Johannes Spinnewijn is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), affiliated with STICERD and multiple research centers. He holds a PhD in Economics from MIT (2009), following an M.A. from Université Libre de Bruxelles and B.A. from KU Leuven. His research focuses on Public Economics , Behavioral Economics , and Economic Theory , with emphasis on unemployment insurance design, tax compliance, health inequalities, and labor market policies. Notable contributions include analyzing optimal unemployment benefit timing, risk-based selection in insurance, and behavioral nudges in tax systems. Spinnewijn has received prestigious awards such as the ERC Starting Grant (2017-2022) , Wiley Prize (2015) , and Austin Robinson Memorial Prize (2013) . He serves as Director of the CEPR Public Economics Program and co-director of STICERD's Public Economics Program. His editorial roles include the American Economic Review , Review of Economic Studies , and Journal of Public Economics . He has advised over 15 PhD students, including those at top institutions like MIT, Chicago, and Edinburgh. His grants include €1.5 million from the ERC and £200K from the ESRC. Recent work explores health disparities, mental health determinants, and socioeconomic impacts of chronic diseases. Spinnewijn has held visiting roles at Columbia University, UC Berkeley, MIT, and KU Leuven. His teaching spans public economics, contract theory, and microeconomics at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Sarah Sharma is a Professor of Media Theory at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information and Director of the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology (ICCIT). Her work interrogates intersections of technology, temporality, and labor through a feminist lens. She has held leadership roles in the McLuhan Centre (2017–2022) and is recognized for advancing critical media theory. Research focuses include: • Temporality’s role in cultural politics • Feminist reimaginings of McLuhan’s media theory • Digital platforms’ socio-political impacts • Labour dynamics in gig economies (e.g., TaskRabbit). Her upcoming book Insufferable Tools: Big Tech and the Broken Machine critiques tech industry failures. Key achievements: • 2024 Desmond Morton Research Excellence Award • 2014 NCA Critical Cultural Book of the Year for In the Meantime: Temporality and Cultural Politics . Her edited volume Re-Understanding Media (2022) exemplifies feminist extensions of media theory. Recent engagements include keynote addresses at the Canadian Communication Association (June 2025) and University of Michigan’s Digital Ideas Workshop (June 2025). She critiques ‘accelerationist’ narratives about technology and advocates for rethinking media through marginalized perspectives.
Lars Nordström is a Professor at the Division of Electric Power and Energy Systems within KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. His work bridges control systems , communication networks , and power systems , with a focus on future architectures, functionality, and quality aspects of ICT for power grid operations. He has led initiatives such as the Swedish Centre of Electric Power Engineering and served as Thematic Leader for Smartgrids in KIC InnoEnergy. In 2014, he was a Visiting Professor at Washington State University. Education : Ph.D., MSc.EE Nordström's research explores the intersection of smart grids , machine learning , and cybersecurity for power systems. Key areas include: Wide-Area Monitoring and Control (WAMC) systems Decentralized control strategies for DC microgrids Impedance modeling using neural networks Data-driven methods for islanding detection ICT reliability and protocol design for grid operations His recent publications emphasize machine learning applications in power systems, including LSTM networks for EV charging management, graph attention networks for stability monitoring, and digital twin approaches for cyber-attack mitigation. These works span disciplines such as Smart Grids, Power Electronics, and Data Science. Scientific Recognitions : Senior Member, IEEE Senior Member, CIRED Senior Member, Cigre Past Chairman, Swedish IEC TC57 Mirror Committee Nordström actively teaches and examines graduate courses like Communication and Control in Electric Power Systems and Computer Applications and Machine Learning in Electric Power Systems . His work influences industry practices through collaborations on digital substations, energy market analysis, and resilience strategies.
Dong Lou is a Professor of Finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where he serves as Associate Dean of Business and Management (Strategic Planning and Research) and Acting Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Finance. He is also a CEPR Research Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE). His research focuses on asset pricing, investment management, and behavioral finance, with a particular emphasis on market inefficiencies, trading dynamics, and macrofinancial linkages. PhD in Finance, Yale University, 2009 His scholarly work explores liquidity provision, arbitrage activity, investor behavior, and the impact of information dissemination on financial markets. Recent studies include the effects of dollar asset holdings on global yields, retail margin trading dynamics, and the relationship between communication rates and security prices. His publications appear in top journals like Management Science , Journal of Financial Economics , and Review of Financial Studies . His research has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Crowell Memorial Award, NASDAQ OMX Award, and multiple INQUIRE and CRSP Forum grants. He mentors PhD students in finance and co-directs the HKUST-DXM AI for Finance Joint Laboratory, advancing AI applications in financial research and practice.
Rebecca Hains is a Professor of Media and Communication at Salem State University. Her research focuses on children's media culture, gender representation, and marketing to children through critical/cultural studies. Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication from Temple University (2007) Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies from Temple University (2007) M.S. in Mass Communication from Boston University (2000) B.A. in English/Communication Arts from Emmanuel College (1998) Her work has been featured in major news outlets like BBC, The New York Times, and NPR. She has authored two monographs: The Princess Problem (2014) and Growing Up with Girl Power (2012), and co-edited three collections on children's media and toys. Recent publications analyze: Barbie's body politics and diversity marketing Gendered marketing in LEGO toys Intersectional analysis of media's impact on children Critical perspectives on youth media consumption She actively engages in public scholarship through RebeccaHains.com , social media, and media commentary. Key research trends show: Continuity in examining gendered consumer culture Evolution from girl power narratives to contemporary princess culture Increasing focus on intersectional analyses of race, gender, and class Interdisciplinary approach combining media studies, sociology, and gender studies Her teaching includes courses like: MCO 222 How Advertising Works MCO 303 Media and Race MCO 475 Critical Analysis of Media and Culture MCO 330 UX Research in Digital Media
Jukka Rintamäki is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Studies at Aalto University's School of Business. His work focuses on organizational behavior, corporate social responsibility (CSR), collective memory, and sustainability. He holds a doctoral degree from Aalto University (2016), with earlier master's (2010) and bachelor's (2007) degrees in business administration from Helsinki School of Economics and Aalto's business school. Research interests include the interplay between memory and organizational ethics, institutional dynamics, power struggles in academic and corporate settings, and CSR in emerging sectors like esports. His 2024 work on 'Institutional Parasites' explores organizational dependency relationships, while 2023 studies investigate CSR's role in sport development and memory work across organizations. He has contributed to top journals like Academy of Management Review and Annals . Rintamäki's work addresses UN SDGs related to responsible consumption and partnerships. He has been active in peer-review roles for major management journals since 2015. Media engagements include commentaries on corporate responsibility and economic policy in 2023-2024.
Joel Wolfe is a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, based in Herter Hall. He holds a B.S. from Georgetown University, an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focuses on modern Brazil, Latin American history, and the cultural and political history of baseball and football. Wolfe is the author of three books, including *Working Women, Working Men* (1993) and *Autos and Progress* (2010), with his latest work *Brazil* (2023) examining national history. He is currently writing a book on the history of American football and a project on inter-American trade and culture in the 1920s. Wolfe’s teaching includes courses on modern Latin America, Brazilian history, and the history of baseball and football. His awards include the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching (Rice University, 2003–2005) and the Residential First Year Experience Student Choice Award at UMass Amherst. His research integrates themes of labor, modernization, and transnational connections, with a focus on Brazil’s industrialization, populism, and cultural identity. His work bridges economic, social, and cultural history, often exploring how technology, politics, and everyday life shape national narratives. Ongoing projects emphasize the intersection of sport, national identity, and globalization in Latin America and the U.S.
Yavuz Köse is a University Professor of Turkology at the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Faculty of Philology and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna. He currently serves as Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies (since June 2024) and previously as Deputy Head (October 2022-June 2024). Before joining the University of Vienna in 2019, he was W3 Acting Professor for Turkology at the Asia-Africa Institute of the University of Hamburg (2010-2018). His educational background includes a Master of Arts in History and Culture of the Near East as well as Turkology, Psychology and Economics from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2001). Professor Köse's research focuses on social, economic and consumer history of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, environmental and tourism history, history of science, and migration and workers' history. His work examines Ottoman social structures, economic transformations, cultural heritage, and identity formation, with particular attention to urban contexts and cross-cultural interactions. His recent publications show a strong emphasis on Ottoman social history, with particular attention to conversion narratives, cultural exchanges, and urban economic structures. The 2025 edited volume Becoming Ottoman represents a significant contribution to understanding identity formation in the Ottoman Empire. Among his notable recognitions is the Emerald Literati Award (2020) Professor Köse has supervised numerous doctoral students at both the University of Vienna and University of Hamburg, with research topics spanning cultural heritage in Turkey, migration histories, women's work and property, and Ottoman economic history. He has secured significant research funding including projects funded by FWF, DFG, and VolkswagenStiftung, such as the current 'Lebensmittelhändler von Istanbul' project examining Istanbul grocers as urban actors in supply chains. He is actively involved in academic leadership, serving as Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies and Deputy Spokesperson of the Doctoral School for Philological and Cultural Studies. He co-founded and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Diyâr. Journal for Ottoman, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies and is a member of numerous scholarly organizations including the Society for Armenian Studies and the Society for Turkology, Ottoman Studies and Turkey Research.
Selin A. Malkoc is the FCOB Distinguished Professor and Professor of Marketing at The Ohio State University's Max M. Fisher College of Business. She also holds a courtesy appointment as Professor of Psychology. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, particularly intertemporal decision making and time perception. Dr. Malkoc received her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2006) and a B.S. from Bilkent University (2000). Prior to joining Ohio State, she was faculty at the Carlson School of Business, University of Minnesota, and the Olin School of Business, Washington University in St. Louis. Her research examines how consumers make decisions with outcomes spread over time and how they perceive time. She investigates why consumers show impatience despite good intentions and proposes mechanisms to help consumers make better decisions. Her work also explores optimal time allocation between work and leisure to maximize happiness, with significant implications for consumer well-being. Dr. Malkoc's research has appeared in top journals including the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, and Psychological Science. Her work frequently appears in major media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, BBC, and TIME Magazine. Paul E. Green Award recipient William F. O'Dell Award recipient Citation of Excellence Award winner Associate Editor for International Journal of Research in Marketing Editorial Review Board member for Journal of Consumer Research She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including BUSML 4998 (Undergraduate Research) and BUSML 8250 (Consumer Behavior). Her research on leisure perception, time management, and intertemporal choice has significantly advanced understanding of consumer decision-making processes.
Marc G. Berman is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on understanding how environmental factors interact with human cognition, emotion, and behavior, particularly through the lens of environmental neuroscience. He leads the Environmental Neuroscience Lab (ENL), investigating how natural and urban environments influence brain function, memory, attention, and mental health. Dr. Berman holds a B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Engineering from the same institution. His postdoctoral training was at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. Prior to Chicago, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina. His research interests include the cognitive and affective benefits of natural environments, brain network efficiency, and the neurobiological underpinnings of self-control and emotion regulation. Recent work explores how urban design elements (e.g., greenspace, street activity) relate to crime rates and mental health outcomes, leveraging big data from social media and geospatial tools. Key contributions include demonstrating that natural environments improve memory and attention by ~20%, and that city characteristics like population diversity and segregation correlate with implicit racial biases. His lab employs fMRI, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and ecological data to quantify brain-environment interactions. Dr. Berman collaborates across disciplines, integrating neuroscience, psychology, urban planning, and data science to inform evidence-based environmental design for public health. Current projects include analyzing social media data to map gang networks and investigating how heat and greenspace influence emotional states in urban populations.
Nancy Reynolds is an Associate Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis, with affiliate appointments in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies. Her research focuses on environmental and social-cultural history of twentieth-century Egypt, examining political-material intersections in built environments from department stores to dams. Her academic background includes: PhD in History from Stanford University MA in History from Stanford University BA from Harvard University Reynolds' scholarship spans Environmental History , Social History , and Urban Studies , with emphasis on how mundane objects (socks, store floors) and monumental structures (Aswan Dam, temples) reflect nationalist struggles. Her work critically engages gender dynamics and decolonization , revealing how consumption patterns and urban spaces became sites of political contestation in semicolonial Egypt. Her 13 publications (2000-2024) demonstrate an evolution from consumer culture studies (department stores, Cairo Fire) to environmental history (Aswan Dam, desert ecologies), with recent collaborative work on Middle Eastern wastelands and sustainable architecture. The 2024 corpus particularly emphasizes political ecologies and materialized absence. Her scientific recognition includes: Roger Owen Book Award (2013) for A City Consumed American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship (2012) Bernadotte E. Schmitt Grant (2010) Stanford Humanities Center Geballe Dissertation Prize Social Science Research Council Fellowship Reynolds actively shapes graduate education as former administrator of History and JIMES PhD/MA programs. Her research is sustained by major grants including a Mellon Sawyer Seminar (2016-2018) and Mellon New Directions Fellowship (2014-2016), both supporting transregional collaborations on environmental humanities. She co-leads the Grounding the Ecocritical research collective with Dr. Anne-Marie McManus, producing the "Following Absence" symposium and CSSAAME special section on Middle Eastern wastelands.
Jas Brooks is an incoming Assistant Professor at MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), starting Fall 2026. They completed a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Chicago under Prof. Pedro Lopes, focusing on perceptual engineering—designing interfaces to modulate human sensory perception. Their work addresses challenges in power efficiency and miniaturization for senses like taste, touch, and smell, enabling applications in health, safety, and immersive experiences. Research interests span HCI, olfactory interfaces, thermal feedback systems, and wearable technology. Notable publications include Best Paper Awards at CHI 2020 and CHI 2021, and Honorable Mentions at UIST 2023 and UIST 2021. Awards include the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Siebel Scholar, and Rising Star in EECS. Brooks has presented at MIT, UCSD, and international symposia, including a keynote at the 'New Metabolism' event. They co-organized workshops on smell/taste interfaces (STT21, STT23) and led projects like the Timeless Smell Archive and Smell & Paste prototyping toolkit. Teaching includes a graduate VR course at SAIC and contributions to sensory education via the CBORG initiative. Labs/teams include Pedro Lopes' research group at UChicago and collaborations with institutions like the Media Archaeology Lab. Current projects explore adaptive EMS systems, thermal feedback wearables, and historical scent technologies.
Marco Caccamo is a Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) , holding the Chair of Cyber-Physical Systems in Production Engineering within the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He is also a Principal Investigator and Professor at the Department of Computer Science, with courtesy appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Coordinated Science Lab (CSL), and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research spans Embedded Systems , Real-Time Systems , and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) , focusing on resource management, reinforcement learning architectures, and 6D pose recognition for robotics. University of Pisa (B.Sc., 1997) Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Ph.D., 2002) Research highlights include predictable resource management on heterogeneous platforms, security frameworks for AI-based controllers , and UAV testbed development . His work integrates deep learning and real-time constraints in industrial applications like avionics, farming, and automotive systems. His 15 most recent publications emphasize cache optimization , memory bandwidth regulation , and reinforcement learning for CPS , with a focus on multi-core processors and DNN inference . Awards include the IEEE Fellow (2018), Alexander von Humboldt Professorship (2018), and multiple Best Paper Awards at RTSS, RTNS, and RTAS. NSF CAREER Award (2003) IEEE Fellow (2018) Alexander von Humboldt Professorship (2018) Best Paper Awards (RTSS 2024, RTNS 2023, ECRTS 2019) He has advised numerous Ph.D. students and postdocs, with a track record in UAV development and industrial collaborations . His lab, the Real-Time and Embedded System Laboratory , focuses on real-time OS and predictable computing .
Mischa Billing is a Senior Lecturer at Örebro University specializing in Culinary Arts and Meal Science. She is actively involved in research on sensory experiences, wine studies, and food pairing. Her work spans across multiple disciplines including haptics, olfaction, and culinary traditions. Her research interests focus on the intersection of sensory perception and culinary practices. Billing explores how sound affects taste perception, develops haptic attribute models for food design, and investigates improved sensory experiences for the elderly. Her work in sommelier training and critical attribute techniques bridges traditional culinary knowledge with scientific approaches to sensory evaluation. Analysis of her publications reveals a strong focus on practical applications of sensory science in culinary contexts. Her work spans from theoretical explorations of wine tasting as embodied knowledge to practical guides for food and beverage pairing. The recurring themes include sensory integration, cultural contexts of food consumption, and innovative methods for enhancing meal experiences. Gastronomic Academy's Silver Medal Wine Profile of the Year Nose of the Year Honorary Truffle of the Year Billing has served as general secretary of the International Sommelier Association (ASI) and is a member of the Wine Academy in Sweden. She has extensive experience in evaluating diverse products including Swedish tap water and apple juice. Her media presence includes serving as a jury member on TV4's Sweden's Master Chef and delivering radio talks for Sveriges Radio. She leads several research initiatives including the Sense Lab, which focuses on future sensory experiences, and participates in research groups examining meals from social and cultural perspectives. Her projects like 'Rewine The World' demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches to reducing food waste through innovative culinary methods.
Naomi Rogers, Ph.D. (She/Her) is Professor of the History of Medicine in the Section of the History of Medicine and the Program in the History of Science and Medicine at Yale University. She holds courtesy appointments in the History Department and the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and serves on Yale's Dean's Advisory Council for LGBTQI Affairs. Professor Rogers teaches undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, regularly lecturing on the history of AIDS, reproduction, health economics, eugenics, nutrition, disability, and health activism. Professor Rogers' educational background includes: PhD in History from University of Pennsylvania (1986) MA from University of Pennsylvania (1986) BA in Music from Melbourne University (1980) BA with Honors from Melbourne University (1979) Her research focuses on 20th and 21st century history of medicine with emphasis on health inequities and social justice. Professor Rogers' historical interests span gender and health, disease and public health, disability studies, feminism, alternative medicine, health policy, and health activism. Her work critically examines the intersection of medical practices with social movements, particularly how marginalized communities have challenged medical orthodoxy throughout American history. She has published extensively in journals such as American Journal of Public Health, Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Journal of Medical Humanities, Radical History Review, Social History of Medicine, and Women and Health. Professor Rogers' recent scholarship demonstrates a consistent focus on the historical dimensions of contemporary health issues, particularly vaccine politics, abortion history, and community health activism. Her publications reveal patterns of resistance to medical authority, the role of race and gender in shaping health outcomes, and the historical roots of current health justice movements. Her work bridges academic history with public engagement, as evidenced by her frequent media commentary on COVID-19 and other health issues in outlets including BBC Radio, CNN, Huffington Post, National Public Radio, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Among her notable recognitions: AAHN's Lavinia L. Dock Award for Exemplary Historical Research for 'Polio Wars: Sister Kenny and the Golden Age of American Medicine' (2014) Presenter of the AAHM's Garrison Lecture: 'Radical Visions of American Medicine: Politics and Activism in the History of Medicine' (2017) Professor Rogers has been actively involved in academic leadership and mentoring. She has served as Director of Graduate Studies for the 2022-23 academic year, Chair of the Women's Faculty Forum, and Liaison to the Committee on Status of Women in Medicine. Her service extends to editorial boards including the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences since 2018. She has also contributed to public understanding of medicine through consultations for documentaries including 'The Polio Crusade' (PBS), 'On the Basis of Sex' (Focus Features), and 'War on Science' (in process). Currently, Professor Rogers serves on the Medical School's OBGYN 'Dobbs' Sessions Planning Committee, which has organized webinars for the Yale community, and was co-organizer of the history-themed session 'Rooted in History: Abortion, Law and American Health Care.' She is working on her book project 'Health Radicalism and the Humanization of American Medicine' (under contract with Oxford), examining critics of medical orthodoxy since 1945 including civil rights, consumer, and feminist activists. She also conducts ongoing research on antisemitism in American medicine in the decades before and after World War II.
