Professor Jo Barraket is a leading academic and researcher in social equity, social innovation, and public policy. As Director of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and member of the Dilun Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership, she focuses on improving social equity through organizational innovation, cross-sector collaboration, and policy design. Her research addresses social procurement, health equity, digital inclusion, and employment pathways for marginalized groups. Her work includes landmark projects such as the Australian Digital Inclusion Index and evaluations of Commonwealth Social Enterprise Development Funds. She has secured over $11M in research grants, including multiple ARC grants, and produced over 75 scholarly publications. Her current projects compare social procurement policies in Australia and Scotland, and study youth unemployment in construction via employment-focused procurement. Key research themes include: social enterprise scaling strategies, cross-sector partnerships for policy implementation, and the role of philanthropy in equitable housing. She advises governments and OECD on inclusive employment policies and chairs major research initiatives like the Social Enterprise Impact Lab. Prof Barraket’s transdisciplinary approach combines rigorous academic research with practical outputs like policy guides and digital tools to maximize societal impact. She previously founded the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne, now a global leader in social economy research.
Dimitrios Skalkos serves as a Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, holding the specific title of Professor of Innovation Management in Food Businesses. His office is located in building X2, room X2-206c on the Ioannina Campus (45110 Ioannina), and he leads the Food Chemistry Laboratory. He earned his Basic Degree in Chemistry from the University of Ioannina (1980-1985) followed by a Doctoral Degree from the University of Toledo, USA (1986-1989) with dissertation research on "Di- and Tetrahydroporphyrins: Syntheses and Antitumor Activities". Skalkos's research spans Food Business Management, Food Innovation, and Innovation Management, with specialized focus on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Aromatic Plants, Innovative Foods, and Strategic Marketing. His work bridges academic research with industry applications in food systems, emphasizing Greek agricultural products and pandemic-era consumer behavior. His 36 publications (2020-2024) reveal strong trends in post-pandemic food innovation, consumer perception of traditional Greek foods, functional food development (particularly olive oil, cheese, and grape by-products), and sustainable agri-food supply chains. Key thematic clusters include traceability systems, bioactive properties of novel foods, and economic impacts on food choices. He has actively supervised Master's and PhD students through departmental presentations, directed 23 research programs, and organized 15 seminars and conferences. His laboratory website ( https://foods.chem.uoi.gr ) showcases ongoing food chemistry innovations.
Andrew Stephen is the L’Oréal Professor of Marketing and Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He leads the Marketing faculty and directs the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative, focusing on emerging technologies like AI and data-driven strategies in marketing, media, and advertising. His research explores digital marketing, consumer behavior, and the impact of new technologies, earning him recognition as a top global marketing scholar. His academic contributions span leading journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research and Harvard Business Review. He serves as editor of the Journal of Consumer Research, co-editor of the International Journal of Research in Marketing, and actively engages with industry through councils like the Mobile Marketing Association’s Brand Safety Council. Teaching responsibilities include marketing curriculum oversight and courses across MBA, Executive MBA, and DPhil programs, focusing on digital transformation, marketing analytics, and the future of marketing. His work bridges academic rigor with industry relevance, addressing challenges in tech-enabled marketing and global brand strategies. Awards: Top marketing academic in the UK (AMA), featured in Poets & Quants’ top 40 under 40, multiple research excellence awards. Labs/Initiatives: Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative, fostering collaborations with leading companies to tackle industry challenges. Grants/Advising: Extensive industry partnerships and academic grants not explicitly detailed in the text.
Patricia A. Banks is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Mount Holyoke College, with affiliations in Africana Studies and the Program in Entrepreneurship, Organizations, and Society. She holds a Ph.D. and A.M. from Harvard University and a B.A. (summa cum laude, valedictorian) from Spelman College. Her research explores intersections of culture, consumption, and race, focusing on African Diaspora dynamics. Key areas include cultural philanthropy, art collecting as identity practice, and corporate diversity capital. She authored Black Culture, Inc. (Stanford 2022), winning the Oliver Cromwell Cox Book Award, and Race, Ethnicity, and Consumption (Routledge 2020). Recent honors include ASA awards and fellowships from the CASBS (Stanford), Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation, and Harvard’s Hutchins Center. She co-edits Poetics and serves on ASA committees. Teaching awards include recognition from Harvard’s Derek Bok Center and Mount Holyoke’s Baccalaureate address. Her work spans books, peer-reviewed articles, and media engagements (NYT, Artnet). The African American Museums Database, her digital archive, catalogs over 300 institutions. Current projects address corporate diversity signaling, African art markets, and dress code discrimination.
Claire Célérier is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Household Finance. Her academic career spans prestigious institutions including the University of Toronto (where she advanced from Assistant to Associate Professor between 2016-2022) and the University of Zurich (2014-2016). She maintains an affiliation with the People's History Lab and actively contributes to academic discourse through conference organization including 'Race, Equity and Public Policy' (2023) and 'Banks, States and the People' (2024). Dr. Célérier's research explores how finance can benefit households through multiple lenses including behavioral economics, asset pricing, and financial history. Her work investigates innovation in finance, diversity and inclusion impacts, and historical perspectives on financial systems. She has developed significant expertise in household finance, banking, and the intersection of finance with social issues, particularly racial disparities in financial markets as demonstrated in her award-winning research on the Freedman's Savings Bank. Her scholarly output shows a clear trajectory from foundational work on security design and investor behavior toward increasingly socially relevant research on financial inclusion, racial equity, and household financial decision-making. Recent publications demonstrate her growing focus on historical contexts of financial systems and their contemporary implications, particularly regarding marginalized communities. Canada Research Chair in Household Finance (2024) Bank of Canada Governor's Award (2022) University of Toronto Top 5% Merit Award (2021) Petro Canada Young Innovators Award Program (2021) Multiple Rotman School of Management Teaching Awards (2019-2021) Ieke van den Burg Prize for Research on Systemic Risk (2015) Dr. Célérier has successfully secured substantial research funding including Insight Development Grants (CAD 54,500), Connaught Research Grant (CAD 10,000), and the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation Grant (EUR 400,000). She mentors several PhD students including Andrada Bilan (2020), Alexey Vasilenko (2023), and Purnoor Tak (Expected 2026), and has supervised numerous master's theses at both University of Toronto and University of Zurich. Her service contributions include Rotman School of Management MBA program committee, executive committee, seminar coordination, and faculty recruiting committee.
Dr. Alex Bigazzi is an Associate Professor and Associate Head (Undergraduate Program) in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), with a joint appointment in the School of Community and Regional Planning. He leads the REACT Lab, focusing on active transportation, micromobility, and sustainable infrastructure design. His research emphasizes the intersection of physics, physiology, and behavior in active travel, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists, and addresses emissions reduction and equitable urban mobility. Bigazzi holds a B.M. in Jazz Saxophone from the University of Miami and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Portland State University. His career includes academic and practical contributions, such as founding the REACT Lab and leading projects on e-bike incentives, air pollution exposure, and infrastructure design. His work has earned awards like the 2024 Wall Legacy Award for inclusive transport design and the 2023 Climate Action Award. He teaches courses on pedestrian/bicycle facility design and capstone projects, mentoring students through UBC’s Civil Engineering programs.
Panos Ipeirotis is a Professor at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, affiliated with the Department of Technology, Operations, and Statistics. He also serves as the George A. Kellner Faculty Fellow and is associated with the Center for Data Science and Computer Science departments at NYU. PhD in Computer Science (Columbia University, 2004) MSc in Computer Science (Columbia University, 2001) BSc in Computer Engineering & Informatics (University of Patras, 1999) His research spans crowdsourcing, machine learning, human-AI collaboration, online labor markets, and social media analytics. He pioneered human-machine loop systems that combine human and machine intelligence to achieve superior outcomes. His work has applications in data quality assurance, visual media search (e.g., Google Project Glass), and economic valuation of user-generated content. Recent publications focus on algorithmic fairness in hiring systems, occupational segregation analysis, and theoretical advancements in crowdsourcing consensus mechanisms. Earlier work includes foundational studies on data quality in crowdsourcing platforms, economic impacts of product reviews, and query optimization for text-centric tasks. 2015 Lagrange Prize in Complex Systems NSF CAREER Award SIGKDD Test of Time Award (2020) Multiple Best Paper awards (WWW 2011, KDD 2008, SIGMOD 2006) He has received significant grants, including a $1.5 million Google Research Grant (2013) for integrating crowdsourcing with machine learning algorithms. His work bridges computer science, economics, and social psychology, with implications for policy-making and business strategy.
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent SystemsGermany
Celestine Mendler-Dünner is a Principal Investigator at the ELLIS Institute in Tübingen, co-affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the Tübingen AI Center. She leads the Algorithms and Society research group, focusing on machine learning in social contexts and the role of prediction in digital economies. Her work bridges theoretical machine learning with practical societal impact, developing tools for safe, reliable, and equitable AI ecosystems. Her educational background includes a PhD from ETH Zurich in collaboration with IBM Research, followed by an SNSF postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley hosted by Moritz Hardt. She was previously a group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems before joining the ELLIS Institute. Mendler-Dünner's research spans several interconnected themes including performative prediction (where predictions change the behavior they aim to predict), algorithmic collective action (how participants can steer AI systems toward common goals), and the role of LLMs in social science research. Her work combines theoretical foundations with practical implementations, addressing challenges in interactive machine learning, optimization in dynamic environments, and context-specific evaluation of AI systems. She particularly examines how algorithmic predictions mediate services and platforms at societal scale, exploring concepts of economic power in digital markets. Her publication record shows a clear evolution from system-aware machine learning algorithms (including foundational work on IBM Snap ML) toward increasingly sociotechnical questions at the intersection of machine learning, economics, and policy. Recent work focuses on measuring performative power in digital economies, evaluating LLMs as risk scores, and developing frameworks for algorithmic collective action in recommender systems and labor markets. Among her notable recognitions are the ETH Medal for her dissertation, the IBM Research Division Award, the Fritz Kutter Award, and the IBM Eminence and Excellence Award. She is an ELLIS Scholar, a fellow of the Elisabeth-Schiemann-Kolleg, and affiliated with several prestigious research programs including the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems and the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems. ETH Medal (dissertation award) IBM Research Division Award Fritz Kutter Award IBM Eminence and Excellence Award SNSF Early Postdoc Mobility Fellowship Mendler-Dünner actively mentors the next generation of researchers, advising PhD student Patrik Wolf and supervising research interns including Joachim Baumann, Haiqing Zhu, and Anna Badalyan, as well as Master's student Dorothee Sigg. She serves as core faculty for the International Max Planck Research School and associated faculty for the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems. Her group has secured significant research funding through fellowships and institutional support, enabling work on projects like Powermeter (measuring search engine influence) and Snap ML (resource-efficient machine learning library with over 1 million PyPI downloads). She leads the Algorithms and Society research group, which examines machine learning as part of broader sociotechnical ecosystems. The group explores human-population interactions with algorithmic systems and incorporates these insights into learning system fundamentals. Current projects include investigating economic incentives in digital platforms, developing tools for systematic LLM evaluation in social science contexts, and creating frameworks for collective action in algorithmic systems. Mendler-Dünner also co-organizes the Algorithmic Collective Action workshop at NeurIPS 2025, demonstrating her leadership in emerging research directions at the AI-society interface.
Snježana Babić serves as Associate Professor and Head of the Graduate Study Program Informatics - Teaching Major at the Faculty of Informatics in Pula , University of Pula. With a PhD obtained in 2016 and university affiliation since 2017, she teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs focusing on ICT fundamentals, web design, digital competencies, and informatics education methodology. Her educational background includes graduation in 1993 followed by doctoral studies culminating in 2016. Though specific institutions aren't detailed in the text, her career trajectory shows progression from foundational ICT teaching to specialized informatics education leadership. Babić's research centers on educational technology adoption with particular emphasis on programming pedagogy for young learners through the MEMA method. Her work investigates digital competencies across multiple educational contexts, from primary schools to higher education. Recent publications demonstrate rapid adaptation to emerging technologies, with 2025 studies examining ChatGPT integration in Croatian educational settings and cross-cultural applications of programming methods. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on technology acceptance models applied to Croatian educators and students. The research trajectory shows evolution from foundational e-learning systems (2016-2020) to cutting-edge AI and robotics applications (2022-2025), maintaining strong methodological focus on teacher motivation , implementation barriers , and culturally-specific adoption factors . Her teaching portfolio demonstrates deep integration with research interests: Undergraduate: ICT Fundamentals, Web Design and Application Graduate: Digital Competencies in Education, Informatics Education Methodology, Practicum for IT Educators Cross-disciplinary: ICT in Nursing, Healthcare Informatics Babić actively contributes to institutional leadership as program head while maintaining robust research productivity. Her work bridges theoretical technology adoption frameworks with practical implementation challenges in Croatian educational contexts, particularly examining how emerging technologies like humanoid robots and AI assistants can be effectively integrated into teaching practices.
Dr. Kyla Walters is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Sonoma State University. Her research focuses on gender, labor, and education policy, particularly exploring issues of inequality in retail work, sexual harassment in industries, and resistance to charter school expansion. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Current research includes an interview-based study on beauty appraisals during pregnancy and childbirth, conducted with Sonoma State sociology students. Her work has been published in journals like Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and Hospitality & Society , as well as in the book Walking Mannequins (University of California Press, 2022). She has also contributed to policy analyses on teacher union resistance to educational reforms.
Brendan Russo serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Construction Management, and Environmental Engineering at Northern Arizona University, where he conducts influential research in transportation safety and traffic engineering. His work focuses on improving safety outcomes for vulnerable road users through rigorous analysis of crash data, traffic operations, and emerging mobility technologies, with significant contributions to Arizona-specific transportation challenges and national safety practices. Russo's research program centers on bicycle and pedestrian safety, crash severity analysis, and the integration of autonomous systems into transportation networks. He employs advanced methodologies including spatial analysis, statistical modeling (e.g., random parameters bivariate probit models), and observational studies to investigate traffic stress levels, intersection safety, and the impacts of infrastructure treatments. His work consistently bridges theoretical transportation engineering with practical applications for safer community design. Analysis of Russo's recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on emerging transportation technologies and their safety implications, particularly regarding autonomous delivery robots and vehicle-pedestrian interactions, while maintaining core focus on traditional safety concerns like bicycle crash frequency and severity. His research demonstrates increasing integration of spatiotemporal analysis and scenario-based testing methodologies, with a clear geographic concentration on Arizona metropolitan regions that provides valuable localized insights applicable to broader transportation contexts. No scientific awards were mentioned in the provided text. No specific information about advising responsibilities or grant funding was provided in the text, though his extensive publication record and dataset contributions indicate active research leadership. Russo collaborates within a robust research network centered on transportation safety, frequently partnering with colleagues including Gehrke, Smaglik, and Holliday on projects involving field data collection, bicycle infrastructure evaluation, and safety performance metrics. His work leverages both observational studies and simulation approaches to develop data-driven guidance for transportation practitioners, with particular attention to Arizona's unique transportation environment and metropolitan planning challenges.
Ryan Stones is a Lecturer at the City Law School , City, University of London, specializing in competition law, behavioral economics, and the intersection of legal philosophy with antitrust enforcement. His work critically examines the application of the formal rule of law to EU competition policy and analyzes historical schools of antitrust thought like the Chicago School and Ordoliberalism.
Mohammad Saifur Rahman is the Daniels School Chair in Management and a Professor of Management Information Systems at the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue University. Previously, he was an Associate Professor at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. His academic journey includes significant leadership roles such as co-chairing the Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) in 2013 and serving as president of the INFORMS eBusiness Society in 2014. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for both Management Science and Information Systems Research (ISR). Ph.D. in Management Information Systems, Krannert School of Management, Purdue University (2008) MBA in Management Information Systems, Southern Illinois University (2004) BS in Computer Science, Southern Illinois University (2002) Rahman's research primarily focuses on the economic implications of digital transformations. His work examines how digitization affects consumer behavior, market structures, and business strategies across various industries. He investigates the value of digital traces in driving consumer behavior and improving decision-making, particularly in omnichannel retail environments. His research on the sharing economy has revealed important insights about economic disparities, showing how platforms like Airbnb provide economic benefits to predominantly white neighborhoods while failing to generate similar spillover effects in predominantly Black or Hispanic neighborhoods. His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of technology, economics, and social impact. Rahman's work frequently examines how local market structures interact with digital platforms to create or exacerbate economic inequalities. His research spans multiple disciplines including information systems, economics, marketing, and operations management, with a particular emphasis on empirical studies using real-world data from major companies like Walmart and Cisco. CICP Faculty Commercialization Award (2020) INFORMS Sandy Slaughter Early Career Award (2018) World's Top 40 Business School Professors Under 40 by Poets and Quants (2017) Jay N. Ross Young Faculty Scholar Award (2015) Dean's Award for Outstanding Research Achievement (University of Calgary, 2014) Rahman has secured substantial research funding from organizations including Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Adobe Systems ($50,000 grants in 2017 and 2020), Trask Innovation Fund ($21,218), and NSF I-Corps ($50,000). He has advised numerous PhD students and collaborated with industry partners to translate research into practical applications. Rahman co-founded RightFit Analytics, a precision health analytics solution that utilizes AI to learn success patterns in healthcare. He has organized significant academic events including the Krannert-Walmart Data Dive (believed to be the first data dive on a college campus) and the Dawn or Doom Data Dive in cooperation with Cisco. Rahman actively engages with industry through consulting and collaborative research projects. His work with Walmart, Cisco, and other major corporations demonstrates his ability to bridge academic research with practical business applications. He has been particularly active in studying how AI and big data analytics can be leveraged to improve business decision-making while addressing potential negative consequences like algorithmic bias and economic inequality.
Dr Luke Garrod is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Loughborough University's Loughborough Business School. He holds a PhD, MPhil, and BA from the University of East Anglia. His research focuses on industrial organization, competition policy, consumer policy, and behavioral economics, with a particular emphasis on modeling firm incentives in imperfectly competitive markets. He received the International Journal of Industrial Organization Best Theoretical Paper Award 2019 for his work on collusion mechanisms. His book on hub-and-spoke cartels provides critical insights into antitrust enforcement strategies. Teaching responsibilities include Principles of Microeconomics (ECA002) and Industrial Economics (ECC005). He serves as an Associate Editor for the International Journal of the Economics of Business and contributes to economic consultancy through his role at Economic Insight. His research has explored topics such as cartel damages quantification, digital market regulation, and the interplay between consumer protection and competition policies. Key awards include the 2019 Best Theoretical Paper Award, reflecting his contributions to advancing antitrust and competition policy frameworks. His work bridges theoretical economic modeling with practical regulatory applications, addressing emerging challenges in global competition dynamics and digital economy policies.
University of Applied Sciences and Arts LucerneSwitzerland
Prof. Dr. Frank Ulbrich is a Lecturer and Programme Director for the BSc Business Administration at the Lucerne School of Business (HSLU). He holds a PhD in Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics. His academic career spans roles at universities in Sweden, the UK, Canada, and Switzerland, alongside IT & Management consulting experience. Research focuses on management education, project management, information management, and organizational change. He has published extensively in areas like shared services, digital transformation, and curriculum development. Notable awards include multiple Emerald Literati Awards and a Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy. Education: PhD in Business Administration (Stockholm School of Economics) Affiliations: Institute of Business and Regional Economics at HSLU Teaching Subjects: Academic Methods, Higher Education Management, Project Management, Digital Transformation Recent presentations include discussions on bridging academia-industry gaps, curriculum integration of SDGs, and data-driven learning strategies. His work emphasizes aligning education with labor market needs and advancing evidence-based teaching practices.
