Renée J. Miller is Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Data Intelligence at the University of Waterloo. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and ACM, her research transforms how organizations manage and derive value from heterogeneous data sources. Professor Miller pioneered foundational work in schema mapping and data exchange recognized by the ICDT Test-of-Time Award. Her current research develops frameworks for semantic data discovery in data lakes, including the SANTOS system for relationship-based table search and Gen-T for table reclamation. She leads international collaborations advancing data management practices through tools like iBench for metadata generation and DIALITE for open data integration. Her CERC position establishes Canada's leadership in next-generation data intelligence systems.
Professor Klavs F. Jensen is the Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. His research focuses on integrating automation, machine learning, and robotics to accelerate materials discovery and pharmaceutical synthesis. He leads the Jensen Research Group, pioneering automated reaction systems with online analytics and optimization algorithms. Education: MS in Chemical Engineering (Technical University of Denmark, 1976); PhD in Chemical Engineering (University of Wisconsin, 1980). Research Interests: Thermochemistry, electrochemistry, photochemistry, Bayesian optimization, high-throughput experimentation, and AI-driven synthesis planning. He collaborates with MIT’s Machine Learning for Pharmaceutical Discovery Consortium to develop algorithms for drug development and process chemistry. Awards: Member of National Academy of Sciences (2017), Member of National Academy of Engineering (2002), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2007), and Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2022). Grants & Labs: Editor-in-Chief of Reaction Chemistry and Engineering ; holds 63 US patents and over 490 journal articles. His lab’s innovations include ASKCOS (open-source synthesis planning software) and automated platforms for closed-loop molecular discovery.
Elena Simperl is a Professor of Computer Science and Deputy Head of Department for Enterprise and Engagement at King's College London's Department of Informatics. She co-directs the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence and serves as Director of Research for the Open Data Institute. As a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich's Institute for Advanced Study, she leads the Trustworthy Knowledge Graphs focus group and contributes to advancing human-centric AI research across European institutions. Professor Simperl obtained her doctoral degree in Computer Science from the Free University of Berlin and her diploma from the Technical University of Munich. Prior to joining King's, she held academic positions in Germany, Austria, and at the University of Southampton, and was a Turing Fellow. Her career trajectory demonstrates consistent leadership in bridging academic research with practical applications in data ecosystems. Her research sits at the critical intersection of AI and social computing, focusing on human-centric approaches to building sociotechnical systems that integrate data, algorithms, and human capabilities. She investigates how to make knowledge engineering more accessible, how to leverage collective intelligence for data quality improvement, and how to design participatory AI systems that address societal challenges like misinformation. Her work spans knowledge graphs, semantic technologies, crowdsourcing, and open data, with particular emphasis on the social dimensions of data-intensive systems and the governance frameworks needed for trustworthy AI deployment. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong evolution toward integrating large language models with traditional knowledge engineering practices while maintaining human oversight. There's a clear trajectory from foundational work on knowledge representation toward increasingly applied research addressing real-world challenges in media ecosystems, citizen science, and data governance, with growing attention to policy implications of AI technologies. Fellow of the British Computer Society Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at TUM-IAS (2023) Ranked among top 100 most influential scholars in knowledge engineering of the last decade Included in Women in AI 2000 ranking Professor Simperl has led 14 major European and national research projects totaling millions in funding, including MediaFutures (a Horizon 2020 program tackling online misinformation), QROWD, ODINE, Data Pitch, and ACTION. She currently co-chairs the Croissant working group in ML Commons developing data standards for AI, and serves as president of the Semantic Web Science Association. Her research has directly influenced the development of data ecosystems supporting startups and citizen science initiatives across Europe, demonstrating exceptional ability to translate theoretical advances into practical impact. As Director of Research at the Open Data Institute, she oversees initiatives connecting data entrepreneurs with artists and civic organizations. Her leadership in the MediaFutures project established a data-driven innovation hub that supported 51 startups/SMEs and 43 artists through three open calls, creating a sustainable model for arts-technology collaborations addressing media challenges. Her work with the ODINE project helped create a European ecosystem for data-driven startups, demonstrating her commitment to building practical applications of open data principles.
Dr. Andrew Hines is a Researcher at the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, specializing in machine learning applications for signal processing in speech, audio, and video domains. His work focuses on Quality of Experience (QoE) modeling, speech quality assessment, and immersive media analysis. He has held leadership roles in European COST Actions like Qualinet and CryptoAction, and previously worked in industry as a Director of Engineering. University: University College Dublin Role: Director of Research, Innovation and Impact Key Collaborations: IEEE (Senior Member), Audio Engineering Society (Ireland) Research interests center on machine learning for QoE optimization, audio-visual integration, and healthcare applications like heart sound classification and stroke rehabilitation. His recent publications explore self-supervised learning, neural speech codecs, and contextual factors in speech/audio quality assessment. Scientific contributions include awards like IEEE Senior Membership, and his work spans both academic research and industrial engineering in finance and aviation sectors. He leads the QxLab research team at UCD and develops open-source platforms such as WARP-Q and AQP for quality metrics.
N. Rich Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Virginia (UVA), where he joined in August 2018. He's part of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and is on a teaching track , focusing on making machine learning accessible and engaging for all students. Research and Innovation: Rich Nguyen's research interests include biomedical image analysis , machine learning , and computer science education . He aims to reinvent instructional activities to make them adaptive and engaging by incorporating art and music elements to help everyone learn coding. Notable research contributions include: Floodwatch : A system for flood monitoring using crowdsourced images TuneScope : A digital music creation tool combining SoundScope and Snaps! technology CAD Library : Open-source design tools for educators AI for early sepsis detection : Highlighted in UVA Today Teaching Accomplishments: Before UVA, Rich taught computer science courses at UNC Charlotte for four years to a total of 1,458 students. At UVA, he teaches several courses including: CS 4774: Machine Learning (multiple semesters) CS 2501: Machine Learning for All (launched in Fall 2021) SYS 6016 / SDS 6050: Deep Learning CS 2150: Data and Program Representation (multiple semesters) CS 6316: Machine Learning (Graduate Level) CS 2910: CS Education Practicum (for Teaching Assistants) He previously taught at UNC Charlotte: ITCS 1600: Computing Professionals ITCS 2600: Computing Professionals for Transfer Students ITCS 4156: Introduction to Machine Learning ITCS 2215: Design and Analysis of Algorithms Academic Achievements: Rich Nguyen has received several notable awards and grants: Google Faculty Award for Machine Learning Education with TensorFlow (2019) Best Paper Award at IEEE BigDataSE (2022) Best Poster Award at SITE Conference (2022) CCI Faculty Innovation Award (2018) NSF grants for Smart and Connected Communities (2022) and Computational Thinking (2021) 3 Cavaliers Grant on Coding and Music (2021) Student Mentorship: Rich has mentored numerous students and teaching assistants who have achieved recognition. Notable students include: Joy Qiu - Published in Clinical Infectious Diseases Louisa Edwards and Zach Boner - Invited to Ken Ono Podcast Mike Ferguson - Winner of CS Louis T. Rader Undergraduate Teaching Award He has also served as faculty advisor for HooHacks (UVA's hackathon) and co-founded CharlotteHack at UNC Charlotte. Labs and Collaborations: Rich Nguyen leads the ML4VA (Machine Learning for Virginia) initiative, engaging students in project-based learning to apply machine learning to real-world problems affecting Virginia communities. He collaborates with institutions for symposiums on smart cities, particularly with ASEAN universities, and has partnered with Premier Healthcare for hackathons and with Glen Bull on educational technology projects.
Prof. Dr. Ingo Scholtes is Chair of Machine Learning for Complex Networks at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg's Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDAS). His research spans network science, graph machine learning, and computational social science, with applications in software engineering, ecology, biology, and physics. He received a Juniorfellowship from the German Informatics Society (2014) and an SNSF Professorship (CHF 1.5Mio, 2018). Current affiliations: JMU Würzburg (since 2021), University of Zurich (2018-2024), Bergische Universität Wuppertal (2019-2021) Research focus: Higher-order network modeling, temporal graph analysis, AI for collaborative systems, causality-aware machine learning His recent publications demonstrate strong trends in temporal network analysis , graph neural networks for time-series, and higher-order models across software engineering and social science domains. He co-chairs multiple international workshops on complex networks and serves as associate editor for EPJ Data Science and Advances in Complex Systems. Key scientific contributions: Foundational work on higher-order network models published in Nature Physics Methodological innovations in temporal network visualization (HOTVis) and path-based analysis (pathpy) As both educator and organizer, he leads the Computational Social Science Section at GI e.V., mentors across disciplines, and develops tools like git2net for collaboration analysis. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in network science.
Jignesh M. Patel is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University , focusing on Data Management , System Efficiency (e.g., Scalable Data Platforms), and Human Efficiency (e.g., LLM-Based Query Interfaces). His work bridges Database Systems , Machine Learning , and Human-Computer Interaction . Co-founder of four startups: Paradise (1997), Locomatix (2007), Quickstep (2015), and DataChat (2017). Member of SIGMOD 2025 (AE) , CIDR 2024 (Co-Chair) , and other program committees. Research Interests include efficient data analysis algorithms , LLM-based data interaction , and systems security . His group develops platforms combining scalability and user productivity . Scientific Awards include Best Paper Awards at SIGMOD and VLDB, and Fellowships from AAAS, ACM, and IEEE. He also received Teaching Awards at CMU. Professional Activities feature co-founding startups , serving on program committees , and teaching courses like Database Systems and Advanced Database Systems at CMU.
Jim Smith is a Professor in Interactive Artificial Intelligence at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, affiliated with the School of Computing and Creative Technologies and the Department of Computer Science and Creative Technologies. He serves as Director of the Computer Science Research Centre and leads the AI@UWE theme. His research is supported by UKRI, Innovate UK, and partnerships with organizations including Health Data Research UK, Office for National Statistics, NHS Scotland, and DSTL. University: University of the West of England School: School of Computing and Creative Technologies Department: Department of Computer Science and Creative Technologies Role: Professor in Interactive Artificial Intelligence Leadership: Director, Computer Science Research Centre Research Interests : Jim Smith's work focuses on Interactive Artificial Intelligence, particularly at the intersection of AI and privacy preservation when using sensitive data for public good. His research includes statistical disclosure control, privacy leakage from AI models, evolutionary computation, machine learning, and systems that learn through human interaction or self-adaptation. He explores how AI can automate privacy checks in research outputs and assess vulnerabilities in trained models. Recent Publications : His recent work spans AI privacy in trusted research environments (e.g., SACRO, SDC-Reboot), dialogue act classification, human-robot interaction, and visualization of deep learning models. Themes include privacy-preserving AI, automated disclosure control, interactive machine learning, and neuromorphic computing. Machine Learning & Privacy Evolutionary Computation Interactive AI Systems Human-Computer Interaction Statistical Disclosure Control Federated Learning Security Scientific Awards : No specific awards are mentioned in the provided texts. Advising and Grants : He currently supervises PhD students on topics including spatio-temporal air quality modeling, federated learning privacy, and threat detection in mobile networks. He leads Innovate UK and UKRI-funded projects such as SACRO and SDC-Reboot, focusing on AI-driven solutions for data confidentiality in public sector research. Interactive Machine Learning for Claim Settlement (Innovate UK) SDC-Reboot (DARE UK/Health Data Research UK) Threat Identification in Mobile Networks (Ribbon Communications) Labs and Teams : He leads the AI@UWE initiative and the Computer Science Research Centre at UWE. His work involves collaboration through DARE UK and open-source development via the AI-SDC GitHub organization, which hosts tools from SACRO and GRAIMATTER projects.
Dr. Hanbo Shim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at The University of Texas at Arlington, College of Business. He holds a PhD in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from Rutgers University and a BA in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research and teaching focus on Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, and HR Analytics. PhD, Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Rutgers University (2022) MS, Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Rutgers University (2019) MA, Human Resource Management, Rutgers University (2016) BA, Mathematics and Economics, University of Illinois (2012) Dr. Shim's research explores the temporal dynamics of employee performance, compensation systems, emotional intelligence, and social networks in organizations. He uses longitudinal analysis, multilevel modeling, meta-analysis, and computer simulation to examine how individual and interpersonal factors influence organizational outcomes. His work bridges HR analytics with behavioral science. His recent publications span topics such as green HRM, pay policy dynamics, emotional intelligence, and HR analytics education. These works reflect a strong interdisciplinary approach integrating psychology, sustainability, data science, and strategic management. His research has been presented at leading conferences including the Academy of Management and European Reward Management Conference. Award highlights include: Ralph Alexander Best Dissertation Award (2024) Innovative Teaching Award, Academy of Management HR Division (2022) Best Student Convention Paper Award (2020) Best Doctoral Conference Paper Award, Samsung Economic Research Institute (2020) Dr. Shim actively advises students through capstone and honors projects and serves on PhD and graduate studies committees. He has collaborated with SL Corporation on HR analytics and developed open-source educational materials. His service includes editorial board membership for Compensation & Benefits Review and ad hoc reviewing for top journals. He is also engaged in professional development workshops and public speaking, including for the Society for Human Resource Management at UTA. His lab and research activities emphasize simulation-based methods and real-world HR analytics applications.
Jiang Hu is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, holding the Eric D. Rubin '06 Endowed Professorship. He also serves as Co-Director of Graduate Programs and is affiliated with the Computer Science & Engineering department. His research focuses on VLSI design automation, machine learning applications, and hardware security. He has held roles as editor for IEEE Transactions on CAD and ACM Transactions on Design Automation, and chaired the 2012 ACM International Symposium on Physical Design. Education: B.S. in Optical Engineering (Zhejiang University, 1990), M.S. in Physics (1997), and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (University of Minnesota, 2001). He worked at IBM Microelectronics before joining Texas A&M in 2002. Research interests include energy-efficient VLSI circuits, on-chip communication fabrics, analog layout automation, and AI-driven EDA. Recent work emphasizes machine learning for design closure, privacy-preserving frameworks, and systolic array-based architectures. Awards: IEEE Fellow (2016) Humboldt Research Fellowship (2012) Multiple best paper awards at DAC, ICCAD, and ASPDAC Advising and grants: Leads initiatives like the SLICE project, NSF workshops on ML-EDA infrastructure, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of ACM TODAES since 2024. His work bridges academic research and industry applications in EDA and semiconductor design. Labs/Teams: Active contributor to open-source tools like ALIGN for analog layout generation and collaborations on machine learning for EDA commons.
Dr. Jing Li is an Associate Professor and Eduardo D. Glandt Faculty Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania , holding dual appointments in the Electrical and Systems Engineering and Computer and Information Science departments. As co-director of the CyberSavvy nationwide security research center and director of the Penn Computational Intelligence Lab (PennCIL) , she pioneers innovations in non-von Neumann computing paradigms. Her research spans post-CMOS technologies, in-memory computing, and hardware-software co-design for security and AI applications. PhD in Computer Engineering, Purdue University (2009) BSc in Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University (2004) Research Focus: Dr. Li's work addresses fundamental challenges in computer systems across the stack. Key areas include: In-Memory Computing: Liquid Silicon architecture combining RRAM with silicon CMOS through monolithic 3D integration Security Engineering: Transforming computer security from "Art" to formal "Engineering" discipline within CyberSavvy Virtualization: Cloud FPGA abstraction layers decoupling compilation from runtime resource management Graph Analytics: Degree-aware optimization techniques for massive-scale graph processing Deep Learning Systems: Roofline model extensions for FPGA-based CNN acceleration Scientific Impact: Awarded DARPA Young Faculty Award , NSF CAREER Award , and IBM CEO Milestone Award , her team has achieved world records in energy-efficient computing (ENIAD supercomputer). With 46 U.S. patents and over 80 publications, she leads ecosystem development for emerging computing architectures through initiatives like the open-source MEG simulation platform . Community Leadership: Dr. Li serves on program committees for flagship conferences ( ISCA , FPGA Symposium ), chairs the International Memory Workshop , and contributes to the MLsys conference's inaugural committee. She actively mentors through multiple PhD openings and industry collaborations.
Nasir M. Rajpoot is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick, UK. His research focuses on computational pathology, medical image analysis, and deep learning applications in histology. He leads interdisciplinary projects integrating artificial intelligence with healthcare, particularly in cancer diagnostics and pathology workflows. Rajpoot’s work emphasizes developing robust algorithms for histology image analysis, including nuclear segmentation, tumor classification, and domain generalization in computational pathology. His contributions include the TIAToolbox, an open-source framework for tissue image analytics, and the CoNIC Challenge to advance nuclear detection and counting in histology images. He collaborates with clinicians and biologists to translate AI models into clinical practice, addressing challenges like tumor heterogeneity and staining variability. Rajpoot’s research spans colorectal, lung, and oral cancers, with a focus on predicting clinical outcomes via histological features and genomic data integration. Notable projects include the development of Handcrafted Histological Transformer (H2T) for unsupervised representations of whole slide images and the SAFRON framework for histology image synthesis. His work addresses domain adaptation, robustness evaluation, and explainability in AI-driven pathology systems.
Yongjoo Park is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), affiliated with the Grainger College of Engineering. He leads research in data-intensive AI systems as a member of the Data and Information Systems (DAIS) lab, focusing on novel data systems that bridge database theory and practical AI applications. His work emphasizes open-source contributions through GitHub and direct societal impact. Research interests center on systems for data-intensive AI , particularly efficient Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems for exploratory AI, data science versioning, and in-storage computing. Key projects include Kishu (the world's first undoable Jupyter notebook with time-travel capabilities), CARE (a causal-relational system for structured/unstructured data), and AirDB/AirIndex (serverless transactions and automatic index optimization). His group develops tools enabling scalable, optimized AI workflows from storage layers to LLM inference. Recent publications reveal a strong focus on interactive data systems (85% of recent work), with significant contributions to notebook environments (Kishu), vector databases (ISCA'25), and RAG optimization. Awards highlight technical innovation, including SIGMOD 2025 Best Demo Award and NSF CAREER funding. His open-source philosophy drives GitHub releases of all major systems. SIGMOD 2025 Best Demo Award (Kishu) NSF CAREER Award (Novel data science systems) SIGMOD'23 Best Artifact Award Honorable Mention (DeepOLA) IBM-Illinois Project Selection (VectorDB/RAG) Mentorship spans 12 current PhD/MS students and 6 graduated advisees, including Supawit Chockchowwat (now Postdoc at Google, future Assistant Professor at CMKL University). He teaches advanced courses like CS511 (Advanced Data Management) and recruits 1-2 new PhD students annually, prioritizing data systems research. His lab emphasizes diversity, individual respect, and concrete outcomes in a collaborative workspace.
Jan Dirk Wegner is an Associate Professor at the University of Zurich, holding the chair in 'Data Science for Sciences' and leading the EcoVision Lab. He previously served as a Postdoc (2012–2016) and senior scientist (2017–2020) at ETH Zurich's Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Group, following his PhD (with distinction) from Leibniz University Hannover (2011). His research bridges machine learning, computer vision, and remote sensing to address environmental and geoscience challenges, focusing on large-scale environmental data analysis, vegetation monitoring, and climate change mitigation. Education: PhD (with distinction) in Geodesy, Leibniz University Hannover (2011) Postdoc, ETH Zurich (2012–2016) Senior Scientist, ETH Zurich (2017–2020) Research Interests: Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Environmental Science, Climate Science, Geosciences, Explainable AI, Uncertainty Quantification, and Applications in Sustainability. The EcoVision Lab develops data-driven methods for global-scale environmental monitoring, including vegetation parameter mapping, flood prediction, forest degradation detection, and AI-driven ecological modeling. Awards: ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012–2016) Science Prize of the German Geodetic Commission WEF Young Scientist Class 2020 (Top 25 globally under 40) Advising & Leadership: Director of the University of Zurich's Doctoral School in Data Science, leading the EcoVision Lab, and coordinating the CVPR EarthVision Workshops. His roles include Vice President of ISPRS Technical Commission II, member of the ETH AI Center, ELLIS, and UN-ETH Partnership. Labs/Teams: EcoVision Lab focuses on interdisciplinary AI applications for environmental challenges, collaborating with NGOs, governments, and industry to translate research into societal impact.
Pascal Mettes is a tenured Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam within the Informatics Institute, specializing in Artificial Intelligence. He leads groundbreaking research in hyperbolic deep learning, a field he has significantly advanced through theoretical developments and practical applications in computer vision and multimodal learning. His research focuses on three primary domains: hyperbolic vision-language models that address the hierarchical nature of language-vision relationships; hierarchical deep learning using hyperbolic embeddings that naturally accommodate exponential growth patterns; and robust deep learning in hyperbolic space that improves out-of-distribution detection and network resilience. Mettes has established himself as a leading figure in this emerging field through numerous publications at top-tier conferences including CVPR, ICCV, ICML, NeurIPS, and ICLR. His recent work demonstrates how hyperbolic geometry provides natural solutions to fundamental limitations in modern deep learning, particularly regarding hierarchical data structures that cannot be adequately represented in Euclidean space. The publication trends show increasing impact and recognition in the computer vision and machine learning communities, with multiple papers receiving oral presentations and best paper nominations. Best paper nomination ESWC25 for 'Designing Hierarchies for Optimal Hyperbolic Embedding' Finalist MM 2023 Best Open-Source Software Competition (for HypLL) Multiple reviewer awards across major conferences including CVPR, ICLR, ECCV, ICML, and NeurIPS MM 2016 Best Doctoral Student Award TRECVID 2015 Winner Multimedia Event Detection Benchmark Mettes actively mentors eight PhD students working on hyperbolic learning and related topics, while also securing significant research funding including ELLIs PhD Award, NWO ClickNL, Google Perception Academic Funding, and Data Science Centre PhD Grants. He serves in prominent academic roles as Program Chair for International Conference on Multimedia Retrieval 2026 and has organized multiple workshops on hyperbolic learning at major conferences. His leadership in establishing hyperbolic deep learning as a recognized research direction is evident through his survey paper in IJCV 2024 and the development of the HypLL library for hyperbolic learning.
