems .
Dr. Nikolina Ban is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences (ACINN) at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her research focuses on high-resolution climate modeling, convection-permitting models, and mountain climate dynamics. She leads projects such as 'Mountain Climate at the Kilometre-Scale Resolution' and collaborates with international teams like TEAMx-UIBK and the CORDEX-FPSCONV-Team. Key areas include extreme rainfall projections, hail/lightning diagnostics, and the impact of climate change on Alpine regions. Expertise: Regional climate modeling, convection-permitting approaches, mountain climate variability. Key Projects: Third Pole climate simulations, Alpine hydrological studies, and national climate scenario development in Austria. Her work addresses challenges in resolving fine-scale climate processes over complex terrains. Recent studies emphasize improving projections of precipitation extremes and understanding model uncertainties. Collaborations span institutions globally, including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Publications highlight advancements in ensemble-based climate simulations and the added value of kilometer-scale models for capturing temperature and wind patterns in alpine regions. Ongoing research includes evaluating dynamical downscaling techniques for reliable regional climate change assessments.
Karl Kunisch is a Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Scientific Computing at the University of Graz and serves as Scientific Director of the Radon Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Linz. With a distinguished career spanning several decades, he has established himself as a leading researcher in optimization and control theory. Prof. Kunisch completed his PhD and Habilitation at the Technical University of Graz in 1978 and 1980, respectively. His academic journey includes significant positions at Brown University's Lefschetz Center for Dynamical Systems, INRIA Rocquencourt, Universite Paris Dauphine, and he previously served as a professor of numerical mathematics at the Technical University of Berlin. Research Interests: Prof. Kunisch's research focuses on optimization and optimal control, inverse problems and mathematical imaging, numerical analysis and applications, with current emphasis on life sciences applications. His specific areas include Optimal Control of Partial Differential Equations, Nonsmooth Optimization in Function Spaces, and Applications of Optimization and Control in the Life Sciences. His work bridges theoretical mathematics with practical applications across various scientific domains. His recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on advancing the theoretical foundations of optimal control while developing practical numerical methods. Key trends include work on infinite horizon control problems, feedback stabilization techniques, applications to PDE-constrained optimization, and the integration of machine learning approaches with traditional control theory. His research group actively explores connections between theoretical developments and applications in the life sciences. Scientific Recognition: W.T. and Idalia Reid Prize 2021 SIAM Fellow (2017) European Research Council Advanced Grant (2015) Alwin Walther Medaille (2008) SIAM Outstanding Paper Prize (2006) Prof. Kunisch has made substantial contributions to the mathematical community through his editorial work, serving as editor for prestigious journals including SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, and the Journal of the European Mathematical Society. He leads the Research Group on Optimization and Optimal Control at the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (RICAM) and is involved in the ERC-Project OCLOC "From Open to Closed Loop Control".
Theresa Scharl-Hirsch is a Senior Scientist and Deputy Scientific Director at the Core Facility Bioinformatics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). She holds concurrent appointments at the Institute of Statistics, BOKU, and has extensive experience in bioprocess modeling, machine learning, and statistical computing. Her work bridges biochemical engineering with advanced data science methodologies. Her research focuses on real-time monitoring of biopharmaceutical processes, clustering of high-dimensional data (particularly RNA sequencing), and application of explainable machine learning techniques. She has developed statistical models for process optimization and quality prediction in antibody capture and protein purification, with a strong emphasis on industrial implementations using R programming. Key trends in her publications include three-way data analysis, matrix-variate Gaussian mixture models, and permutation-based variable importance methods for deep learning architectures. Her work spans bioprocess engineering, bioinformatics, and industrial data science applications.
Jean Ponce is a Professor of Computer Science at Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS) in Paris and a Part-Time Global Distinguished Professor at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Center for Data Science (CDS). He previously served as Director of the ENS Computer Science Department (2011-2017) and held positions at Inria (2017-2022), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1998-2006), MIT, Stanford, and Inria (1982-1985). Academic Leadership: Scientific Director of PRAIRIE Interdisciplinary AI Research Institute in Paris Startup Involvement: Co-founder and CEO of Enhance Lab (2022) Editorial Roles: Senior Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Computer Vision (2019-2022) Conference Leadership: Chair of IEEE CVPR (1997,2000), ECCV (2008), and upcoming ICCV (2023) Research Focus: Computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and AI with applications in exoplanet imaging, 3D reconstruction, and image quality assessment. His work bridges statistical learning and deep learning approaches. Awards: IEEE Fellow (2003) ELLIS Fellow (2019) ERC Advanced Grant (2011) IEEE CVPR Longuet-Higgins Prizes (2016,2020) ICML Test-of-Time Award (2019) Patents & Publications: Co-author of influential textbook Computer Vision: A Modern Approach (translated into Chinese, Japanese, Russian). Holds two US patents and one pending French patent. Google Scholar h-index of 78 with over 55,000 citations.
Zhang Yi-Cheng is a Full Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, since 1992. His academic career includes visiting professorships at Nordita (Denmark) and INFN (Italy), and postdoctoral research at Brookhaven National Lab (USA). He specializes in interdisciplinary fields such as Econophysics , Statistical physics , and Complex network sciences , focusing on applications in financial markets, social systems, and global trade networks. His research explores topics like market dynamics, network structures, and algorithmic ranking systems. Notable awards include the 2011 Honorary Director of the Complexity Sciences Research Center and recognition as a 2011 Chinese '1000 Talents' awardee . His work bridges physics-based methodologies with socio-economic systems, addressing challenges in information-driven economies and networked societies. Zhang has contributed to influential studies on ranking algorithms, percolation theory in networks, and the interplay between economic complexity and trade. His interdisciplinary approach has led to advancements in understanding systemic risks, market inefficiencies, and the role of information in shaping global economic interactions.
Sara van de Geer is a Full Professor at the Seminar for Statistics within the Department of Mathematics at ETH Zürich since 2005. She previously held academic positions at the University of Leiden, Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse), and others. She earned a Master's (1982) and Ph.D. (1987) in Mathematics from Leiden University. Her research focuses on high-dimensional statistics, empirical processes, and mathematical foundations of machine learning. Van de Geer has received prestigious recognitions including the Van Wijngaarden Award (2016), Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau (2015), and membership in Leopoldina (2013). She served as President of the Bernoulli Society (2015–2017) and Chair of the Seminar for Statistics at ETH Zürich. Her contributions include landmark works on statistical learning theory and high-dimensional inference, with key publications in top journals like Annals of Statistics and SIAM/ASA Journal on Uncertainty Quantification. Her academic leadership includes organizing Saint Flour Lectures, Wald Lectures (2016), and delivering plenary lectures globally. Her research bridges theoretical statistics with applied methodologies, emphasizing rigorous mathematical frameworks for modern data analysis challenges.
Rafał Weron is a Full Professor at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, where he has held leadership roles since 2015, including Head of the Department of Operations Research and Business Intelligence and Chairman of the Scientific Discipline Council for Management and Quality Sciences. His expertise spans electricity price forecasting, computational economics, and risk management, with significant contributions to probabilistic forecasting methods. As a globally recognized scholar, he has received prestigious awards such as the Hugo Steinhaus Prize (2018) and the Tao Hong Award (2017). Key Affiliations : Wrocław University of Science and Technology; Polish Academy of Sciences (Statistics and Econometrics Committee); Polish Mathematical Society. Research Trends: Weron's work focuses on electricity price forecasting, leveraging machine learning and statistical models to enhance accuracy and reliability. His publications emphasize probabilistic forecasting frameworks, quantile regression, and hybrid modeling techniques, reflecting a commitment to methodological rigor and practical applications in energy markets. Scientific Awards: Top 1% globally ranked economist (IDEAS/RePEc, 2013-2022) World's Top 2% Most Widely Cited Scientist (2019-2021) 'Hugo Steinhaus' Prize (2018) Tao Hong Award (2017) Emerald Citation of Excellence (2017) Minister of Science & Higher Education Prize (2016) Commission of National Education Medal (2016)
Thomas Gehrig is a Professor of Finance at the University of Vienna, affiliated with the Department of Finance within the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Statistics. He holds honorary doctorates and is a Research Fellow at prominent institutions like the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the Systemic Risk Centre (LSE). His research focuses on financial intermediation, banking regulation, market microstructure, and systemic risk, with notable contributions to understanding liquidity provision and ESG impacts on bank resilience. Education: Ph.D. in Economics, London School of Economics (1990) Habilitation, University of Basel (1995) Diplomvolkswirt, University of Bonn (1986) Exchange Programs: UC Berkeley (1984–85), UC Berkeley (1984–85) Research Interests: His work bridges theoretical finance and policy, emphasizing systemic risk, capital regulation, and ethical finance. Recent studies explore the interplay between ESG practices and bank stability, transatlantic banking differences, and historical financial crises like the Panic of 1907. Grants & Awards: FWF and OeNB grants for systemic risk research 2024 Doctor of Science honoris causa (Hanken School) Best Paper Awards in Atlantic Economic Journal and Journal of Financial Stability Professional Contributions: Editor-in-Chief of Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research , former Director of the Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF), and advisor to central banks. He has supervised over 50 doctoral students, many placed in top academic and financial institutions globally. Labs/Initiatives: Leads the Resilience Research Network at the University of Vienna, focusing on geopolitical risks and financial stability. Co-organizes annual conferences on ethical finance and systemic risk.
