Christian Grewell is a Clinical Associate Professor of Technology, Operations, and Statistics at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University, joining in September 2023. His interdisciplinary work bridges technology, business innovation, and real-time human motion systems, with applications across industries. Education: MBA, NYU Stern School of Business BS, NYU College of Arts and Sciences His research interests focus on the business applications of emerging technologies. He explores innovation in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Blockchain, FinTech, and Machine Learning , with a strong emphasis on product development and sustainable technological solutions. His interdisciplinary approach integrates data visualization, cloud computing, and mobile service management to optimize business processes. Grewell's expertise spans entrepreneurship, start-up development, and tech regulation. His work in information systems and web search technologies supports modern service businesses. He has been featured at events such as the Tribeca Film Festival for his real-time motion capture and networked visualization projects. He was a founding team member and faculty member at NYU Shanghai, contributing to the development of academic programs at the intersection of technology and business.
Subodha Kumar is the Paul R. Anderson Distinguished Chair Professor of Statistics, Operations, and Data Science at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. He serves as the Founding Director of the Center for Business Analytics and Disruptive Technologies and has a secondary appointment in Information Systems. His roles include Ph.D. Program Concentration Director for Operations and Supply Chain Management. With over 240 publications, he ranks #1 globally in Information Systems Research publishing and holds a robotics patent. His research focuses on AI, blockchain, healthcare analytics, and cybersecurity, with notable contributions to digital transformation and operations management. Awards include the INFORMS ISS Distinguished Fellow and POMS Fellow. He advises major journals like Production and Operations Management and organizes conferences like POMS 2018. Media mentions span NYT, WSJ, and CBS. Education: University of Washington faculty Texas A&M University faculty Research Interests: Dr. Kumar explores AI applications, blockchain in fintech, healthcare system optimization, and supply chain analytics. He investigates cybersecurity’s operational impacts and data mining strategies. His work bridges theory and practice, addressing challenges in digital transformation and platform economies. Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes digital platforms (e.g., blockchain adoption, telemedicine impact), organizational behavior (real-time feedback systems), and healthcare operations (personalized treatment algorithms). He frequently collaborates internationally, with studies appearing in Management Science, Information Systems Research, and Decision Sciences. Awards & Recognition: Changjiang Scholars Chair (China) ISB Visiting Professorship POMS Executive Editor Grants & Labs: Secured NIH grants for health analytics projects. Leads Temple’s analytics center fostering industry partnerships. Active in editorial roles (e.g., Production and Operations Management Journal Deputy Editor). Teaching: Offers courses in data science, optimization methods, and innovation entrepreneurship at graduate/undergraduate levels.
Zizi Papacharissi is a UIC Distinguished Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), serving as Department Head of Communication. She is also a University Scholar and affiliate faculty at the Discovery Partners Institute (University of Illinois System). Her research explores the social and political implications of digital media, with a focus on affective publics, networked identities, and democratic processes. She holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin and has authored over 10 books and 80+ journal articles. Education: PhD, University of Texas at Austin (2000) in New Media Technologies and Political Communication MA, Kent State University (1997) in Communication Studies BA, Mount Holyoke College (1995) in Media Studies and Economics Research Interests: Dr. Papacharissi investigates how digital media shape political participation, identity formation, and public discourse. Key areas include affective publics (emotional dimensions of online activism), the role of social media in democracy, and the ethical implications of AI and connective technologies. Her work bridges communication studies, political theory, and sociology. Recent Contributions: Her 2021 book After Democracy explores post-democratic futures in the digital age. She edits Social Media & Society and collaborates with tech firms like Facebook/Meta and Tencent on media ethics and policy. Her research on #Egypt and #OWS movements highlights social media’s role in mobilizing protests. Awards & Recognition: 2018 Wayne Danielson Award (National Communication Association) 2015 Best Book Award (NCA Human Communication and Technology Division) High-Impact Scholar (University of Texas at Austin) Advising & Grants: While no student names are listed, her courses (e.g., Democracy in a Digital Age ) reflect her mentorship in critical media studies. She has secured grants from the National Academies of Science and the Institute of Medicine for projects on youth well-being and digital media. Labs & Teams: Her research lab focuses on digital media’s societal impact, collaborating with global institutions like the Oxford Internet Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School. She chairs UIC’s interdisciplinary Digital Media and Democracy initiative.
Alanson Sample is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan (since 2018), leading the Interactive Sensing and Computing Lab. His research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction, Cyber-Physical Systems, and wireless technology innovations. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington (2011), with prior postdoctoral work there developing implantable medical devices. Before academia, Sample held senior roles at Disney Research (2013-2018) as Executive Lab Director and Principal Research Scientist, leading teams in Robotics, AI, Computer Vision, and HCI. Earlier, he worked at Intel Labs (2008-2013) on energy harvesting for wearables and IoT. Key research themes include wireless power systems, embedded sensing, and privacy-aware technologies. Over 150+ publications span topics like magnetic sensing (MagDesk), acoustic gesture recognition (HandSAW), and privacy-preserving activity tracking (PrivacyMic). His work bridges academic and industry innovation, particularly in scalable interactive systems and medical technology. Notable projects include the Quasistatic Cavity Resonance wireless charging system, RFID-based sensing platforms (WISP), and wearable health monitoring devices. His lab develops hardware-software co-design frameworks for energy-efficient embedded systems. Current research emphasizes medical applications, smart infrastructure, and ubiquitous computing interfaces.
Jan Herbst is a Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield and Director of the Centre for Research in Music and its Technologies. His academic journey includes multiple doctorates (PhD, Dr. habil.) from Leuphana University Lüneburg and research expertise in popular music studies, music production, and systematic musicology. He leads AHRC-funded projects such as 'Heaviness in Metal Music Production' and 'Songwriting Camps in the 21st Century.' His work bridges practical music production and theoretical research, with over 80 publications including books like The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music and Heaviness in Metal Music Production . Herbst’s research focuses on metal music aesthetics, record production techniques, and the cultural dimensions of music technology. He has held roles at German and Swiss universities, including teaching guitar performance and music production. His editorial roles include the Cambridge Companions series and journals like Metal Music Studies . Current projects explore blockchain in music, gear acquisition syndrome, and extreme metal vocal techniques. His academic affiliations include the IASPM UK & I executive committee and editorial boards for major musicology publications. Herbst actively engages with industry through collaborations with producers and performers, maintaining a balance between academic rigor and practical music creation.
Daniel Abadi is the Darnell-Kanal Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. He leads the Data Systems Lab at Maryland (DSLAM) and has made significant contributions to database system architecture and implementation, particularly in scalable and distributed systems. Prof. Abadi's research focuses on database system architecture, especially at the intersection with scalable and distributed systems. He is best-known for the development of the storage and query execution engines of the C-Store (column-oriented database) prototype, which was commercialized by Vertica and eventually acquired by Hewlett-Packard, and for his HadoopDB research on fault tolerant scalable analytical database systems which was commercialized by Hadapt and acquired by Teradata. His current work includes deterministic distributed systems like Calvin and SLOG, which provide strictly serializable, low-latency, geographically replicated database transactions. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong focus on modern database challenges including transaction processing, distributed systems architecture, data mesh concepts, schema evolution, and IoT data management. His work consistently addresses the tension between consistency, availability, and performance in distributed database systems, with recent emphasis on moving beyond traditional two-phase commit protocols and exploring novel approaches to data architecture like data mesh. ACM Fellow Sloan Research Fellowship Churchill Scholarship NSF CAREER Award VLDB Best Paper Award Two VLDB Test of Time Awards (for C-Store and HadoopDB) 2008 SIGMOD Jim Gray Doctoral Dissertation Award 2013-2014 Yale Provost's Teaching Prize 2013 VLDB Early Career Researcher Award PhD dissertation advisor for Alexander Thomson and Jose Falerio, whose dissertations won SIGMOD Jim Gray Doctoral Dissertation Awards in 2015 and 2020 respectively Prof. Abadi has advised multiple PhD students, including Alexander Thomson and Jose Falerio, both of whom received the prestigious SIGMOD Jim Gray Doctoral Dissertation Award. His research has been supported by numerous grants including NSF funding for projects like SLOG. He maintains an active presence in the database community through his widely-read blog DBMS Musings and through service on program committees for major conferences including SIGMOD, VLDB, and CIDR. He leads the DSLAM research group at the University of Maryland, which focuses on cutting-edge database system research with strong industry connections and practical impact.
David Lindlbauer is an Assistant Professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) of Carnegie Mellon University, where he leads the Augmented Perception Lab and co-directs the CMU Extended Reality Technology Center. His research bridges human perception, extended reality (AR/VR), and computational interaction techniques, focusing on developing systems that dynamically adapt interface elements based on environmental context, user cognition, and task requirements. He completed his PhD at TU Berlin under Prof. Marc Alexa and held a postdoctoral position at ETH Zurich's Advanced Interactive Technologies lab. His work has been published extensively at top venues including ACM CHI, UIST, and IEEE VR, with research themes spanning gaze tracking, spatial audio optimization, haptic feedback, and multimodal notification systems. Media outlets like MIT Technology Review and Fast Company Design have featured his innovations. Dr. Lindlbauer has received prestigious grants from Meta, NSF, and ETH Zurich, and serves on program committees for CHI, UIST, and ISMAR. He has been recognized with Best Paper awards at ISS 2023 and CHI 2016, and his lab develops tools like MineXR for personalized XR interfaces and RealityReplay for temporal change visualization in mixed reality environments.
Andrea Korda, PhD (University of California, Santa Barbara), is an Associate Professor of Fine Arts & Humanities and Associate Dean (Research) at the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta. Her academic career bridges art history, material culture studies, and pedagogical innovation. Educations: BA in Fine Arts, Queen's University MA in Art History, Concordia University PhD in Art History, University of California, Santa Barbara Research Focus: Dr. Korda specializes in 19th-century visual and material culture, with a focus on education's visual dimensions, children's literature, and community-engaged projects like the award-winning Crafting Communities initiative. She co-curated the virtual exhibition Photographies (Bruce Peel Special Collections) and explores hands-on learning through historical crafts. Teaching: Courses include modern art history (AUART 220), photography theory (AUART 225), and special topics in visual culture (AUART 382). She emphasizes experiential learning and digital humanities integration, as seen in her work with the Getty Museum Challenge and OER projects. Collaborations: Leads interdisciplinary teams on projects like Crafting Communities , blending scholarship with public engagement. Her research bridges historical methodologies with contemporary pedagogical practices, fostering connections between academia and communities.
Alenda Y. Chang serves as an Assistant Professor in Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. With a multidisciplinary background spanning biology, literature, and film, she integrates ecocritical theory with contemporary media analysis. Her scholarly work appears in journals including Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment , Qui Parle , and electronic book review , focusing on sustainable media practices and ecological frameworks for digital engagement. Her educational background includes: M.A. and Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland Chang specializes in environmental media and game studies, developing theoretical frameworks for ecological game design. Her research examines how digital games model environmental systems and foster player engagement with climate change through concepts like "slow violence" and "rambunctious play." She advocates for sustainable design patterns that address gaming's carbon footprint while creating immersive ecological narratives. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory from foundational ecological game theory (2013-2018) to current work on thermal contexts of play and sustainable infrastructure (2022-2024). Her scholarship increasingly bridges data-driven activism with critical game design, emphasizing multispecies entanglements and infrastructural play as tools for environmental awareness. As co-founder of Wireframe—a collaborative media studio at UCSB—Chang cultivates critical game design practices through initiatives like growinggames.net . The studio supports data-driven global media art, environmental activism, and experimental pedagogy, serving as a hub for translating ecological theory into tangible digital interventions that challenge anthropocentric perspectives in gaming.
Anand Bhojan is an Associate Professor (Educator Track) at the Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, National University of Singapore (NUS). He is a member of the Communication and Internet Research Lab and serves on the Graduate Studies Committee. Dr. Bhojan is also the founder of Anuflora Systems and Virtual and Augmented Reality Labs (www.varlabs.org), and serves as Associate Editor of Computers and Electrical Engineering Journal, Elsevier, and Vice President of International Researchers Club, Singapore. Dr. Bhojan earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from NUS in 2011, where his thesis was nominated for the Best PhD Thesis Award. He also holds a Professional Master's in Computer Applications from Bharathidasan University (1999), a Bachelor's degree in Computing with Gold Medal (University topper) from Bharathiar University (1994), and a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Higher Education from University of Sheffield, UK (2003). His research spans multiple domains including Distributed Computing and Wireless Networks (IoT, Security, Blockchain), Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI, FinTech), and Entertainment Computing with focus on Games, VR/AR/Metaverse technologies. Dr. Bhojan leads the Metaverse Foundry research group which focuses on content generation for games & XR simulations across multiple domains including entertainment, healthcare, and architecture, while also experimenting with innovative teaching methods for entertainment media technologies. Dr. Bhojan's recent research has pioneered hybrid rendering techniques that strategically combine ray tracing and rasterization to create more realistic video game graphics without compromising performance. His work addresses critical challenges in real-time rendering, particularly in depth of field and motion blur effects, with the goal of making Hollywood-quality graphics accessible on a wider range of hardware. Earlier work focused on energy efficiency in mobile gaming, including power management techniques and latency optimization for cloud gaming. Among his notable achievements: 2012 Nominated for Best PhD Thesis Award (Wang Gungwu Medal & Prize), NUS 2011 Dean's Graduate Research Achievement Award (PhD), SoC, NUS 2006 Best R&D Project award from TOTE Board, Singapore 1995 Gold medal for first Rank (out of 4000) in Computing, Bharathiar University Dr. Bhojan has served as Organizing Chair and Program Chair for multiple international conferences and has delivered keynote talks at IEEE/ACM International Conferences. He teaches courses including Computer Networks Practice, Game Development, Interaction Design for Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Game Development Project. He leads the Metaverse Foundry research group and the Virtual and Augmented Reality Labs, where undergraduate and graduate students have won multiple research and innovation awards. His research bridges entertainment, education, and emerging technologies with practical applications in making immersive experiences more accessible across different hardware capabilities while maintaining energy efficiency.
Professor Andrew Hudson-Smith is the Director of the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at University College London (UCL), where he holds the title of Professor of Digital Urban Systems. He leads UCL's academic and applied research in smart cities, digital twins, and urban informatics. His roles include Editor-in-Chief of the Future Internet Journal and academic lead for the Smart Queen Elizabeth Park project. He contributes to strategic initiatives such as the Greater London Authority Smart London Board and EPSRC Digital Economy Programme Advisory Board. Education: PhD (2003), MSc (1996) from UCL; BSc in Geography from the University of Plymouth (1992). Research focuses on digital urban systems, IoT applications, sustainable urban planning, and cyberphysical systems. Notable projects include urban heat island monitoring, participatory planning platforms, and metaverse-driven urban design. His work bridges technology, art, and public engagement, exemplified by initiatives like Tales of Things and the Haggle-O-Tron. Recent publications emphasize digital twins, metaverse urbanism, and IoT integration in urban environments. Awards include a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts. His work addresses SDGs 3 (Good Health) and 11 (Sustainable Cities), with a focus on equitable smart city development and public space innovation.
Benjamin Yelle serves as a Teaching Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Northeastern University's College of Social Sciences and Humanities, specializing in ethical theory and practical moral dilemmas. He earned his PhD in Applied Ethics from the University of Miami in 2014, establishing his scholarly foundation in value theory and practical ethics. Yelle's research program integrates normative ethics —where he pioneers a subjectivist theory of well-being reconciling personal valuation with objective constraints—and applied ethics with focus on bioethical challenges in neurological degeneration. His scholarship extends to philosophy of technology , examining ethical implications of biotechnology, information systems, and virtual reality through courses like PHIL 1145. He also investigates happiness's normative role in conceptions of the good life, creating interdisciplinary connections between ancient eudaimonism and contemporary ethical frameworks. As an active member of Northeastern's Ethics Institute, Yelle contributes to collaborative research initiatives while maintaining teaching responsibilities in undergraduate ethics education. His professional network includes departmental colleagues across philosophy and religious studies, supporting a robust academic environment for ethical inquiry.
Dr. Kelsey Onderdijk is a Post-doctoral Researcher at Tilburg University in the Department of Communication and Cognition within the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences. Her research focuses on the intersection of music cognition, virtual reality, and social connectedness, with publications spanning neuroscience, psychology, and human-computer interaction domains. Dr. Onderdijk completed her doctoral studies at Ghent University with a dissertation titled "Come together: Exploring unity in music interaction through agency and social connectedness." Her academic journey reflects a strong commitment to understanding human interaction through musical experiences, particularly examining how technological mediation affects social bonding. Her research interests include: Music cognition and embodied music interaction Virtual reality applications in musical contexts Social connectedness in digital music environments Effects of technological constraints on musical collaboration Physiological measures of emotional engagement in music Impact of external constraints on creative expression Dr. Onderdijk's publication record demonstrates a clear trajectory examining how people connect through music in both physical and virtual spaces. Her work bridges psychology, musicology, and human-computer interaction, with particular attention to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on musical collaboration. Recent publications have focused on concert experiences in virtual reality environments and the physiological correlates of emotional engagement during musical performance. Her research has garnered significant attention, with multiple publications receiving citations and mentions in news outlets, policy sources, and social media platforms. The "Impact of Lockdown Measures on Joint Music Making" paper has been particularly influential, accumulating 39 citation indexes and 50 Mendeley readers. Dr. Onderdijk actively collaborates with researchers across institutions, particularly with scholars from Ghent University including Marc Leman and Pieter-Jan Maes, indicating a strong network within the music cognition research community. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to well-being and innovation.
Mariano Scazzariello is a Lecturer at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, affiliated with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Network and Systems Engineering. He teaches the course 'Network Systems with Edge or Cloud Datacenters (IK2227)'. His research focuses on advanced networking topics including machine learning in networks, high-speed packet processing, network emulation, and software-defined networking innovations. His work spans contributions to network emulation tools like Kathará and Megalos, stateful packet processing at terabit scales, and leveraging large language models (LLMs) for network configuration and vulnerability detection. Recent research emphasizes low-latency protocols (e.g., SRv6/DetNet integration) and GPU-centric networking on commodity hardware. Mariano’s publications (2020–2025) highlight expertise in network function virtualization, ASIC-based switching, and optimizing network configurations through AI-driven approaches. He has pioneered frameworks for evaluating routing protocols and virtualizing large network scenarios at scale.
Marcia O’Malley is the Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering at Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering. She chairs the Department of Mechanical Engineering and directs the Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces (MAHI) Lab. Her research focuses on haptics and robotic rehabilitation, particularly wearable robotic systems for training and rehabilitation in virtual environments. She holds adjunct roles at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School. Educated at Purdue University (B.S., 1996) and Vanderbilt University (M.S./Ph.D., 1999/2001), Dr. O’Malley has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the ONR Young Investigator Award, NSF CAREER Award, and multiple fellowships. She has twice won Rice’s George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching. Her work bridges engineering and medicine, addressing human-robot interaction challenges in surgical training, workforce safety, and neurorehabilitation. The MAHI Lab develops devices like the hBracelet and Rice Haptic Rocker to enhance human-robot collaboration. She co-founded Houston Medical Robotics, Inc., applying her innovations to real-world medical applications. Research Interests: Haptics, wearable robotics, neural interfaces, surgical training metrics, and rehabilitation robotics. Labs/Teams: MAHI Lab (Biosciences Research Collaborative), collaborations with medical institutions. Grants/Awards: Extensive funding from NSF, ONR, and industry partnerships; leadership in editorial roles for IEEE Transactions on Haptics.
