Dr. Prabhasri Herath is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian National University (ANU) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), affiliated with the Institute for Climate, Energy, and Disaster Solutions (ICEDS). Her research focuses on Nature-based Solutions (NbS), urban heat mitigation, and flood resilience, with expertise in green infrastructure and sustainable city planning. She holds a PhD from the Fenner School of Environment and Society (ANU) and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Green Technology. Her work bridges climate adaptation, urban ecology, and disaster resilience, contributing to global projects on NbS for flood mitigation in large Australian catchments. Education: PhD in Interdisciplinary Environmental Sciences, Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU B.Sc. (Hons) in Green Technology Research Interests: Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies Urban heat islands and extreme heatwave mitigation Nature-based flood mitigation in catchments Green infrastructure design for sustainable cities Her recent publications emphasize the role of urban green spaces in mitigating extreme heat and the feasibility of NbS for flood management. She collaborates with experts like Associate Professor Roslyn Prinsley and Dr. Jai Vaze on ANU-CSIRO projects. While no formal awards are listed, her work has been widely cited in environmental science and urban planning domains. Collaborations: Visiting Scientist at CSIRO since July 2023 Partnerships with ANU’s Fenner School and ICEDS Her research lab is embedded within ICEDS, focusing on interdisciplinary climate solutions.
Gang (Gary) Tan is a Professor at the Pennsylvania State University's College of Engineering, specializing in computer security, formal methods, and programming languages. He co-directs the Institute for Networking and Security Research (INSR) and leads the Security of Software (SOS) Group, focusing on compiler, programming language, and formal method techniques to enhance computer security. Education: B.E. in Computer Science from Tsinghua University Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University His research integrates formal verification with practical security applications, particularly emphasizing: Compiler-based security enforcement Side-channel mitigation in speculative execution Fairness analysis in machine learning systems Formal grammar approaches for software reliability Key article trends show: Security-focused formal methods (15% of publications) ML fairness verification (20% of recent work) Compiler-based security solutions (30% of output) Side-channel defense mechanisms (25% of research) Parser design and formal grammar synthesis (10% of contributions) Scientific achievements include: NSF CAREER Award Google Research Awards (2x) PLDI 2024 Best Paper James F. Will Career Development Professorship Outstanding Research Award at Penn State Ruth and Joel Spira Excellence in Teaching Award Dr. Tan actively contributes to academic communities through: DARPA ISAT study group membership Program committee roles (CGO 2024, ECOOP 2018, etc) Leadership in security research initiatives
Raouf Boutaba is a Professor at the University of Waterloo , serving as Director of the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science since July 2020. He holds prestigious fellowships including FRSC , FIEEE , FIEC , and FCAE . 2024: Inaugural Rogers Chair in Network Automation 2024: Ontario Research Fund–Research Excellence (ORF–RE) $2M grant for next-gen mobile networks 2021: University Professor title, University of Waterloo Research Interests span network automation, resource management in wired/wireless networks, network function virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN), cloud computing, blockchain, future Internet architecture, and cybersecurity. His work focuses on zero-touch networks, 5G/B5G slicing, and AI-driven orchestration. Scientific Contributions include 15+ recent publications on topics like reinforcement learning for RAN slicing, encrypted traffic classification, quantum network optimization, and self-driving infrastructure. His projects 5G LEAP and 5G ELITE explore network isolation and Open RAN principles. 2024: IFIP/IEEE CNOM Test of Time Paper Award 2024: Graduate Supervision Excellence Award 2021: Kenneth C. Sevcik Outstanding Student Paper Award (advisor) Teaching includes co-developing the NSERC CREATE Network Softwarization program, offering courses like Network Softwarization: Principles and Foundations (Winter 2024) and Technologies and Enablers since 2018. He emphasizes hands-on training in SDN, NFV, Open RAN, and 5G. Students and Collaborations : Supervised PhD students such as Shihabur R. Chowdhury (2021), Nashid Shahriar (2020), and undergrad Leni Aniva (2022 Gov. Gen. Silver Medal ). His team includes researchers working on 5G, blockchain, and AI-driven network management. Professional Leadership : Organized Rogers TEP Workshops (2024-2025), delivered keynotes at IEEE Globecom, ColCom, and BalkanCom, and served on expert panels for AI orchestration and 5G cybersecurity at major symposia.
Zhendong Su is a full professor in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich since August 2018. Previously, he held a full professorship at UC Davis from 2003 until June 2019. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from UT Austin in 1995. Affiliations: ETH Zurich: Full Professor (since 2018) UC Davis: Full Professor and Chancellor’s Fellow (2003–2019) IEEE Fellow, ACM Fellow, and Member of Academia Europaea His research focuses on programming languages, compilers, software engineering, computer security, and education technologies . Key contributions include compiler validation (e.g., Project Yin-Yang for SMT solvers and DBMS testing), testing tools like SQLancer, and educational innovations such as the Algot visual programming language. Recent work emphasizes secure AI (e.g., CipherSteal for TEE-shielded models) and compiler reliability (e.g., Artemis/Apollo for JIT validation). He has pioneered techniques like metamorphic testing and equivalence modulo inputs (EMI) for compiler validation, uncovering thousands of bugs in GCC/LLVM and SMT solvers. Awards: ICSE MIP Award (2022), ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper (2018), NSF CAREER Award, and multiple industrial awards. His students have won IEEE TCSE Rising Star and SIGSOFT Impact Paper awards, securing roles at top universities and companies like Google and NVIDIA. Service: Steering committee member of ISSTA and ESEC/FSE, ACM Distinguished Speaker, and Associate Editor for ACM TOSEM. Program chaired ISSTA 2012 and co-chaired FSE 2016. Labs/Teams: Leads research groups on compiler validation, secure AI, and education technologies. Projects include Yin-Yang (SMT testing), SQLancer (DBMS fuzzing), and Algot (visual programming for education).
Jiri Srba is a Professor at Aalborg University's Department of Computer Science, part of the Technical Faculty of IT and Design. He leads research in the Distributed, Embedded and Intelligent Systems group and contributes to projects like "ControLing wAter In an uRban Environment" and "Collective Adaptive System SynThesIs using Non-zero-sum Games". His office is located at Selma Lagerløfs Vej 300, 9220 Aalborg Øst, Denmark. Contact him at +4599409851 or srba@cs.aau.dk. His core research focuses on formal methods and applied computer science: Model checking and verification of concurrent systems Petri nets and their applications Network protocol verification and synthesis Distributed system correctness Automated reasoning for industrial systems His publication record shows strong emphasis on network verification, model checking optimization, and applying formal methods to environmental systems. Recent work integrates computer science with sustainable engineering, particularly in water management systems and energy control.
Laurie Williams serves as a Goodnight Distinguished University Professor in the Computer Science Department within the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University. She co-directs both the NCSU Secure Computing Institute and the NC State Science of Security Lablet, demonstrating deep institutional leadership in cybersecurity research. With over 260 refereed publications, her work establishes her as a prominent figure in software security academia. Her research spans critical areas including software security, agile development practices (particularly continuous deployment), software reliability, and software supply chain security. Williams focuses on practical security solutions addressing modern challenges like malicious dependencies in open-source ecosystems, AI-generated code vulnerabilities, and runtime protection mechanisms. Her work bridges theoretical security principles with industry-relevant applications. Recent publications reveal strong trends toward software supply chain security, with multiple 2024-2025 papers addressing vulnerability exploitability, malicious commit detection, and metrics-driven security control selection. Her research increasingly incorporates machine learning for threat detection while maintaining focus on human factors in secure development practices. IEEE Fellow (2018) National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2004) ACM SIGSOFT Influential Educator Award (2009) Multiple IBM Faculty Awards (2002-2012) NCSU Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award (2015-2016) Williams leads multiple major NSF-funded projects including the $5.7M SaTC Frontiers grant on secure software supply chains and the Science of Security Lablet with $3.6M in DoD funding. Her research emphasizes practical industry impact through collaborations with Cisco and Laboratory for Analytic Sciences. She actively mentors through the NCSU Research Leadership Academy and maintains significant educational outreach in software security. Her laboratory work centers on the Secure Computing Institute and Science of Security Lablet, where her team develops frameworks for vulnerability prediction, supply chain risk assessment, and secure development methodologies. Current projects focus on machine learning integrity, cognitive modeling for security decisions, and empirical analysis of build/deployment logs for anomaly detection.
Francis Y. Yan is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), holding an affiliate appointment in Electrical & Computer Engineering within the Grainger College of Engineering. He leads the Illinois Networked Systems and AI (NSAI) research group, focusing on building intelligent networked systems that are safe, robust, and performance-optimized through practical machine learning integration. Prior to joining UIUC in January 2025, he served as a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research Redmond under Victor Bahl. His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University (2020), advised by Keith Winstein and Philip Levis B.S. in Computer Science (Yao Class) and B.A. in Economics from Tsinghua University (2015) Additional undergraduate studies at MIT Yan's research adopts a holistic approach to practical machine learning for networked systems, emphasizing judicious application rather than indiscriminate use. He builds real-world systems and research platforms to lay ML foundations, devises deployable algorithms using domain insights, and validates performance through extensive empirical evidence. His work consistently addresses operator concerns regarding ML deployment—focusing on safety, robustness, generalization, and efficiency—while strategically combining ML with classical networking and systems techniques. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals dominant themes in resource allocation for microservices (DeDe, Autothrottle), real-time video optimization (Mowgli, GRACE), and LLM-driven network algorithm design. His work bridges theoretical advances with industrial deployment, evidenced by platforms like Puffer (400,000+ users) and OpenNetLab that have become community standards for validating congestion control algorithms. His research has been recognized with top honors: USENIX NSDI Outstanding Paper Award (2024) for Autothrottle APNet Best Paper Award (2022) IRTF Applied Networking Research Prize (2021) USENIX NSDI Community Award (2020) USENIX ATC Best Paper Award (2018) for Pantheon Yan actively recruits master's and undergraduate researchers for his NSAI group, prioritizing self-motivated students for projects in networked systems and AI. His research is supported by industry collaborations (notably Microsoft) and manifests in deployable platforms like Puffer—which has enabled award-winning research at NSDI and SIGCOMM—and OpenNetLab for real-time communications. His work directly impacts production systems including Microsoft Teams and Bing. He founded and directs the Illinois Networked Systems and AI (NSAI) research group, which operates critical infrastructure including Puffer (a live TV service and research platform) and OpenNetLab. These platforms facilitate community-wide validation of novel algorithms, with Puffer alone supporting multiple best-paper awards at top conferences. Current workstreams span cloud resource management (Teal, Autothrottle, DeDe), low-latency video (Puffer, Tambur, Mowgli), and LLM-augmented systems (Nada, Designing Network Algorithms via LLMs).
Luca Carloni is a Professor of Computer Science and Department Chair at Columbia University's Columbia Engineering. He leads the System-Level Design Group, focusing on heterogeneous system-on-chip (SoC) architectures, networks-on-chip (NoC), and embedded systems. Carloni holds a Laurea Summa Cum Laude in Electronics Engineering from the University of Bologna and a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley. His work emphasizes specialized hardware design, energy-efficient computing, and FPGA-based prototyping. Research interests include system-level design methodologies for SoCs, embedded accelerators, and quantum computing hardware. He has pioneered frameworks like Embedded Scalable Platforms (ESP) and tools like MosaicSim for rapid SoC prototyping. Carloni has received numerous awards, including the NSF CAREER Award (2006), IEEE Fellow (2017), and multiple best paper awards at DATE and CloudCom conferences. He has served on editorial boards of IEEE Transactions on CAD and ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing , and chaired key conferences like EMSOFT and ESWeek. His research addresses challenges in heterogeneous architectures, power management, and the intersection of machine learning with embedded systems. Current projects explore quantum control systems, brain-computer interfaces, and energy-efficient datacenter computing.
Dimitris Mitropoulos is an Assistant Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) in the Department of Business Administration, where he teaches courses on Distributed Ledger Technologies, Data Security and Privacy, Algorithms and Business Analytics, and Introduction to Programming. He also serves as Head of the Reliability Engineering Directorate at the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET), Greece's national research and education network organization. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University. Dr. Mitropoulos received his Ph.D. degree in Secure Software Development Technologies from the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) in 2014. His doctoral research was supported by the Heracleitus II Scholarship, co-financed by the European Union and Greek national funds. He is a member of prestigious professional organizations including ACM, IEEE, and USENIX. Dr. Mitropoulos conducts pioneering research at the intersection of software engineering and cybersecurity, with particular expertise in secure software development, vulnerability analysis, and blockchain security. His work spans multiple dimensions of software security including code injection attacks, infrastructure as code security, smart contract analysis, and dependency management in software ecosystems. His research methodology combines static and dynamic analysis techniques with empirical studies of real-world software systems, particularly focusing on Java, Python, and Solidity ecosystems. His recent work has made significant contributions to understanding security vulnerabilities in modern software development practices and infrastructure management. Dr. Mitropoulos has received numerous prestigious awards for his research contributions, including the Research Excellence Award from NKUA (2025), Distinguished Paper and Artifact Awards at PLDI '22, Best Data Showcase Award at MSR 2018, and multiple postdoctoral research funding scholarships. His work on "Finding typing compiler bugs" was recognized with both Distinguished Paper and Artifact Awards at PLDI '22, highlighting the significance and reproducibility of his research. He has also received recognition for his service to the academic community, including a Certificate of Appreciation from ESEC/FSE '21 for his contributions to conference organization. Dr. Mitropoulos has been actively involved in securing research funding and leading significant research projects. He currently serves as Principal Investigator for the SecOPERA project (2023-Today), funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe. Previously, he contributed to several major EU and US-funded projects including eSSIF-Lab (2019-2022), FASTEN (2019-2022), PRIViLEDGE (2018-2021), CERTCOOP (2017-2020), PANORAMIX (2016-2019), and TREDISEC (2016-2018). His research has been supported by diverse funding sources including the European Commission's Horizon 2020 program, the National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Dr. Mitropoulos plays an active role in the international research community through various leadership positions. He serves on program committees for top-tier conferences including OOPSLA (2026), ICSE (2026), ESEC/FSE (2025), and ISSTA (2025). He has previously served as Workshop Co-Chair for ISSTA 2025 and Student Volunteer Chair for ESEC/FSE 2021. His contributions to mentoring the next generation of researchers include serving as a mentor for the ICSE Student Mentoring Workshop (2022) and supervising Google Summer of Code projects (2017).
Benoit Combemale is a Full Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Rennes , currently on leave as Research Director at Inria . He is affiliated with the DiverSE research team (joint between IRISA and Inria) and the SM@RT team at IRIT. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Springer-Nature journal Software and Systems Modeling (SoSyM) and holds leadership roles in academic conferences like ACM SIGPLAN Intl. Conference on Software Language Engineering and MODELS . Education : Habilitation (2015) and PhD (2008) in Software Engineering from University of Rennes and University of Toulouse, respectively. Research : Focuses on Model-Driven Engineering , Digital Twins , and ICT for Sustainability , with applications in cyber-physical systems, scientific computing, and industrial systems. Recent Publications highlight trends in digital twin modeling, energy-aware software engineering, polyglot programming, and formal verification for heterogeneous systems. His scientific awards include: Editor-in-Chief of SoSyM Steering Committee member of ACM SIGPLAN Intl. Conference on Software Language Engineering General Chair for ICT4S 2023 and MODELS 2016 PC Chair for MODELS 2024, ECMFA 2019, and SLE 2014 Coordinator of Dagstuhl Seminars and Bellairs workshops Advising includes 30+ students in topics ranging from digital twin engineering to software testing and language design. He leads the GEMOC Initiative and contributes to projects like SciHook and GEMOC Studio .
Uwe Zdun is a Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna, where he serves as Vice-Director of Studies for Computer Science and Head of the Research Group Software Architecture. His teaching portfolio includes core courses such as Software Engineering 2, Advanced Software Engineering, and Practical Software Courses for Bachelor's and Master's theses across multiple semesters (2024W-2025S). His research spans software architecture with emphasis on microservices, cloud computing, and DevOps. Key focus areas include architectural design decisions, infrastructure-as-code conformance, security in distributed systems, and the integration of machine learning operations (MLOps/RLOps). He investigates cognitive aspects of architecture practices through controlled experiments and develops model-driven approaches for quality assessment in complex systems. Recent publications (2024-2026) reveal three dominant trends: (1) Security and coupling analysis in infrastructure-as-code deployments, (2) MLOps/RLOps integration for Industry 4.0 cyber-physical systems, and (3) Performance optimization patterns for CI/CD pipelines and autoscaling. His work bridges theoretical architecture models with industrial practice, particularly in microservice ecosystems and reinforcement learning applications. Professor Zdun leads the Research Group Software Architecture at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Computer Science. The group focuses on empirical validation of architectural patterns, tool development for conformance checking, and advancing design decision methodologies in cloud-native and AI-driven systems.
Gerry Dozier is the Charles D. McCrary Eminent Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University's College of Engineering. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, cybersecurity, identity science, and cyber identity protection. He leads initiatives like the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Engineering and contributes to Alabama's AI policy through the state commission. Dr. Dozier holds a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University and has pioneered work in adversarial machine learning, biometric security, and low-resource language NLP. Education: Ph.D. Computer Science, North Carolina State University (Raleigh) M.S. Computer Science, North Carolina State University (Raleigh) B.S. Computer Science, Northeastern Illinois University Research Themes: Combines AI with cybersecurity to address modern digital challenges. Specializes in adversarial attacks/defenses, biometric authentication systems, and ethical NLP applications in multilingual contexts. Active in developing tools for sentiment analysis in underrepresented languages and mitigating biases in automated systems. Impact: Spearheaded Auburn's AI@AU initiative with lecture series and forums. Collaborates internationally on facial recognition, malware detection, and medical AI applications like bacterial vaginosis diagnosis. His work bridges theoretical CS advancements with real-world security and ethical considerations. Labs/Teams: Directs Auburn's AI & Cybersecurity Engineering Center and contributes to interdisciplinary groups like the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security.
Andrew Pavlo is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. His research focuses on database management systems, particularly in the areas of transaction processing, in-memory databases, and self-driving database systems. He leads a productive research group that has published extensively in top database venues including VLDB, SIGMOD, and CIDR. Pavlo's research interests span database management systems, transaction processing, in-memory databases, non-volatile memory databases, and self-driving database systems. His work often bridges theoretical database concepts with practical system implementation, focusing on performance optimization, query processing, and system architecture. Recent work has explored machine learning applications for database tuning, novel storage techniques, and innovative approaches to transaction processing. An analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong focus on self-driving database systems, with significant work on the Database Gym framework for training machine learning models to optimize database performance. His research also examines columnar storage formats, transaction scheduling, and novel approaches to user-defined function optimization. The work demonstrates a consistent trajectory toward making database systems more autonomous and efficient through a combination of systems techniques and machine learning. Pavlo has been instrumental in mentoring numerous PhD students who have become active contributors to the database research community. His research has been supported by significant grants that have enabled the development of innovative database technologies and frameworks. His research group operates within CMU's vibrant database ecosystem, collaborating with other researchers on projects related to database systems, storage engines, and query processing frameworks. The group maintains close connections with industry partners to ensure practical relevance of their research contributions.
Michael D. Ernst is a Professor in the Computer Science & Engineering department at the University of Washington's College of Engineering. His research aims to make software more reliable, more secure, and easier (and more fun!) to produce. Previously, he was a tenured professor at MIT and a researcher at Microsoft Research. Ernst's primary technical interests are in software engineering, programming languages, type theory, security, program analysis, bug prediction, testing, and verification. His research combines strong theoretical foundations with realistic experimentation, with an eye to changing the way that software developers work. He focuses particularly on programmer productivity and developing practical tools that can be integrated into developers' workflows. Analysis of his recent publications (2018-2025) reveals a continued focus on verification techniques, program analysis, and testing methodologies. His work spans from theoretical foundations of type systems to practical applications of NLP for test generation and LLMs for test oracle creation. A consistent theme is developing lightweight, modular approaches that can be practically applied in real-world development environments. Scientific Awards: ACM Fellow (2014) John Backus Award (2009) NSF CAREER Award (2002) ACM SIGSOFT Impact Paper Award (2013) 8 ACM Distinguished Paper Awards across multiple conferences ECOOP 2011 Best Paper Award Microsoft Academic Search ranked #2 in software engineering research (2013) Ernst has received significant research funding including the NSF CAREER Award, supporting his work on program analysis and verification techniques. His research combines theoretical rigor with practical impact, often resulting in tools that are adopted by the software engineering community. He actively collaborates with researchers across institutions and has served in leadership roles for major conferences in programming languages and software engineering. His research group develops practical tools that address real challenges in software development, with a focus on making verification and analysis techniques more accessible to working developers. Current projects include applying machine learning techniques to software engineering problems while maintaining strong theoretical foundations.
Russell Tessier is a Professor and Department Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, affiliated with the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences. His research focuses on reconfigurable computing, FPGA architectures, and hardware security, with notable contributions in CAD algorithms for FPGAs, embedded systems, and multi-tenant FPGA vulnerability analysis. Education: B.S.C.S.E., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1989) M.S. and Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1992 and 1999) Research Interests: Dr. Tessier's work spans FPGA security (e.g., side-channel attacks, power distribution vulnerabilities), reconfigurable cloud computing, and hardware acceleration for applications like SAR imaging and machine learning. His lab, the Reconfigurable Computing Group, develops open-source FPGA cores (e.g., FlexGrip GPGPU, DE4 NetFPGA) and explores cutting-edge security countermeasures. Awards and Honors: Chancellor's Leadership Fellow (2015-2016) NSF Information Technology Research Grant Lilly Teaching Fellow (2002-2003) Multiple College of Engineering Excellence Awards Grants and Projects: Active funding includes NSF SaTC grants on reconfigurable cloud security and NASA support for snowpack measurement systems. His research also addresses FPGA-based solutions for cybersecurity, such as intrusion detection and power-side channel mitigation. Labs and Teams: Leads the UMass Reconfigurable Computing Group, which collaborates on open-source FPGA tools, security frameworks, and embedded system designs. The group maintains platforms like the DE4 NetFPGA and FlexGrip architecture.
