Dr. Amber West is a Lecturer in the Writing Programs at UCLA, part of the Humanities Division within UCLA College. She holds a B.A. in Literature & Creative Writing from UC Santa Cruz, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from NYU, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests span poetry and poetics, puppet theater, race and gender studies, performance studies, intersectionality, and service learning. West's scholarly work appears in journals like Journal of Research on Women & Gender and Puppetry International , alongside contributions to edited volumes such as Episodes from a History of Undoing and The Routledge Companion to Puppetry & Material Performance . Her creative works include poetry collections published by Finishing Line Press and The Word Works. She co-founded Alphabet Arts, a bi-coastal artist collective, and created/directed the Puppets & Poets festival in NYC (2011-2015). With nearly two decades of experience, she has taught writing, trained educators, and fundraised for programs in underserved communities, including roles with AmeriCorps VISTA, Brooklyn Public Library, and Girls Write Now.
David A. Hsieh is the Bank of America Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, where he has been a faculty member since 1993. Previously, he served as Associate Professor and Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business from 1981-1989. His extensive research has significantly contributed to the understanding of hedge funds, financial risk management, and nonlinear dynamics in financial markets. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D. in Economics, 1981 Yale University, B.S. in Economics and Mathematics, 1976 (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) Phillips Academy, Andover, 1972 (Cum Laude) Dr. Hsieh's research primarily focuses on the dynamics of asset prices and their implications for financial risk management. He has made significant contributions to understanding risk and return characteristics in hedge funds and commodity funds, pioneering work on nonlinear dynamics applications to financial markets. His research has evolved from early work on exchange rates and volatility modeling to more recent comprehensive analyses of hedge fund strategies, performance measurement, and industry structure. Hsieh's publication history reveals a clear progression from foundational work on nonlinear dynamics in financial markets to increasingly sophisticated analyses of hedge fund strategies and risk characteristics. His recent work, often in collaboration with William Fung and other prominent finance researchers, has focused on mega hedge fund firms, franchise value in the industry, and the evolution of hedge fund strategies toward more index-like products. The research consistently combines rigorous theoretical frameworks with robust empirical analyses across diverse market conditions. CAIA Award for Excellence in Alternative Investment Research (2015) CFA Institute Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence (2004) Bank of America Faculty Award (2002) Duke Cross-Continent Executive MBA Teaching Excellence Award (2002) Fischer Black Memorial Foundation Robert J. Schwartz Memorial Prize (1999) Smith Breeden First Prize (1990) Yale Science and Engineering Association High Scholarship Award (1976) Russell Henry Chittenden Prize (1976) Dr. Hsieh has served as a consultant for the International Monetary Fund (2007-2016) and the Bank for International Settlements (1998), and as a Visiting Scholar at both the International Monetary Fund and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. His editorial service includes Finance Editor for Management Science (2003-2009) and Associate Editor roles for several leading finance journals. He has developed extensive research resources including a Hedge Fund Data Library that has become widely used in academic and industry research.
Nadia Polikarpova is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego . She earned her PhD from ETH Zurich in 2014 under Bertrand Meyer , followed by postdoctoral research at MIT CSAIL with Armando Solar-Lezama . Her academic contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards including the 2020 Sloan Fellowship , 2020 Intel Rising Stars Award , and 2020 NSF CAREER Award . Polikarpova's research focuses on program synthesis , program verification , and type systems . She leads the Programming Systems group at UCSD and contributes to the IFIP Working Group 2.8 on Functional Programming since 2022. Her work spans foundational research and practical tools, including projects like Synquid , SuSLik , and Laurel that combine formal methods with machine learning for code generation. Her recent publications in venues like OOPSLA , NeurIPS , and ICFP reveal trends in AI-assisted programming , live programming environments , and formal verification . She has advised numerous PhD and Master’s students including Shraddha Barke , Zheng Guo , and Tristan Knoth , many of whom have moved to prominent academic and industry positions. Notable artifacts from her lab include tools like ColDeco for spreadsheet inspection and Superfusion for eliminating intermediate data structures. 2020 : Sloan Fellow 2020 : Intel Rising Stars Award 2020 : NSF CAREER Award 2021 : Distinguished Paper at POPL 2023 : Distinguished Artifact at PLDI 2023 : Distinguished Paper at OOPSLA Polikarpova actively contributes to academic service, serving on program committees for PLDI , POPL , and OOPSLA , and co-chairing the OOPSLA Review Committee in 2023. She has delivered keynotes at APLAS'20 and PLDI'24 , emphasizing the integration of large language models with formal methods.
André Gagné is a Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University, currently on research leave (July-December 2025). His work bridges theology, political science, and sociology with global recognition through 400+ media features in outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, and Le Monde. Education: Conjoint PhD from Université catholique de Louvain and Université de Montréal M.A. from Université de Montréal B.Th. from Université de Montréal His research centers on Christian Political Thought (examining theology-state dynamics), Global Pentecostal and Charismatic movements (analyzing their sociopolitical impact worldwide), and Reception History of the Bible (tracing interpretive trajectories across cultures). This interdisciplinary approach integrates historical analysis with contemporary case studies, particularly focusing on evangelical movements in the Americas and Europe. His eight books and recent journal articles reveal consistent thematic focus: the weaponization of spiritual warfare rhetoric in politics, apocalyptic narratives in populist movements, and religious violence in Western traditions. The 2024 publications on Trump-era evangelicalism demonstrate methodological innovation through media discourse analysis combined with theological critique. Scientific awards: Newsmaker of the Week (4 times) Newsmaker of the Month (4 times) President's Opinion Leader of the Year (2016) Expert Communicator of the Year (2024) Dr. Gagné supervises MA students in Theological Studies and PhD candidates in Individualized Programs and Humanities. His policy impact is evidenced by service on Public Safety Canada's National Expert Committee on Countering Radicalization to Violence (2023-2025), where he contributed theological perspectives on religious extremism. His media engagement strategy represents a deliberate effort to translate academic research for public discourse. He co-directs the Spirit, State, and Society podcast and maintains affiliations with Concordia's Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance, Université de Sherbrooke's Centre de recherche Société, Droit et Religions, and the multi-university Political Theology Research Group (McGill, Concordia, UdeM, ULaval).
Christian Boldsen Knudsen serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen, affiliated with Copenhagen University Library. His institutional email (sund.ku.dk) indicates association with the Faculty of Health Sciences despite his geological research focus, suggesting a specialized academic support role. His research centers on Precambrian geology with emphasis on gold-hosting environments in southern West Greenland. Key interests include supracrustal rock analysis, mineral deposit formation, and Archean geological processes, as evidenced by his fieldwork on Storø island. This work bridges economic geology and regional tectonic studies. Knudsen's publication record demonstrates expertise in Greenland's Precambrian basement complexes, particularly lithological controls on gold mineralization. His research integrates field geology with ore deposit modeling within ancient cratonic settings. No scientific awards or honors were documented in available sources. Information regarding student supervision, research grants, or collaborative teams is not publicly accessible. His library affiliation implies potential contributions to academic information services rather than conventional laboratory-based research.
Gerald D. DeMaio serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science within the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at the City University of New York (Baruch College). With continuous teaching since the 1970s, he maintains an active role instructing core courses including American Government, Religion and Politics in the United States, and American Conservatism. His educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.A. in Politics from New York University and a B.A. in Government from Manhattan College. His scholarly work centers on the intersection of religion and American politics, particularly examining culture wars, religious prejudice, media framing of religious groups, and church-state relations. DeMaio's research portfolio reveals a consistent focus on religious dimensions of American political behavior since the 1980s, with particular emphasis on anti-Christian fundamentalist sentiment as a political phenomenon. His publications demonstrate methodological diversity spanning quantitative analysis of survey data, historical examination of founding era principles, and critical discourse analysis of media coverage. Selected Honors: Nomination for Best Paper Award, APSA Religion and Politics Section (1999) NEH Summer Stipend (1987) Multiple NEH-funded seminars and institutes (1980-1987) New York State Regents Teaching Fellowship (1970-1972) Karl Holtznecht Memorial Scholarship (1975) His funded research includes two PSC-CUNY grants: 'Church-State Interactions: A Policy History Perspective' (2009-2010) and 'Cultural Depictions of Christian Fundamentalists in the Pre-Religious Right Period' (2007-2008). DeMaio actively contributes to academic service through committee work including the Faculty Senate, Library Liaison, and Departmental Review Committees, while maintaining extensive peer review activities for journals including the Journal of Politics and Political Behavior.
David Bawden is a Professor in the Department of Library and Information Science (CityLIS) at City, University of London. With a publication record spanning over two decades, he has established himself as a leading scholar in information science, particularly known for his work on the philosophical foundations of information, knowledge organization, and information behavior. His research frequently intersects with Luciano Floridi's Philosophy of Information, which he has applied to library and information science theory and practice. Bawden's research interests focus on the theoretical underpinnings of information science, including information behavior, information literacy, knowledge organization, and the philosophical dimensions of information. His work often explores the conceptual frameworks that shape how we understand information in both physical and digital environments. He has made significant contributions to understanding information privacy through a philosophical lens and has examined temporal aspects of information in contemporary society. His recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on theoretical developments in information science, with particular attention to the implications of Floridi's work for library and information practice. Bawden's scholarship shows a consistent trajectory from examining historical aspects of information to contemporary challenges in the digital age, maintaining a strong theoretical orientation throughout. As a frequent collaborator with Lyn Robinson (also at City, University of London), Bawden has co-authored numerous papers exploring transitions between concepts of information across different domains, information overload, and the philosophical foundations of information science. His work has appeared in leading journals including the Journal of Documentation, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, and Information Research. Bawden has been actively involved in the CityLIS program, contributing to innovative approaches to information science education including the development of curricula addressing data librarianship and the 'onlife' nature of contemporary information experience. His scholarship reflects a deep commitment to advancing the theoretical foundations of the field while maintaining relevance to practical information challenges.
Richard McKay is a part-time Research Fellow in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and serves as Director of Studies for History and Philosophy of Science at Magdalene College. He has held prestigious fellowships from the Wellcome Trust and the ESRC, and he divides his professional life between academic research and private practice as an International Coach Federation-certified career, academic and life coach. Research Interests: Twentieth-century history of medicine and public health History of sexuality and sexually transmitted infections History of HIV/AIDS Use of visual sources in medical history His current Wellcome-supported project, ‘Before HIV: Homosex and Venereal Disease, c.1939–1984’ , explores how healthcare workers and gay men in Canada, the United States and England came to understand the role of men who have sex with men in STI transmission during the mid-twentieth century. Publications & Scholarly Impact: Across monographs, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, McKay interrogates the social construction of the “Patient Zero” myth, the pre-history of HIV, and the visual cultures surrounding AIDS-related illnesses such as Kaposi’s sarcoma. His 2017 monograph Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic has become a key reference in HIV historiography. Awards & Fellowships: Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship (current) ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship, King’s College London Teaching & Advising: As Director of Studies at Magdalene College, McKay guides undergraduate students in History and Philosophy of Science. He has also contributed pedagogical modules to the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s online exhibition Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture . Professional Activities: Aside from his academic appointments, McKay maintains an active coaching practice accredited by the International Coach Federation, supporting academic and professional clients worldwide.
Professor Isto Huvila is a leading scholar at Uppsala University's Department of ABM (Archives, Libraries, and Museums) within the Faculty of Humanities. His academic profile spans information science, digital humanities, and cultural heritage studies with a distinctive focus on documentation practices and information management across diverse contexts. His research interests encompass: Information and knowledge management Social and participatory information practices Documentation and paradata theory Digital humanities and archaeological information systems Health information and e-health services Open data and research data management Recent scholarly output reveals a strong trajectory toward understanding information practices across multiple domains. A significant portion of his work examines paradata in archaeological contexts through the CAPTURE project, investigating how documentation of data creation processes can enhance research transparency and data reuse. He also conducts extensive research on digital inclusion among older adults and immigrant populations regarding e-health services, analyzing both experiences and expectations of these user groups. Professor Huvila publishes in high-impact journals including Journal of Documentation, Information Research, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, and Journal of Medical Internet Research. His interdisciplinary approach connects information science with archaeology, health informatics, and digital humanities, yielding practical insights for improving documentation standards, research data management, and e-health service design. His 2025 book 'Paradata: Documenting Data Creation, Curation and Use' represents a major contribution to the field, alongside influential review articles like 'Trends in information behavior research, 2016-2022' in the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology. His work bridges theoretical and practical concerns in information science, making substantive contributions to both academic knowledge and real-world applications in cultural heritage institutions and healthcare information systems.
Rosa Andujar is a Senior Lecturer in Liberal Arts at King's College London, where she is affiliated with both the Department of Liberal Arts and the Department of Classics within the Faculty of Arts & Humanities. She serves as Editor of the American Journal of Philology and holds positions on the editorial boards of Brazilian journals Nuntius Antiquus and PhaoS - Revista de Estudos Clássicos. Dr. Andujar was elected to the Program Committee of the Society for Classical Studies for a three-year term (2022-2025), serving as Vice President for Program and Chair from 2023-2025. Her research focuses on two complementary areas: Ancient Greek tragedy, particularly the tragic chorus and its performance capabilities Global receptions of Greek drama, with special emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean Dr. Andujar's work examines how engagements with Graeco-Roman antiquity intersect with questions of gender, race, class, and national identity. She has particular expertise in Cuban adaptations of Greek tragedy and Latinx receptions of classical drama, exploring how these cultural encounters create new narratives that challenge traditional understandings of classical reception. Her research has been recognized with prestigious awards including the 2020 London Hellenic Prize for 'The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro' and the 2022 AJP Best Article Prize. She has secured significant research funding from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, British Academy, A. G. Leventis Foundation, Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Fundación BBVA. Dr. Andujar's current research projects include 'The Cambridge Companion to Classics and Race' (edited volume), 'La Puerta Electra/The Electra Door' (critical bilingual anthology of Cuban rewritings), and 'Tragedy and Revolución' (monograph on Greek drama in Caribbean cultural history), supported by recent fellowships from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation and British Academy. She is actively involved in academic service as Editor of the American Journal of Philology, co-editor of the 'Classics and the Postcolonial' book series for Routledge, and Advisory Board member of 'Hesperides: Classics in the Luso-Hispanic World.' Her external examining work for the University of Birmingham (2018-2023) demonstrates her commitment to academic standards across institutions.
Dr. Brady D. Lund is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, focusing on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of information science, artificial intelligence, and ethics. His work addresses AI adoption in libraries, data privacy, academic integrity, and international development. He holds a Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. from Emporia State University and Wichita State University. Education: Ph.D., Emporia State University M.S., Emporia State University B.S., Wichita State University Research Interests: Dr. Lund explores how AI impacts information seeking behaviors, data privacy literacy, and library services. His work emphasizes ethical AI deployment in academic and clinical settings, with a focus on marginalized communities. Key areas include AI-driven library systems, blockchain applications for academic integrity, and the societal implications of generative AI. Research Trends: Recent publications analyze AI's role in health information, cybersecurity threat intelligence, and library leadership in minority-serving institutions. He critiques AI authorship policies, evaluates large language models, and advocates for equitable AI access in developing countries. Labs & Teams: Leads the Computational Humanities and Information Literacy Lab and the CyberCrews initiative, focusing on AI ethics, digital literacy, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Prof. Alexander Pretschner is a Professor of Software & Systems Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Founding Director of the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt). He also serves as Scientific Director of fortiss, a Bavarian research institute for software-intensive systems. His research focuses on software engineering, testing, information security, and ethical software development. Pretschner holds a PhD from TUM and has held academic positions at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and TU Kaiserslautern. He is a co-editor of several prestigious journals, including IEEE Transactions on Reliability and the Journal of Software Testing, Verification and Reliability. Education: PhD in Computer Science, Technical University of Munich MSc in Computer Science, University of Kansas (on Fulbright Scholarship) Diplom in Computer Science, RWTH Aachen University Research Interests: His work spans testing methodologies, secure software design, and ethical considerations in agile development. Notable contributions include frameworks for metamorphic testing, distributed data usage control, and accountability mechanisms for cyber-physical systems. Awards: IBM Faculty Award (2012, 2013) Google Focused Research Award (2011, 2012) EARTO Innovation Prize (2014) 2nd Platz Supervisory Award (2020) Advising & Grants: Pretschner has supervised numerous PhD and Master’s students, contributing to over 200 publications. He leads projects like EDAP (Ethical Deliberation in Agile Processes) and collaborates with industry partners on cybersecurity and AI ethics initiatives. Labs & Teams: His work is anchored in bidt, fortiss, and TUM’s Chair of Software & Systems Engineering, focusing on societal impacts of digitalization and trustworthy AI systems.
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.
Cassidy R. Sugimoto is the Tom and Marie Patton Professor and School Chair at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology. She previously held a professorship in Informatics at Indiana University Bloomington (2010–2021) and served as Program Director for the Science of Science and Innovation Policy at the National Science Foundation (2018–2020). Her research focuses on knowledge production systems, equity in STEM, scientific collaboration dynamics, and research evaluation metrics. She holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill including a B.Mus. in Music Performance, M.S. in Library Science, and Ph.D. in Information and Library Science. Research interests include: Structural inequities in science and technology Ethical authorship practices Global scientific collaboration patterns Open science initiatives Gender and diversity in academic careers Notable awards include the 2020 Bicentennial Service Award from Indiana University and 2014 Trustees Teaching Award. Her recent work examines intersectional disparities in science, AI ethics, and systemic barriers to equity in academic publishing. Key contributions include co-authoring Equity for Women in Science (2023) and foundational scholarship on alternative metrics beyond citation counts. She advises on science policy matters related to institutional equity and open access publishing.
Susana Mourato is Professor of Environmental Economics at the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She joined LSE in 2008 after ten years at Imperial College London. In 2021, she became the Vice President and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) at LSE. She also holds positions as Visiting Reader at Imperial College London and Honorary Senior Fellow at CSERGE (University of East Anglia). Professor Mourato is an expert in environmental economics and the application of economic valuation techniques to measure environmental change and social value. Professor Mourato's research focuses on valuing natural wealth and creating markets for ecosystem services, perceptions and preferences for low-carbon energy technologies, environmental valuation methods and applications, and the relationship between life satisfaction and the environment. Her work spans the fields of environmental economics, wellbeing economics, and behavioral environmental economics. She has conducted extensive research on ecosystem services, wildlife conservation, air and water pollution, chemicals, climate change, low carbon technologies, and cultural heritage, testing and applying economic valuation techniques to these diverse areas. Her recent publications show a strong trend toward integrating behavioral economics with traditional environmental valuation techniques. She has published extensively on the links between subjective wellbeing and environmental quality, as well as the application of economic valuation methods to inform environmental policy. Her work often involves interdisciplinary collaborations across economics, ecology, and social sciences, with significant policy impact through government advisory roles and international organizations. Member of Culture & Heritage Capital Advisory Board (UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) Associate of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Former Academic Director of LSE Summer School Former Head of Department (2017-2020) Professor Mourato has worked on more than 45 research projects and consultancies for research councils, government, industry, charities, and international organizations. She currently leads projects for the OECD evaluating the impact of chemicals on IQ, for LSE Middle East Centre estimating preferences for climate change policies in the Gulf Region, and for water conservation in Kuwait. Her research has informed policy development in multiple countries and international contexts.
