Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan is a University Professor and holder of the Niki and Max Nikias Chair in Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), serving as the inaugural Vice President for Presidential Initiatives. He leads the Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab (SAIL) and holds joint appointments in Computer Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Neuroscience, Pediatrics, and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. His research focuses on speech and audio processing, behavioral signal processing, and real-time MRI of speech production, with applications in healthcare, education, and technology. Education: B.E. in Electrical Engineering from College of Engineering, Guindy (Chennai, India, 1988); M.S., Engineer, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA (1990, 1992, 1995). Research interests span computational linguistics, machine learning, and multimodal human behavior analysis. He pioneered technologies for speech biomarkers in mental health, real-time MRI of speech production, and wearable sensor systems for longitudinal health studies. His work in speech emotion recognition, forensic interviews, and clinical applications has been recognized through over 40 awards, including the IEEE Flanagan Award and ISCA Medal. He has published extensively in journals like Proceedings of the IEEE , Journal of the Acoustical Society of America , and PLOS One . Key Grants: NSF CAREER, Okawa Research, IBM Faculty, Google/Amazon awards. Labs/Teams: Signal Analysis & Interpretation Lab (SAIL), USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI), Google Visiting Faculty Researcher.
Laurel MacKenzie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at New York University (NYU), affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Science. She specializes in variationist sociolinguistics, dialectology, and language change, with a focus on English and French varieties. Her work integrates quantitative analysis of speech data to explore intra-speaker variation and language evolution. She co-directs the NYU Sociolinguistics Lab and leads the NSF-funded NYC Individual Differences Corpus project, alongside the Our Dialects initiative, an online atlas of British English dialects. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania (2012) BA in Linguistics and French, University of California, Berkeley (2006) Research Interests: Morphological and syntactic variation Regional dialects of English and French Linguistic pedagogy and public engagement Recent Projects: Recent work includes publications on participle leveling in English, sociolinguistic replication studies, and grammatical variation analysis. She has also collaborated on dialect mapping tools and consulted for media projects on language change and accents. Awards: No awards explicitly listed in provided texts. Labs/Teams: NYU Sociolinguistics Lab (Co-Director) Our Dialects Project (Academic Lead)
Maja J Matarić is the Chan Soon-Shiong Chaired and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering, with courtesy appointments in Neuroscience and Pediatrics. She serves as founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center, co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab, and Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind. Previously, she held leadership roles as USC's interim Vice President of Research (2020-2021) and Vice Dean for Research (2006-2019). Her educational background includes: PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from MIT (1994) MS in Computer Science from MIT (1990) BS in Computer Science from University of Kansas (1987) Matarić pioneers Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR) , a field her lab named, focusing on human-robot interaction that provides assistance through social rather than physical support. Her research targets critical health and wellness challenges including post-stroke rehabilitation, autism spectrum disorder therapy, cognitive exercises for Alzheimer's patients, ADHD academic support, and mental health interventions. She develops systems modeling user engagement, personality, and motivation, with extensive real-world deployments in schools, rehabilitation centers, and homes. Analysis of her recent publications reveals dominant themes in cognitive health robotics (2025 CHI paper on LLM-powered elder care), pediatric assistive technology (2025 IDC speech therapy review), and adaptive preference modeling (2025 HRI contrastive learning work). Her research consistently bridges machine learning with human-centered design for vulnerable populations. Major scientific recognition includes: ACM Athena Lecturer Award (2024) ACM Eugene L. Lawler Humanitarian Award (2024) ACM Fellow (2020) Presidential Mentoring Award (2011) Multiple society fellowships (AAAS, IEEE, AAAI) As a dedicated mentor, Matarić has championed underrepresented groups through CRA-W, placing numerous women in faculty positions. She leads USC Viterbi's K-12 STEM Outreach Program serving low-income Los Angeles schools and authored The Robotics Prime for student education. Her research has secured significant funding enabling real-world technology transfer, with documented impact in rehabilitation centers and homes through deployable SAR systems. Her Robotics Research Lab at USC drives innovation in embodied AI, with current projects spanning LLM-integrated elder care robots, ADHD academic companions, and autism therapy systems. The lab emphasizes co-design with end-users and rigorous real-world validation across diverse populations.
Professor Andrew Murray is a leading academic in Law with expertise in New Media and Technology Law. He holds the position of Professor of Law at the LSE Law School and directs the LSE Law, Society and Technology Group. His research focuses on digital rights, AI ethics, and regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies. Murray has held roles including Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and advisor to the Saudi Arabian government on e-commerce law. He has advised parliamentary committees, including the House of Lords Communications Committee on digital regulation, and delivered the prestigious TMC Asser Lecture on AI and human agency. Education: LL.B. Hons from Edinburgh University (1994), followed by academic roles at Stirling University and LSE since 2000. Professional memberships include the Society of Computers and Law (SCL) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA). He has been a visiting professor at Amsterdam Law and Technology Institute and Sciences Po Paris. Research interests span cyberspace regulation, AI governance, and the intersection of technology with human rights. Key publications include Human Rights in the Digital Age (2004) and The Regulation of Cyberspace (2007). Awards include recognition as an Independent Expert in Nominet UK dispute resolution (2001–2008) and a 2024 Leibniz Prize reviewer. Advocacy includes contributions to EU e-commerce directives and UK surveillance law debates. His work emphasizes balancing innovation with legal accountability in digital spaces.
Pasquale Bottalico serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois, with dual appointments as Associate Professor at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Affiliate Faculty in the School of Music. His unique interdisciplinary profile bridges engineering, music performance, and speech science, reflecting his dual academic training and professional artistry. His educational foundation includes: Bachelor's in Telecommunications Engineering from Univeristà Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Italy Concurrent Opera Singing degree from F. Cilea Music Academy, Reggio Calabria Master's in Telecommunications Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy Ph.D. in Metrology specializing in acoustics measurement uncertainty and classroom acoustics Dr. Bottalico's research centers on vocal load quantification and professional voice techniques , with significant contributions to understanding vocal fatigue in teachers and singers. His work spans Speech Intelligibility in educational environments, Room Acoustics for performance and learning spaces, and Musical Acoustics of historical vocal styles. A distinctive thread throughout his research examines how acoustic conditions modulate voice production and perception, increasingly incorporating virtual reality and bone conduction technologies for innovative assessment and intervention approaches. His Colombian vocal health study demonstrates cross-cultural applications of his work. Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) The impact of noise and dysphonia on children's speech processing in educational settings, using multimodal assessment including EEG; (2) Virtual reality applications for voice production research and therapeutic intervention; (3) Cross-cultural validation of vocal fatigue metrics and development of biofeedback systems. His work consistently bridges engineering precision with clinical applicability, particularly for professional voice users in challenging acoustic environments. No scientific awards were documented in the available information. While specific advising relationships aren't detailed, his research collaborations span international institutions including Colombian and Italian universities, suggesting graduate mentorship in interdisciplinary projects. No grant information was provided, though his systematic reviews and cross-cultural studies imply externally funded research activities. Though no dedicated laboratory is specified, his virtual reality voice studies and acoustic parameter assessments suggest affiliations with audio engineering facilities and voice clinics, likely through the Speech and Hearing Science department's research infrastructure.
Sakari Melander is a Professor at the Faculty of Law , University of Helsinki, specializing in Criminal Law , with a focus on constitutionalization, Europeanization, and sentencing policies. His work bridges theoretical criminal law with practical legislative and policy challenges. Key research areas include EU criminal law, constitutional constraints on criminal legislation, and general doctrines of criminal law. He has extensive experience in parliamentary legal consultation, providing expert opinions to Finland’s Legislative Committees (e.g., on immigration control, anti-corruption directives, and digital evidence handling). Recent publications address topics like EU corporate sanction policies, constitutionalization of criminal law, and reforms in Finnish sentencing systems. His 2025 article in the New Journal of European Criminal Law explores balancing administrative and criminal sanctions in the EU. Scientific awards include: Hilkka ja Otto Brusiin Foundation Thesis Prize (2001) Magister Bonus – Good Teacher Award (2014) Primustohtori Award (2010) Year’s Teacher (2010) Year’s Opponent (2008) He leads research projects such as Criminal Law Under Pressure: Differentiation and Harmonization (2012-2015) and Assessment of Human Trafficking Sanction Practices (2021-2022), and supervises doctoral theses on criminal law topics.
Nicolas Mathevon is a Professor at the University of Saint-Etienne, with a focus on Animal Behavior and Bioacoustics . He currently serves as Director of Studies at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and leads the ENES Team . His research explores acoustic communication across diverse species, including crocodiles, seals, penguins, and humans, with particular emphasis on vocal recognition, signal evolution, and neurobiological underpinnings. Major collaborations include Dr. T. Aubin (CNRS), Dr. I. Charrier (marine mammals), Dr. N. Grimault (crocodilian bioacoustics), and Prof. D. Reby (human communication). He also co-edits a new book, The Voices of Nature , published by Princeton University Press. His recent work spans ecoacoustic monitoring for conservation, multi-modal communication in crocodiles, and cross-species analysis of distress signals in bonobos, chimps, and humans. Neurobiological studies include brain activation patterns in response to vocalizations and sound localization mechanisms in reptiles. Scientific Awards include senior membership in the Institut universitaire de France .
Dr. Soonja Choi is a Research Professor in the Comparative Psycholinguistics Group at the University of Vienna and Director of the Korean Studies Program at San Diego State University (SDSU), where she holds the title of Professor Emerita of Linguistics. She earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Buffalo (1986) and holds advanced degrees from institutions in France and South Korea. Her research focuses on language and thought, semantics, spatial language, and Korean linguistics, with a particular emphasis on cross-linguistic studies of spatial categorization and its cognitive implications. Research Contributions: Her work has explored how language influences spatial perception and cognition, notably through long-term collaborations with the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the National Science Foundation. Key contributions include studies on spatial term development in Korean/English children and cross-linguistic comparisons of spatial semantics between German, Korean, and English. Grants & Awards: Secured over $1.4M in grants including a EUR 600,000 Vienna Science Fund grant (2016-2020) and multiple NSF awards. Elected to the Academy of Europe (2019) as an Ordinary Member. Professional Roles: Served as Chair of SDSU's Department of Linguistics and Oriental Languages (1997-2000, 2001-2002), Graduate Advisor (multiple terms), and editorial board member for Language, Interaction, and Acquisition . Active in academic governance and international linguistic organizations.
Shiri Azenkot is an Associate Professor at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and Cornell University, affiliated with the Information Science Department and Technion’s Computer Science Department. Her research focuses on accessibility innovations in emerging technologies, particularly addressing needs of people with vision impairments and neurodiverse populations. She holds a PhD from the University of Washington, advised by Richard Ladner and Jacob Wobbrock, and has been recognized with prestigious awards including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Education: PhD in Computer Science & Engineering from University of Washington (advisors: Richard Ladner, Jacob Wobbrock). Research interests include VR/AR accessibility, assistive technology design, inclusive education tools, and ethical AI applications. Current projects explore social VR avatars for invisible disabilities, AR navigation aids, and AI moderation systems against ableist hate speech. Her work is funded by NSF, AOL, Verizon, and Facebook. Recent publications address video accessibility for ADHD users, AI-driven scene descriptions for blind users, and tactile learning materials co-designed with educators. She leads the XR Access initiative promoting inclusive virtual/augmented reality. Awards include the UW Graduate Medal (2020), NSF CRII Award (2017), and AT&T Labs Fellowship (2014). Her research bridges academic innovation with industry impact through collaborations with tech companies and disability advocacy groups.
Tara McAllister is an Associate Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University’s Steinhardt School. She leads the Biofeedback Intervention Technology for Speech (BITS) Lab , focusing on speech learning mechanisms and biofeedback treatments for speech disorders. Her work emphasizes acoustic and ultrasound biofeedback efficacy in resolving residual speech sound disorders, particularly in children. McAllister directs development of the staRt iOS app, expanding access to biofeedback training. She holds degrees from Harvard, MIT, and Boston University, with clinical expertise in speech-language pathology. Education: A.B./A.M., Linguistics, Harvard University (2003) M.S., Communication Disorders, Boston University (2007) Ph.D., Linguistics, MIT (2009) Research Interests: Speech motor control, perception-production links, bilingual phonological development, and technology-driven interventions. Her NIH-funded studies investigate biofeedback applications for speech disorders and crowdsourcing methodologies for perceptual analysis. Grants & Labs: NIH/NIDCD-funded BITS Lab research staRt app development since 2014 Teaching: Courses include Critical Evaluation of Research and Speech Science Instrumentation , emphasizing evidence-based practices in communication sciences.
Dr. Derek E. Daniels is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Wayne State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He is a licensed speech-language pathologist specializing in stuttering therapy and psychosocial aspects of stuttering. His research focuses on identity, stigma, intersectionality, and culturally responsive practices, with a particular emphasis on qualitative methods and social justice. He leads Camp Shout Out, a therapeutic camp for children and teens who stutter, and serves as a former President of the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Daniels holds a Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University (2007), an M.A. from the University of Houston (2002), and a B.A. from Grinnell College (1998). His awards include the 2023 Professional of the Year Scholar and Service Award from the National Stuttering Association and the 2025 William T. Simpkins Service Award. He teaches courses such as 'Stuttering' and 'Normal Language Acquisition,' and his work emphasizes reducing stigma through education and advocacy. Dr. Daniels actively participates in professional organizations like the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed publications and presentations globally.
William S. Horton (Sid) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University , where he has taught since 2005 and directed the Cognition and Communication Lab (Cresap 108). Starting in September 2025, he will serve as Chair of the Department of Linguistics . His research focuses on socio-cognitive mechanisms in language use, particularly discourse pragmatics , perspective-taking , and non-literal language processing . Education: B.S. in Psychology/German from Duke University (1991), M.A. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from University of Chicago (1994/1999) Previous roles: Postdoctoral research at SUNY-Stony Brook, Cognitive Aging at Georgia Tech Research trends from his 20+ years of publications include common ground , memory processes , figurative language , and age-related communication changes . His work increasingly incorporates computational text analysis and real-time digital communication studies. Awards : Fellow, Society for Text and Discourse Students : Supervised Ph.D. theses on conversational alignment, common ground activation, and digital communication. Undergraduate honors projects explore inhibitory deficits, speech internalization, and perspective-taking in bilingualism. Cognition and Communication Lab investigates language processing in spoken/written contexts using experimental methods and computational models.
Professor Masooda Bano serves as William Golding Senior Research Fellow at Brasenose College and Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford's Department of International Development. She leads the five-year ERC-funded Changing Structures of Islamic Authority (CSIA) project examining Islamic scholarly debates and their societal impacts. Her academic credentials include an MPhil in Development Studies from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford. These qualifications underpin her expertise in development theory and field research methodologies. Bano's research centers on the interplay between ideas, beliefs, and material incentives in development processes . She investigates how psycho-social factors shape individual choices and collective outcomes, with particular focus on Islamic authority structures, female education movements, and aid effectiveness. Her work combines large-scale comparative studies using ethnographic and survey data across Muslim-majority contexts. Recent publications reveal a concentrated focus on education policy in developing nations , especially Pakistan, Nigeria, and Indonesia. Key themes include decentralized education planning, low-fee private tuition markets, community participation models, and Islamic education systems. The research consistently examines religion-development intersections and institutional responses to social change. Her scientific recognition includes: Two competitive ESRC Fellowships A 1.4 million euro ERC Starting Grant for the CSIA project ESRC Best Social Science Impact award for Nigeria education interventions Bano supervises MPhil/DPhil theses at Oxford and has advised major development agencies, notably designing DfID's education reforms in northern Nigeria. Her CSIA project coordinates a multinational team conducting textual analysis, surveys, and ethnographic fieldwork to map evolving Islamic authority structures.
Alison J. Mackey is Professor and Chair of the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University, College of Arts and Sciences. She is a leading scholar in second language acquisition (SLA), with a focus on interaction, feedback, research methodology, and language learning across the lifespan. Her research interests include second language acquisition , task-based language teaching , research methodology , interaction and corrective feedback , and language learning in children and adults . She has published extensively in top-tier journals and book series, shaping methodological standards in the field. Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in methodological rigor , interactionist approaches , and practical applications of SLA research. Themes include data elicitation , stimulated recall , task design , and pragmatic development , spanning both theoretical and classroom-based inquiry. Mildenberg Prize (2012) for The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award International Association of Task-based Language Learning and Teaching Distinguished Achievement Award CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (2012) Alison Mackey has advised numerous scholars through co-authorship and editorial leadership. She is Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge University Press Annual Review of Applied Linguistics and Editor of the Routledge Second Language Research series, guiding the publication of cutting-edge research. While specific grants are not listed, her editorial work and high citation count (>35,000) reflect significant research impact and funding support. She leads and contributes to major research initiatives such as the IRIS Repository , promoting open-access research instruments in SLA. Her work fosters collaboration across institutions and supports methodological transparency and replication in the field.
Georgia Zellou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Davis, where she co-directs the Phonetics Lab and conducts award-winning research at the intersection of phonetics, speech perception, and human-AI interaction. Her work investigates how phonetic detail is cognitively represented through variations in speech production, with significant contributions to understanding speech alignment with voice assistants, face-masked speech intelligibility, and cross-linguistic perception of synthetic voices. Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder (2012), an M.A. in Linguistics from Stony Brook University (2007), and a B.A. in Linguistics & Anthropology from the University of Florida (2005, Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). Ph.D., Linguistics, University of Colorado at Boulder (2012) M.A., Linguistics, Stony Brook University (2007) B.A., Linguistics & Anthropology, University of Florida (2005) Professor Zellou's research program centers on laboratory phonology approaches to real-world communication challenges, examining how acoustic-phonetic details influence speech perception across contexts. Her studies span speech alignment with voice-AI systems (e.g., Amazon Alexa), sociophonetic variation in bilingual speech, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying perceptual compensation for coarticulation. She employs experimental methods including eye-tracking, acoustic analysis, and perceptual testing to uncover how phonetic variation functions pragmatically in human communication and human-machine interaction. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) human-AI voice interaction dynamics, including prosodic alignment and social evaluation of TTS voices; (2) intelligibility optimization in challenging contexts (face masks, clear speech for diverse listeners); and (3) cross-linguistic phonetic variation in vowelless words and consonant clusters. These works consistently bridge theoretical phonology with applied speech technology, demonstrating how fine-grained phonetic detail influences communication effectiveness in both human-human and human-machine contexts. Her scientific recognition includes: Fulbright Scholar (2022) for research in France Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring (2019) Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (2020) Amazon Faculty Research Award (2019) for Alexa-related speech studies Dean’s Fellow designation at UC Davis (2020-2023) Professor Zellou maintains an active mentoring practice recognized with the Chancellor’s Award, supervising undergraduate researchers in the Phonetics Lab while teaching core linguistics courses from introductory to advanced graduate levels. Her research program is supported by competitive grants including NSF funding, Amazon Research Awards, and UC Davis internal grants (Hellman Foundation, ISS Junior Faculty Grant), reflecting the translational value of her work for speech technology development. She has co-directed major initiatives including the 2019 LSA Linguistic Institute. The Phonetics Lab she co-leads serves as a hub for experimental phonetics research, focusing on speech production-perception relationships through projects investigating vocal accommodation to voice assistants, nasal coarticulation dynamics, and cross-linguistic prosody. Current collaborations with industry partners aim to implement human speech adaptation principles into voice assistant design to enhance naturalness and engagement.
