Find Academic Supervisors

Ida Gunilla LarssonView profile

Professor

• Historical Linguistics
• Scandinavian Syntax
• Heritage Linguistics
• +3 more

Ida Gunilla Larsson is a Professor at the Department of Languages, Literature and Culture at the University College of Southeast Norway (HiØ). Previously, she held a professorship in Scandinavian Linguistics at the University of Oslo (2014–2020). Her research focuses on historical linguistics, comparative Scandinavian syntax, and heritage linguistics, particularly examining the development of the perfect tense in Swedish and variation in Scandinavian verb phrase structures. She leads the project "Variation and change in the Scandinavian Verb Phrase" (2016–2022), funded by the Research Council of Norway, which developed the Nordic Word Order Database (NWD) . She also directs the ELLA research programme under the Language in Learning initiative at HiØ. Her work involves cross-generational studies of American and Argentine Scandinavian heritage languages, analyzing syntax variation and language attrition. Key research areas include argument placement in heritage languages, word order variation, syntactic change in Scandinavian languages, and corpus-based analysis of historical texts. Her recent projects explore prosodic variation in particle constructions and the grammaticalization of auxiliaries in Germanic languages. Larsson has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed articles and co-edited volumes on Scandinavian linguistics, including Morphosyntactic Change in Late Modern Swedish (2022) and A Reference Guide to the Syntax of North American Norwegian (2025). Her work bridges theoretical syntax with empirical corpus linguistics, emphasizing the interplay between historical development and contemporary language use.

Bart HollebrandseView profile

Assistant Professor

• Linguistics
• Child Language
• Syntax
• +5 more

Dr. Bart Hollebrandse is an Assistant Professor (tenured) in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Groningen, Faculty of Arts. His research focuses on Linguistics, Child Language, Syntax, Semantics, and Cognition, with a particular emphasis on recursion, quantification, and the relationship between language and Theory of Mind. He has held academic positions since 2000, including roles at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Smith College. Education: PhD in Linguistics (2000), University of Massachusetts Amherst MA in Linguistics (1993), Tilburg University Civil Engineering (1985), Delft University of Technology Research Interests: Hollebrandse investigates language acquisition, syntactic recursion, quantifier interpretation, and the role of language in cognitive development. He collaborates internationally, including with the University of Nantes and UMass Amherst. His work bridges experimental methods (e.g., eye-tracking) with formal linguistic theory. Key Awards: Drongo Award (2014) for outreach at Science Nemo Grants: CHLaSC (€1.5M), Alpha-stimulation (€75k), and multiple NWO/National Science Foundation projects Advising & Grants: Supervised over 50 theses, advised PhD committees globally, and led projects on recursion and quantification. His grants include CHLaSC (2006–2009) and collaborations with institutions like the University of Western Australia. Labs & Teams: Member of the Center for Language and Cognition Groningen and the School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. Active in experimental linguistics, including iPad game-based studies on recursion and cognitive development.

Conor McBrideView profile

Lecturer

• Functional Programming
• Haskell
• Type Theory
• +5 more

Conor McBride is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. His academic career has focused on the intersection of functional programming, type theory, and programming language design, with significant contributions to the field of dependent types. McBride's research interests center around Functional Programming, particularly Haskell, and Type Theory. He is best known for co-designing Epigram, an interactive dependently typed functional language developed with James McKinna. His work extends to differential calculus with datatypes, ornaments, and SHE (Kleisli arrows of outrageous fortune). He has made substantial contributions to the theoretical foundations of dependent types, including work on observational equality and algebraic ornaments. His publication record shows a consistent output of high-impact research, with recent work focusing on practical applications of type systems in scientific computing, metrology, and operating systems. The 15 most recent publications demonstrate a progression from theoretical foundations to increasingly practical applications of type theory, with notable works on dimensional analysis, measurement units, and type systems for scientific software. McBride has collaborated extensively with researchers including Thorsten Altenkirch, Edwin Brady, James Chapman, Peter Morris, Nicolas Oury, Wouter Swierstra, Lucas Dixon, Peter Hancock, Andres Löh, and Ross Paterson, reflecting his active role in the programming languages research community. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical programming concerns, making dependent types more accessible and applicable to real-world problems. The evolution of his research from foundational type theory to applications in scientific computing demonstrates both theoretical depth and practical relevance.

• Psycholinguistics
• Neurolinguistics
• German Language Research
• +3 more

Dr. Jolanta Sękowska is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of German Studies, Faculty of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. Her research focuses on psycholinguistics, syntactic processing, and cognitive mechanisms in foreign language comprehension. Current Role: Adiunkt (Adjunct Assistant Professor) University: Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Faculty: Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department: German Studies Email: jolanta.sekowska@mail.umcs.pl Her work investigates sentence comprehension in foreign language learners, emphasizing modular vs. interactive processing models, working memory specialization, and syntactic complexity. She has published extensively on Polish-German language acquisition challenges and parsing conflict resolution mechanisms. Recent publications (2020-2021) focus on lexical-semantic integration efficiency and psycholinguistic constraints on sentence processing. Earlier works (2010-2017) explored thematicity effects, working memory capacity, and recursive syntax in German language learning contexts. Dr. Sękowska has participated in international conferences including Internationale Germanistische Werkstatt (2020, 2018), Annäherungen (2017), and Kontakte und Kontraste (2017). She also contributed to educational innovation analysis in language training programs. Office hours during the 2024/25 summer semester: Tuesdays 13:00–14:30 (room 508), contact: 81/5372618.

Lionel ParreauxView profile

Assistant Professor

• Programming Languages
• Type Systems
• Functional Programming
• +3 more

Lionel Parreaux is an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering since February 2021. He is actively recruiting students for his research group focusing on programming languages, type systems, and compiler optimization. He earned his PhD in 2020 from École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) under the Data Analysis Theory and Applications Laboratory (DATA), where he developed the Squid type-safe metaprogramming library for Scala. His research spans Programming Languages Type Systems Functional Programming Generative Programming Compiler Optimization Language Design Recent publications (2024) cover type inference, metaprogramming, and compiler optimization. Notable works include Scope-safe metaprogramming Deforestation techniques Conditional syntax design Subtyping constraints Lazy memory management These reflect his focus on theoretical and practical language implementation challenges. Current research projects include "A Lightweight Type System for Scope and Effect Safety" (2024, Huawei Technologies) "Optimizing Functional Programs by Building on Optimal Graph Reduction Techniques" (2022-2025, RGC Early Career Scheme) He supervises 8 PhD/MPhil students and serves on program committees for POPL, APLAS, GPCE, and SPLASH symposia.

Anastasia BauerView profile

Researcher

• Corpus Linguistics
• Sign Language Linguistics
• Multimodal Communication
• +4 more

Anastasia Bauer is a linguist and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Linguistics, University of Cologne, serving as Junior Principal Investigator in the Research Center 'Skills and Structures in Language and Cognition' (SSLAC) and Principal Investigator for the DFG Priority Programme 2329 ViCom project 'Gestures or signs?' She earned her PhD in 2014 from the University of Cologne in Applied English Linguistics with specialization in Sign Language Linguistics. Bauer's research explores human language capacity through multimodal and cross-linguistic analysis of face-to-face interaction. Her primary focus areas include: Corpus Linguistics methodologies Sign Language Linguistics (German, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian) Multimodal Communication systems Gesture Studies in spoken and signed contexts Morphosyntactic structures Bimodal Language Contact phenomena Slavic Languages interfaces Her recent publications demonstrate methodological innovation combining pose estimation, corpus analysis, and cross-linguistic comparison to investigate feedback signals, head movements, and mouthings across sign languages. This work reveals systematic patterns in multimodal expressivity and phonetic differentiation within Slavic language contexts. Bauer actively contributes to DFG-funded research through SSLAC and her ViCom project, developing corpus-driven approaches to compare manual and non-manual constructions in co-speech gesture and sign language. Her work bridges linguistics, computer vision, and cognitive science through interdisciplinary collaboration. She maintains active research leadership within SSLAC and her DFG project team, advancing methodologies for multimodal data collection and analysis while fostering international scholarly exchange in sign language and gesture studies.

Nataliia LazebnaView profile

Professor

• Digital Linguistics
• Data-Driven Learning
• Human-Machine Communication
• +4 more

Current Role: Education Manager for CHARM-EIGHT Project at ZBL, University of Würzburg (since July 2024). Previously Researcher at TEFL Chair (2022-2024) and Associate Professor at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic (2007-2022). Holds Habilitation Doctorate (2021) and PhD in Philological Sciences (2021). Education: Habilitation (Zaporizhzhia National University, 2021): "Linguistic and Semiotics of English Digital Discourse" PhD (Donetsk National University, 2021): "Structural/Semantic Features of English Imagery Computer Terminology" Master's (Zaporizhzhia National Technical University, 2007): Philology & Translation Bachelor's (Zaporizhzhia National Technical University, 2006): Philology & Translation Research Interests: Focus on digital linguistics, AI-human communication ethics, data-driven global education, spatial data mapping in pedagogy, and UN SDGs integration in transnational learning. Specializes in TEFL methodology and immersive technologies for refugee education. Key Projects: CHARM-EU Project: Culturally responsive education through visual arts SCIENTIA International: Gender equity initiatives German-Ukrainian Symposiums on bridging linguistic/pedagogical gaps Professional Development: Completed courses in inclusive leadership, innovative hybrid classrooms, and digital humanities mapping (University of Gothenburg, NYU Abu Dhabi, etc.). Labs/Teams: Member of CHARM-EU Project team, Vision Ukraine interdisciplinary network, and WERA IRN committee.

Giorgio MarrapodiView profile

Researcher

• Etymology
• Lexicology
• Lexicography
• +7 more

Dr. Giorgio Marrapodi is a Researcher at Saarland University, working at the Lessico Etimologico Italiano (LEI) project since 1997. He currently focuses on the S- letter range (Latinisms) since 2025, having previously worked on the E- range from 2007-2025. His academic career includes positions at the Chair of Romance Philology and the Romanisches Seminar at the University of Bonn. Dr. Marrapodi earned his doctorate in Italian Philology with "Summa cum Laude" in 2005 from an institution (likely University of Genua based on his studies) under Prof. Max Pfister. His educational background includes a Diplomarbeit in Dialectology from the University of Genua in 1996 and undergraduate studies in "Lettere e Filosofia" at the same institution from 1989-1996. Dr. Marrapodi's research focuses on the intricate relationship between language, names, and cultural identity within Romance linguistics. His work explores how naming systems reflect historical, social, and geographical contexts across Italian and other Romance languages. He has made significant contributions to understanding the cognitive and structural aspects of onomastic systems, particularly examining how oral traditions influence name formation and preservation. His research bridges theoretical linguistics with practical lexicographical applications, demonstrating how historical dictionaries and modern computational methods can enrich our understanding of name evolution. Dr. Marrapodi's interdisciplinary approach connects linguistic analysis with cultural anthropology, revealing how naming practices serve as markers of identity and territorial belonging. His scholarly output reveals a consistent trajectory in onomastic research with increasing methodological sophistication. Early work focused on specific regional naming systems, particularly in Liguria and Piedmont, while later publications demonstrate broader theoretical frameworks and comparative approaches across Romance languages. A notable shift appears around 2008 toward incorporating digital humanities methodologies, as evidenced by his work on database resources and computational lexicography. His research consistently bridges Italian and broader Romance linguistic traditions, with particular attention to the interplay between written and oral name systems. Summa cum Laude Doctorate in Italian Philology (2005) Accademia della Crusca Scholarship (2001) Dr. Marrapodi has been actively involved in academic knowledge dissemination through numerous conference presentations across Europe, including participation in the Società di Linguistica Italiana, Romanistentag, and specialized onomastics conferences. His teaching experience spans multiple institutions, including the University of Bonn, University of Genua, and the Music Academy of Saarland, where he taught Italian language and specialized literature. He has collaborated extensively with international scholars on projects related to Romance onomastics and etymology. As a core member of the LEI project team and contributor to the Deonomasticon Italicum, Dr. Marrapodi works within collaborative research environments focused on comprehensive documentation of Italian etymology and onomastics. His work intersects with multiple research groups studying Romance linguistics across European institutions, particularly in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.

Xiaokang QiuView profile

Associate Professor

• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Program Verification
• +2 more

Xiaokang Qiu is an Associate Professor at Purdue University's Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His work bridges theoretical and applied research in programming languages and software engineering. Current Role: Associate Professor at Purdue University Research Focus: Program verification, synthesis, and automated deduction Over the past decade, Xiaokang's research has centered on advancing program synthesis techniques. His work appears in leading venues like POPL, PLDI, and SAS, where he explores: Syntax-guided synthesis for bit-vector operations Concurrent string transformation synthesis Library-based synthesis frameworks Recursive program verification He actively contributes to the academic community as a committee member and session chair at conferences including POPL, VMCAI, and SPLASH. His research addresses fundamental challenges in automating code generation while ensuring formal correctness.

Paul DownenView profile

Assistant Professor

• Programming Languages
• Logic
• Formal Methods
• +5 more

Paul Downen is an Assistant Professor in the Miner School of Computer & Information Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he has been teaching since Fall 2021. His academic journey began with dual Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from Lawrence Technological University in 2010, followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Oregon in 2017. He has also been a visiting researcher at INRIA and Microsoft Research. His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2017), University of Oregon - Eugene, OR Dissertation Title: Sequent Calculus: A Logic and a Language for Computation and Duality B.S. Computer Science (2010), Lawrence Technological University - Southfield, MI B.S. Computer Engineering (2010), Lawrence Technological University - Southfield, MI Dr. Downen's research centers on the intersection of logic and programming languages, with a focus on using logical foundations to improve the efficiency, correctness, and safety of programs and their compilation. His primary research lies in the Curry-Howard correspondence or proofs-as-programs paradigm, exploring how logical principles can inform both program design and compiler optimization. He is particularly interested in duality principles in computation, where he investigates how concepts like functional and object-oriented programming paradigms represent dual perspectives on the same underlying computational processes. His publication record shows a consistent focus on foundational aspects of programming languages, with recent work exploring copatterns, macro systems, evaluation strategies, and the relationship between type systems and machine representation. His research often bridges theoretical concepts with practical implementation, particularly through contributions to the Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC). Among his notable achievements are: Best Paper Award (2017) at Programming Languages Design and Implementation (PLDI) Oregon Doctoral Research Fellowship (2017) from the University of Oregon Best Paper Award nomination (2012) at European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software Best Paper Award nominee (2025) at Trends in Functional Programming Dr. Downen has been instrumental in organizing the Oregon Programming Languages Summer School, expanding its reach to diverse audiences through a "Foundations" lecture series. His teaching portfolio includes courses on Organization of Programming Languages, Assembly Language Programming, and Effective Functional Programming. His research has resulted in practical implementations within GHC, including Sequent Core (an alternative intermediate language based on sequent calculus) and Join Points (an optimization for control flow).

Hannah SandeView profile

Associate Professor

• Phonological Processes
• Syntax-Phonology Interface
• Morphology-Phonology Interface
• +2 more

Hannah Sande is Associate Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley, specializing in phonological theory and its interfaces with syntax/morphology. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley and conducts extensive fieldwork on West African languages, particularly Guébie (Kru) and Lobi (Gur). Her research investigates phonological domains, morphologically conditioned phonology, prosodic systems, and linguistic typology. Current NSF-CAREER funded projects focus on multiword tone and harmony systems across four languages. Publications center on tonal phonology, morphological conditioning, prosodic typology in African languages, and theoretical frameworks like Cophonologies by Phase. Recent work examines recursion in morphology and noun classification systems. Morris Halle Memorial Award for Phonology (2024) Peder Sather Grant Award (2023-2025) NSF CAREER Grant (2023-2028) Stanford CASBS Fellowship (2018-2019) NSF Documenting Endangered Languages Grant (2018-2022) She directs the Guébie Documentation Project, maintains the California Language Archive collections, and founded the TwistedTongues database tool. Current PhD students investigate topics in phonology and morphology.

• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Program Synthesis
• +5 more

Xiaokang Qiu is an Associate Professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. His research focuses on program synthesis, formal verification, and hardware/software design with an emphasis on automated reasoning and system resilience. He holds a leadership role in advancing techniques for scalable verification of hardware systems and developing efficient program synthesis methods. His research interests include program synthesis, formal methods, hardware design, and algorithm optimization. He explores applications in concurrent systems, network protocols, and safety-critical systems, often integrating machine learning and automated reasoning approaches. Recent work trends show a focus on leveraging large language models for invariant generation, optimizing network and hardware systems through formal methods, and advancing recursive algorithm verification. His publications span topics from concurrent programming to runtime verification frameworks for autonomous systems. Xiaokang Qiu’s contributions include over 20 peer-reviewed articles since 2004, with recent highlights in 2025-2024 addressing cutting-edge challenges in program synthesis and hardware verification. He maintains an active research lab focusing on resilient autonomous systems and compiler optimizations. Office: BHEE 329 | Email: xkqiu@purdue.edu | Website: https://engineering.purdue.edu/~xqiu/

Aaron StumpView profile

Professor

• type theory
• proof assistants
• dependent types
• +1 more

Aaron Stump holds the John R. and Pamela Egan Chair of Computer Science at Boston College, specializing in programming languages and formal verification. He develops the Cedille programming language and proof assistant for dependently typed programming. Research focuses on: Dependent type theory implementations Zero-cost program reuse methodologies Recursive type encodings Formal verification of functional programs Leads research on lambda encodings and formal methods, contributing to proof assistant technologies and type-based program verification.

• Language Acquisition
• Cognitive Science
• Syntax
• +3 more

Jessica Kotfila is an Adjunct Professor in the Linguistics Department at Georgetown University and Director of the Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and Cognitive Science from Georgetown University (mentored by Elissa Newport), an M.S. in Linguistics from Georgetown, and a B.A. in Psychology and Linguistics from Smith College (mentored by Jill and Peter de Villiers). Her research focuses on language acquisition and learning mechanisms, particularly the interplay between linguistic structure and learnability. Key interests include how input constraints shape learners' generalizations, the role of abstract syntactic representations in grammar acquisition, and the impact of natural language properties on learning efficiency. Her work investigates movement principles in syntax, distributional cues in input, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying sentence structure acquisition. Her publications explore recursion in child language, syntactic parsing, and the role of epistemic/deontic modality in grammatical development. Current projects aim to elucidate how learners extrapolate grammatical principles from variable input and the nature of abstract syntactic representations.

Steve ZdancewicView profile

Professor

• Programming Languages
• Type Theory
• Logic
• +11 more

Steve Zdancewic is the Schlein Family President's Distinguished Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is a leading researcher in programming languages, type theory, logic, and computer security, with extensive contributions to formal verification, program synthesis, and language-based security. Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Department of Computer and Information Science Role: Schlein Family President's Distinguished Professor, Associate Chair Research Group: PL Club (with Benjamin Pierce and Stephanie Weirich) His research focuses on foundational and applied aspects of programming languages, including formal verification of compilers and systems, type-driven program synthesis, information-flow security, quantum programming, and mechanized metatheory. He develops tools and frameworks such as Vellvm (verified LLVM semantics in Coq), Interaction Trees (for modeling impure computations), and QWIRE (for quantum program verification). The recent publications highlight a strong trend toward formal verification, semantics engineering, and program synthesis, particularly using interactive theorem provers like Coq. His work spans functional programming, type systems, concurrency, security, and compiler correctness, with a consistent emphasis on mechanized proofs and practical verification tools. Distinguished Paper Award, ECOOP 2023 Schlein Family President's Distinguished Professor (2021) Distinguished Paper Award, POPL 2020 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching (2018) IEEE MICRO Top Picks (2013) Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (2009–2010) NSF CAREER Award (2004) Best Paper at SOSP (2001) Intel Foundation Graduate Fellowship (2001) Best Paper at ICFP (1999) NSF Graduate Fellowship (1996) Zdancewic actively mentors graduate students and postdocs, many of whom have become faculty or researchers in industry. He has led significant research initiatives including the NSF Expedition on Deep Specification and the Vellvm project. He is currently General Chair for POPL 2025 and has served on numerous program committees for top-tier programming language conferences. He leads the Security-Oriented Languages (SOL) group and is deeply involved in the PL Club at Penn, fostering collaborative research in programming languages. His current projects include verified compiler infrastructure, quantum programming semantics, and expressive security policies.