Prof. Dr. Pinar Yolum Birbil is a leading researcher in Responsible AI at the Faculty of Science , Utrecht University . Her work bridges Artificial Intelligence , Privacy and Data Protection , and Software Agents , focusing on Human-Centered AI and Trustworthy Systems . She is part of the AI & Data Science and Responsible AI research groups. PhD in Computer Science, North Carolina State University (2003) MS in Computer Science, North Carolina State University (2000) BSc in Computer Engineering, Marmara University (1998) Her research explores Privacy Preservation in collaborative systems, Computational Theory of Mind for human-agent coordination, and Norm-Based AI Systems . Recent projects include the Hybrid Intelligence Center and tools like PANOLA for privacy support. She investigates how AI can balance user autonomy , ethical norms , and societal values in applications ranging from urban planning to healthcare. Her scientific publications (2023-2025) span topics like Explainable Privacy , Trust in Hybrid Teams , and AI for Diabetes Management , appearing in venues such as JAIR , AAMAS , and ACM TOIT . She emphasizes collaborative AI , with contributions to multiagent simulations and privacy-preserving mechanisms . Scientific Awards : NC State University Alumni Hall of Fame (2017) Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (Microsoft Turkey & KAGIDER, 2017) Bogazici University Academic Encouragement Award (multiple years) Best Paper Award at ESAW 2009 She supervises a dynamic research group with PhD students working on Hybrid Intelligence , Computational Ethics , and Privacy Modeling . Her projects often involve interdisciplinary collaboration with institutions like TNO and the Transforming Cities Hub .
Sjanne Marie van den Groenendaal is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Resource Studies, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University. Her research focuses on sustainable employability of self-employed workers and inclusive Human Resource Management (HRM), with a particular interest in freelancers' employment relationships, organizational needs, and psychological contracts. She has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Best Paper Award (2016) and Best Teacher Awards (2014-2016). Her work bridges HRM practices with societal policies, emphasizing inclusive labor markets and strategic HRM approaches. Education: Master of Science (MSc) External Roles: Founder/Consultant at van den Groenendaal Consultancy since 2020. Her research explores topics such as triad employment relationships, technological impacts on HR education, and the interplay between social security policies and strategic HRM. She actively engages in academic activities, including workshops on qualitative data analysis and invited talks on career development in turbulent contexts. Awards: Best Paper Award (second place), 2016 Best Teacher Award (2014-2016) Societal Impact Competition Award, 2019 Professional Contributions: Advises on inclusive HRM strategies, delivers courses on coaching and development in the Bachelor of Personeelwetenschappen program, and collaborates internationally on research projects.
Dr. Thijs Broekhuizen is an Associate Professor at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Economics and Business, specializing in Innovation Management & Strategy. He currently serves as Scientific Director of the University of Groningen Business School, Coordinator of the Northern-Netherlands Innovation Monitor, and Programme Director of the Executive MBA. His research focuses on digital transformation, value creation in innovation, and digital business models, with interdisciplinary insights bridging strategy, innovation, and digitalization. Education: PhD in Marketing (University of Groningen, 2006) MSc in Marketing (University of Groningen, 2001) Research Interests: Broekhuizen explores value appropriation in technology-driven contexts, digital business models, and strategic responses to disruptive technologies. His work emphasizes SMEs' digital transformation challenges, organizational identity during technological change, and AI-driven innovation management. Key areas include digital platforms, motion picture industries, and social media dynamics. Grants & Projects: TALENT4S3 (€165K, Interreg 2024-2028) SIRM (€189K, Interreg 2023-2027) NWO-funded studies on construction industry profitability and online customer journeys Awards: Best Paper Award at ISoF 2021 Best Short Paper Award Nomination 2021 Teaching & Leadership: Broekhuizen teaches strategy and digitalization in executive programs and has led the MScBA and EMBA initiatives. His educational roles include Programme Director of the Executive MBA (Energy Transition, Health, Sustainable Business Models tracks) and member of the Groningen Digital Business Centre. Labs/Teams: He coordinates the Northern-Netherlands Innovation Monitor (surveying 10,000+ SMEs) and collaborates with the Groningen Digital Business Centre to advance digital strategy research.
C. (Chengyong) Xiao is an Associate Professor of Sustainable Supply Chain Management at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Economics and Business. He holds a BSc in Management Science from the University of Science and Technology of China (2010) and a PhD in Operations Management from the University of Groningen (2019). His research focuses on sustainable supply chains, particularly the extension of sustainability standards in global supply chains, corporate social responsibility, and social enterprises. Education: Bachelor's Degree: Management Science, University of Science and Technology of China (2010) PhD: Operations Management, University of Groningen (2019) Research Interests: Global supply chain sustainability Supplier sustainability capability development Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement Case study and mixed-method research methodologies Awards: Chan Hahn Best Paper Award (2020 AOM Conference) Teaching and Editorial Roles: Teaches courses including Global Supply Chain Management & Sustainability, Management Science, and Operations & Logistics Management Editorial board member of the Journal of Supply Chain Management and Journal of Operations Management Collaborations: Partnerships with multinational companies like Philips and Signify to study supply chain sustainability practices
Prof. Dr. Dennis Herhausen is a Full Professor of Marketing and Head of the Marketing Department at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s School of Business and Economics. Previously, he held positions as Associate Professor at KEDGE Business School, Visiting Professor at the University of St. Gallen, and Assistant Professor at the University of St. Gallen. His research focuses on digital communication, customer journeys, multichannel management, and social media strategies, with publications in top-tier journals like the Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research. His work addresses critical issues such as online firestorm mitigation, complaint de-escalation, and gig economy communication. He has been awarded multiple prestigious prizes, including the 2021 CBSIG Consumer Research Award and the 2019 William R. Davidson Award. Education: PhD in Marketing from University of St. Gallen (2011) Teaching: Courses on Customer Experience Management, Survey Research Methods, and Thesis Guidance Research Interests: His work explores digital marketing strategies, customer-centric innovations, and the dynamics of online platforms. Recent studies address topics like business-to-investor marketing signals, privacy orientation measurement, and machine learning biases in marketing. He actively contributes to editorial boards of journals including Journal of Marketing and Journal of Interactive Marketing. Awards: 2021 CBSIG Consumer Research in Practice Award 2021 Retail & Pricing SIG Best Paper Award 2021 SERVSIG Best Services Article Award 2020 William R. Davidson Award Grants & Editorial Work: His research has been funded by national/international grants, and he serves on multiple editorial boards. Notable datasets include studies on online retailer strategies and virtual brand sabotage responses.
Tal Simons is Professor of Organization Theory in the Department of Organisation and Personnel Management at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam, and has been an ERIM Fellow since 2019. His research examines organizational responses to societal pressures through institutional and behavioral lenses. Simons' work centers on institutional theory applications in regulatory resistance, ideological dynamics, and organizational authenticity. He investigates how firms navigate social movements, media scrutiny, and moral legitimacy challenges across diverse sectors including tobacco, wine, and contemporary dance. His methodology blends historical analysis with qualitative case studies to uncover patterns in community cohesion, aesthetic innovation, and cross-cultural collaboration. Publication trends reveal an evolution from foundational studies on kibbutzim and Israeli wine industry transformation (1997-2010) toward contemporary analyses of CSR-media relationships, regulatory compliance, and authenticity construction (2015-2024). Recent work emphasizes ideological imperatives in news coverage and moral legitimacy frameworks, while maintaining consistent theoretical grounding in institutional logics and organizational ecology. Professional recognition includes: ERIM Fellow (2019–present) As an active doctoral supervisor, Simons mentors nine PhD candidates across organization theory and behavior domains. His advisees explore cross-cultural collaborations, multi-stakeholder organizing, sustainability-focused community enterprises, and societal change mechanisms. Supervision spans 2015 to present with roles as promotor and committee member, reflecting sustained commitment to developing organizational scholarship through next-generation researchers.
Gerben van der Vegt is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Groningen’s Faculty of Economics and Business, Department of HRM & OB. He holds a PhD (cum laude) from the University of Groningen and degrees from Utrecht University. His research focuses on team dynamics, including composition, diversity, membership changes, and performance management. He has served as Director of the Research Institute SOM (2015–2021) and Director of the Master in Human Resource Management program (2005–2007). Currently, he is also a Visiting Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. Education: PhD (cum laude) in Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen (1998) M.S. in Social and Organizational Psychology, Utrecht University B.S. in Psychology, Utrecht University Research Interests: Effective team functioning and composition Influence of diversity and membership changes on performance Inter- and intra-team collaboration mechanisms Organizational resilience through communication strategies Recent work emphasizes team boundary management, disruption resilience, and newcomer integration. He serves on editorial boards for Academy of Management Journal and Organization Science . His advising includes 10 supervised works, focusing on organizational behavior and team dynamics. His lab explores interdisciplinary approaches to team performance and organizational challenges.
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.
Prof. Dr. Fabian Sting is a Full Professor and Director of the Department of Supply Chain Management – Strategy and Innovation at the University of Cologne, Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences. He also holds a part-time Chaired Professorship of Digital Supply Chain Innovation at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University, where he previously served as Associate and Assistant Professor. He has been a visiting professor at Singapore Management University and IESE Business School, and held a postdoctoral fellowship at INSEAD. Education: Doctorate in Production Management (Dr. rer. pol., summa cum laude), WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management M.Sc. in Mathematics - Methods and Models, University of Hagen Diploma in Management Science, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Exchange studies at University of Melbourne His research centers on digital innovation, Industry 4.0, strategy implementation, and employee-driven innovation in operations and supply chains. He investigates how organizations innovate processes, manage change, and harness front-line employee ideas. His work integrates behavioral and strategic perspectives in operations management. His recent publications in MIS Quarterly , Management Science , Academy of Management Journal , and Harvard Business Review reflect a strong trend toward digital transformation, idea evaluation biases, and collaborative innovation mechanisms. The articles emphasize knowledge transfer, learning-by-doing, and the behavioral aspects of digital change. Scientific Awards: Richard Beckhard Memorial Prize, MIT Sloan Management Review Jürgen Hausschildt Award for Innovation Management, VHB Top Academic Article Award, ERIM Fabian Sting serves as Associate Editor for Management Science and Senior Editor for Production and Operations Management . He has received multiple teaching awards for courses such as "Operations Management" and "Primaire Processen." He is Academic Director of the Industrial Excellence Award in Europe, in collaboration with IESE, INSEAD, and WHU. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to innovation and sustainable industrialization. There is no mention of specific labs or research teams in the provided texts.
Prof. Marnik G. Dekimpe is a Research Professor of Marketing at Tilburg University and Professor of Marketing at KU Leuven. He holds editorial roles in top journals and has advised leading industries on marketing strategy. His research focuses on recession marketing, private-label success drivers, and marketing-mix effectiveness. He has won numerous awards, including the 2017 Mahajan Award and 2016 EMAC Distinguished Scholar Award. Education: PhD in Marketing from UCLA. Career highlights include Head of Department at Tilburg (2014-2020), visiting professorships at HKUST and Singapore Management University, and editorial leadership roles in multiple journals. Research interests span product-harm crises, consumer behavior, and retail strategy. Recent work explores proximity-store strategies for big-box retailers and the welfare impacts of hard discounters’ brand listings. Award highlights include honorary doctorates, best-paper awards, and long-term impact recognitions. Supervised over 40 PhD students, with notable advisees in retailing and marketing analytics. Active in editorial boards of key marketing journals and research institutes.
Cees B.M. van Riel is a visiting professor in the Department of Business-Society Management at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University. He previously served as a professor of corporate communication and is a globally recognized expert in reputation management, employee alignment, and corporate branding. His research focuses on corporate communication , organizational identity , employee alignment , and industry reputation . He investigates how organizations build and maintain strong reputations through strategic internal and external communication, particularly during periods of change or crisis. His work bridges academic theory and practical application, influencing both scholarly discourse and corporate practice. His recent publications, including a 2023 article on museum-corporate sponsorships, demonstrate a sustained engagement with themes of mutual value creation, stakeholder management, and reputation dynamics. His body of work consistently addresses reputation management , organizational change , impression management , and corporate branding across diverse sectors. Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Reputation Review Founder of the Reputation Forum The Netherlands (RfN) Founding Director of RSM's International Executive Master Programme in Corporate Communication Co-founder of the Reputation Institute Professor van Riel has supervised numerous academic works and has led major educational initiatives. He has been actively involved in global reputation rankings, including the Forbes-published Annual Reputation Institute Study. His consultancy work with multinational corporations such as ING, Philips, and Shell underscores his impact beyond academia. He has also held editorial and speaking roles, contributing significantly to the dissemination of management knowledge. He is central to a research network focused on corporate communication and reputation, with collaborations spanning multiple countries and institutions. His leadership in founding academic programs and professional forums highlights his role in shaping the field.
Prof. Nana de Graaff is a Full Professor of Global Politics and Networks at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). She leads the ReGlobe research group on globalization and decoupling and is Principal Investigator of an NWO-funded project on the Geopolitics of Europe-China Tech Decoupling. Her research focuses on China-West relations, US foreign policy, and energy geopolitics, with a particular emphasis on elite networks and transnational dynamics. Education : - PhD in Political Science (cum laude, 2013), VU Amsterdam - MSc in International Relations (2006), VU Amsterdam - Political Science studies at Free University Brussels Research Interests : - International Political Economy - China's global economic engagements - US foreign policy elites and networks - Energy industry geopolitics Recent Research Projects : - Globalization Unraveling? Europe-China Tech Decoupling (NWO VIDI, 2024-2028) - China in Europe Research Network (CHERN) (EU COST Action, 2019-2023) - Fraying Ties? Networks in the UK Oil Sector (ESRC, 2019-2022) Awards : - 2023 Nominee for Faculty Senior Research Award - 2016 Best Junior Lecturer of VU’s Faculty of Social Sciences - Multiple grants including NWO VIDI and Individual Talent Grant Advisory Roles : - Chair, China in Europe Research Network (CHERN) - Executive Council Member, Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) - Editorial Board Member, Routledge RIPE Series - International Advisory Board Member, International Affairs (Oxford)
Prof. Tammo H.A. Bijmolt is a Full Professor of Marketing Research and Chairman of the Department of Marketing at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Economics and Business. He holds additional roles such as Director of the Groningen Digital Business Center and former Director of the SOM Research Institute. His expertise spans consumer decision making, e-commerce, advertising, retailing, loyalty programs, and meta-analysis. Education: PhD in Marketing (cum laude, 1996) and MSc in Quantitative Business Economics (cum laude, 1991), both from the University of Groningen. Research focuses on marketing methodology, consumer behavior in digital contexts, and loyalty programs. Notable awards include the 2022 Best Paper Award (Journal of Interactive Marketing) and the 2017 Emerald Literati Award. Advising over 20 PhD students and overseeing grants such as NPG funding for digitalization projects. Active in leadership roles with EMAC and EIASM, and consulting with firms like DVJ Insights and Unilever. Labs/Teams: Leads the Groningen Digital Business Center and collaborates with the SOM Research Institute.
Yuleng Zeng is an Assistant Professor of International Political Economy at the Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen. He is affiliated with the Center for International Relations Research (CIRR). His work focuses on the security implications of economic interdependence, tools of economic statecraft, major power competition, and contemporary Chinese foreign policy. He holds an associate editor position at Political Research Exchange . Research interests include international relations, security studies, and the intersection of economic policies with geopolitical strategies. His studies analyze how trade dynamics influence state power and interstate relations, including topics like sanctions, trade networks, and Chinese investment patterns. Publications span journals such as Journal of Law and Courts , Conflict Management and Peace Science , and Journal of Contemporary China . Recent work examines U.S. sanctions impacts, judicial independence models, and EU-China trade dynamics. No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned in the provided texts. Advising and grants information is not detailed here. Zeng contributes to academic networks through editorial roles and research collaborations, focusing on advancing theoretical frameworks in international political economy.
Professor Roland J. Pieters is a distinguished academic at Utrecht University's Faculty of Science, where he serves as a full Professor in the Department of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery. With over two decades of experience at the institution, he has progressed from Assistant Professor (1998) to Associate Professor (2005) and ultimately to Full Professor (2010-present). His research group is internationally recognized for groundbreaking work at the intersection of carbohydrate chemistry, chemical biology, and drug discovery, with particular emphasis on developing novel therapeutic approaches against bacterial infections and pathogenic mechanisms. Full Professor, Utrecht University (2010-present) Associate Professor, Utrecht University (2005-2010) Assistant Professor, Utrecht University (1998-2005) NWO Talent Post-doctoral Fellow, ETH-Zürich (1995-1996) Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Groningen (1996-1998) Professor Pieters earned his M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Groningen in 1990, where he worked with Professor Ben Feringa, and completed his Ph.D. at MIT in 1995 under the supervision of Professor Julius Rebek Jr. His doctoral research focused on molecular recognition and template effects in bisubstrate systems, establishing the foundation for his lifelong interest in molecular interactions. Professor Pieters' research primarily centers on glycodrugs and the strategic interference with protein-carbohydrate interactions using multivalent systems of varying architectures. His laboratory has made significant contributions to understanding how rigid spacers in multivalent ligands can dramatically enhance binding affinity to target proteins, with applications against viral and bacterial adhesion proteins, toxins, galectins, and glycosidases. A particular focus has been on developing inhibitors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectin LecA, cholera toxin, influenza virus hemagglutinin, and more recently, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interactions with host cell receptors. His group also pioneered the use of glyco- and peptide-microarrays for high-throughput screening of carbohydrate-protein interactions and drug discovery, particularly in the area of O-GlcNAcylation research. The publication record of Professor Pieters demonstrates consistent innovation in the field of multivalent carbohydrate-based therapeutics. His recent work (2020-2024) shows a strategic expansion into viral pathogenesis (particularly influenza and SARS-CoV-2), immune modulation through glycan recognition, and novel approaches to vaccine development. A notable trend is the increasing sophistication of multivalent architectures, moving from simple divalent systems to tetra- and hexavalent ligands with precisely engineered spatial arrangements. His research bridges fundamental chemical principles with practical therapeutic applications, maintaining strong connections to pharmaceutical development while advancing basic science understanding of carbohydrate-mediated biological processes. Professor Pieters' scientific achievements have been recognized with prestigious awards including a Fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in 1999 and a VICI personal grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in 2008. These competitive awards reflect the significance and innovation of his research program. He has also served on editorial advisory boards, notably as Section Editor-in-Chief for Chemical Biology in the journal Molecules (2018-2022), contributing to the scholarly community through peer review and academic leadership. Fellowship of Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW), 1999 VICI, personal grant, NWO, 2008 Section Editor-in-Chief Chemical Biology for Molecules (2018-2022) Throughout his career, Professor Pieters has coordinated significant research projects including the EU project POLYCARB and secured competitive funding that has sustained his innovative research program. His laboratory has fostered numerous collaborations across Europe and internationally, creating a vibrant research environment that has trained many scientists now working in academia and industry. His research on multivalent carbohydrate systems represents a sustained intellectual contribution to chemical biology with direct relevance to developing new anti-infective strategies and therapeutic approaches. Professor Pieters leads an active research group within Utrecht University's Department of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, situated in the David de Wied Building. His laboratory maintains strong connections with other research groups both within Utrecht University and internationally, particularly in the fields of glycobiology, infectious diseases, and drug discovery. The research environment he has cultivated emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, combining synthetic chemistry, biophysical analysis, and biological testing to address fundamental questions in carbohydrate-mediated biological processes with therapeutic applications.
