Lynn T. White III is Professor Emeritus of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. His research examines Chinese political development, particularly in the Yangzi delta region around Shanghai, with comparative work in Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines. White's scholarship analyzes how economic changes influence political structures, including the shift from socialist planning to market dynamics in post-1970s China. His recent work explores non-electoral political participation and the scope of mobilization in racial, feminist, and nationalist movements. Publications include Careers in Shanghai , Policies of Chaos , Unstately Power (winner of AAS Levenson Prize), and Political Booms . He has mentored numerous doctoral students who now hold academic positions in Asian studies.
Kenneth Pomeranz is the University Professor of Modern Chinese History at the University of Chicago in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC). Previously taught at the University of California, Irvine , his research spans late Imperial and twentieth-century China , comparative world history , and global economic systems . Research Focus: Reciprocal influences between state, society, and economy; origins of the world economy through mutual regional influences; comparative studies of labor, family organization, and economic history. Current Projects: A history of Chinese political economy from the seventeenth century to the present; a book titled Why Is China So Big? exploring China's political unity despite its vast size. Scientific Awards and Fellowships: John K. Fairbank Prize (twice) World History Association Book Prize (shared) Guggenheim Fellowship American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow Publications: Key works include The Great Divergence , The Making of a Hinterland , and The World that Trade Created . His articles address topics such as labor-intensive industrialization, global environmental history, and Qing state-building.
Oliver Kroemer is an Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI), affiliated with the Intelligent Autonomous Manipulation (IAM) Lab. His research focuses on enabling robots to learn versatile manipulation skills through lifelong frameworks, with applications in elder care, environmental maintenance, and hazardous operations. Developed methods for robot learning via physical interaction and reinforcement learning Created representations for contact states and motor primitives to improve skill generalization Research Interests: Spanning robot learning, tactile sensing, force-velocity control, and lifelong skill acquisition. Projects include Agile and Dynamic Interactions for Mobile Manipulation and Integrated Planning and Learning (Pillar project). Scientific Awards: Finalist, Georges Giralt Ph.D. Award (2015) Education: Masters & Bachelors in Engineering, University of Cambridge (2008) Ph.D., Technische Universitaet Darmstadt (2014) Students & Affiliates: Current PhD: Mark Lee, Sarvesh Patil, Saumya Saxena, Yunus Seker, Zilin Si Past PhD: Alex LaGrassa, Tabitha Lee, Qiao Liang, Shivam Vats, Kevin Zhang
Prof. Dr. Günther Dissertori is a Full Professor and Rector of ETH Zurich, where he oversees teaching and academic affairs. His academic journey began at the University of Innsbruck, followed by a doctoral position at CERN, and he joined ETH Zurich as an Assistant Professor in 2001 before becoming a Full Professor in 2007. Academic Role: Full Professor of Particle Physics Institutional Leadership: Rector of ETH Zurich (since 2022) Contact: guenther.dissertori@sl.ethz.ch Research Interests: Dissertori's work spans Particle Physics and Experimental Physics , notably contributing to the CMS experiment at CERN, which was instrumental in the Higgs boson discovery. His group also developed cost-effective PET devices, leading to the spin-off Positrigo AG . Research keywords include Detector Development , Medical Imaging , and Quantum Physics . Teaching Excellence: Recognized with multiple Golden Owl awards (2005–2020) and the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching (2013), Dissertori is celebrated for his pedagogical impact in the Department of Particle Physics. Scientific Contributions: His publications include advancements in CMOS technology, quantum dynamics, and medical applications, reflecting interdisciplinary expertise in high-speed electronics, environmental science, and architectural history.
Ali Mostafazadeh is a Professor at the Department of Mathematics, College of Sciences, Koç University. His research spans Mathematical Physics, focusing on Quantum Mechanics, Scattering Theory, and PT-Symmetry. He has made significant contributions to understanding non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, electromagnetic wave propagation, and geometric scattering phenomena. Education: PhD in Physics (1994) from The University of Texas, BA in Physics and Mathematics (1989) from Boğaziçi University His work explores the intersection of mathematics and physics, particularly through spectral singularities, transfer matrix methods, and nonlinear optical systems. Recent publications highlight advancements in broadband directional invisibility, exact Born approximations, and time-dependent Hilbert spaces in quantum systems. 2011 Outstanding Success Award 2007 TÜBİTAK Science Award 2006 Werner-von-Siemens Excellence Award 2001 TÜBA Outstanding Young Scientists Award 2001 Parlar Foundation Research Incentive Award
Assoc Prof Ying Chen is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore , affiliated with the Department of Mathematics, Asian Institute of Digital Finance (as Academic Director of PhD Program in Digital FinTech 2022–2024), Risk Management Institute (2019–2023), Department of Statistics and Data Science (2019–2023), and Department of Economics (2018–2023). She also contributes to NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering since 2016. Research Interests include: AI forecasting and quantum computing for finance Nonstationary time series and functional data analysis Energy data analytics and precision medicine Network autoregression and spatial-temporal modeling Explainable AI and citation metrics Portfolio liquidation and market-making algorithms Article Trends demonstrate expertise in: Adaptive forecasting for gas flows and electricity prices Blockchain network influence detection Quantum computing applications in finance Functional autoregression with mixed predictors Credit rating fairness and explainability High-resolution implied volatility modeling Scientific Awards include: ISI Elected Member (2016–) International Statistical Institute Council (2023–2027) IASC Scientific Secretary (2017–2019, 2023–2025) Advisory roles for EU FIN-TECH and xAIM projects
Prof. Dr. Christian Breitsamter is a Professor at the Technische Universität München (TUM), leading the Chair of Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics within the TUM School of Engineering and Design. He has held this position since 2007 and has been a member of key committees such as the ICAS Programme Committee and STAB-Programmleitung. His research focuses on aerodynamics of aircraft and rotorcraft configurations, including vortex dynamics, aeroelasticity, and fluid-structure interaction. Education: PhD in Aerodynamics (1997) Master’s in Aerospace Engineering (1989) Research Interests: Prof. Breitsamter’s work spans experimental and numerical studies of high-agility aircraft, helicopter aerodynamics, and advanced wing designs. Key areas include leading-edge vortices, gust load mitigation using flexible wings, and flow control techniques. His group investigates cutting-edge topics like deep learning for buffet prediction and hybrid neural networks for aerodynamic modeling. Awards: Willy Messerschmitt Preis (1999) AIAA Associate Fellow (2007) Advising & Grants: While specific student names are not listed, his research involves collaborative projects with industry partners (e.g., RACER Compound Helicopter) and EU initiatives like the FURADO program. His team contributes to the NFDI4ING infrastructure for engineering data. Labs/Teams: Active in the Aerodynamics Wind Tunnel facilities (Windkanäle A/B/C) and leads the SAGITTA flying wing demonstrator project. His group also explores membrane wings and elasto-flexible morphing technologies.
Hugo de Boer is a Professor at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development , Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. He serves as scientific lead for the Delta Climate Center in Vlissingen and coordinates MSc programs in Water Science and Management and Water Management for Climate Adaptation . His research explores climate-ecosystem interactions, focusing on plant ecophysiology, ecosystem dynamics, and nature-inclusive climate adaptation in deltas. Research Themes: Future Deltas, Pathways to Sustainability, Integrative Bioinformatics Projects: LEMONTREE, CloudRoots, 'From losers to winners' (ancient plant lineages under elevated CO2) Teaching Expertise: System thinking for sustainability, quantitative statistics, plant ecophysiology Research Trends emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to climate change impacts on ecosystems, with publications spanning plant-cloud processes, CO2 acclimation, and eco-evolutionary optimality models. His work bridges biogeochemistry, land-atmosphere interactions, and sustainable development frameworks. Projects & Collaborations include experimental studies on ancient plant lineages (Equisetum) and integrative field campaigns in Amazon and temperate forests. He contributes to modeling climate-vegetation feedbacks, pesticide emission scenarios, and social-ecological system transitions.
Tobi Delbruck is a titular professor of physics and electrical engineering at ETH Zurich, where he leads the Sensors Group at the Institute for Neuroinformatics (INI) in Zurich, Switzerland. He collaborates closely with Shih-Chii Liu and Giacomo Indiveri as part of the 'hardware groups' at INI. Delbruck has also served as visiting faculty at Caltech and is a Fellow of the IEEE. His work focuses on bio-inspired and neuromorphic event-based sensory processing systems. Professor Delbruck's research spans multiple areas of neuromorphic engineering, with particular emphasis on event-based vision systems and low-power analog VLSI circuits. His work has significantly advanced the field of Dynamic Vision Sensors (DVS), which mimic the human retina's response to changes in brightness rather than capturing full frames. This approach enables extremely low-latency vision processing with minimal power consumption, making it ideal for high-speed applications and robotics. His research has applications in robotics, autonomous systems, and low-power embedded vision. Delbruck is an active contributor to the neuromorphic engineering community, co-organizing the annual Telluride Workshop on Neuromorphic Engineering and serving in leadership roles with IEEE. He has authored numerous influential publications and co-authored books including "Event-Based Neuromorphic Systems" and "Analog VLSI: Circuits and Principles." His jAER (Java Address-Event Representation) project provides open-source tools for real-time event-based sensory processing. Analysis of his recent publications shows a clear trend toward integrating event-based vision with deep learning techniques and applying these systems to practical robotics problems. His scientific achievements have been recognized with multiple awards including: IEEE Fellow Winner of Best Live Demonstration award at ISCAS 2012 Honorable Mention Award from Sensory Systems Technical Committee at ISCAS 2012 Overall Best Student Paper Award and Best Paper Award from Sensory Systems Technical Committee at ISCAS 2010 Winner of the 2006 ISSCC Jan Van Vessem Outstanding European Paper Award Professor Delbruck actively mentors students and has supervised numerous PhD and Master's theses in the areas of neuromorphic engineering and event-based vision systems. His group has secured significant research funding from various sources to support their innovative work in bio-inspired sensory processing. He teaches courses on "Electronics for Physicists II (Digital)" and "Neuromorphic Engineering," helping to train the next generation of researchers in this field. The Sensors Group at INI, which Delbruck leads, operates state-of-the-art facilities for designing and testing neuromorphic vision systems. The group maintains close collaborations with researchers worldwide and has developed several important open-source resources including the jAER project and bias generator design kits. Their work continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with event-based sensory processing, with applications ranging from high-speed robotics to low-power embedded vision systems.
Onookome Okome is a Professor in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. He holds MA and PhD degrees from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Previously at the University of Calabar (1989-2002), he became a full professor in 2008. He is an External Fellow (FRESCO Programme, 2021-2025) and recipient of the Alexander Humboldt Research Prize (2010). His research focuses on African literature, cinema (especially Nollywood), postcolonial theory, and critical race studies. Education: MA and PhD from University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Professional affiliations include collaborations with institutions in Germany, the UK, and York University, Canada. He co-edited Popular Culture in Africa: The Episteme of the Everyday (2014) with Stephanie Newell and Global Nollywood (2013) with Matthias Krings. Research emphasizes African popular culture's role in understanding everyday life, with notable work on Karin Barber's legacy and Nollywood's cultural significance. Current projects include a book on Nollywood's textual and contextual dynamics. Teaching spans race and literature, postcolonial theory, and African cinema at graduate/undergraduate levels. Awards: Alexander Humboldt Research Prize (2010), Leverhulme Professorship (unspecified period). Collaborations include the "Expressive Cultures of the African Diaspora" project with York University researchers.
Nicholas J. Marantz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine . His work bridges legal theory, urban planning, and empirical analysis to address housing affordability, land use regulation, and metropolitan governance. Education: Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology , J.D. from Harvard Law School . Research Interests focus on the intersection of law, politics, and planning, with emphasis on land-use regulation, environmental law, housing equity, and the socioeconomic impacts of zoning policies. His studies often employ spatial and quantitative methods to analyze disparities and governance frameworks. Selected Publications highlight trends in land-use regulation, housing affordability, climate policy, and metropolitan governance. His recent work examines state-level oversight of local planning, accessory dwelling units in California, and the role of legal materials in urban development.
Jan Skaloud serves as an Adjunct Professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), affiliated with the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC). He holds positions across multiple departments including SSIE (Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics), EDCE (Doctoral Program in Environmental Sciences and Engineering), and leads the Earth Sensing and Observation (ESO) Lab. His office is located at GC C2 397 in the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Skaloud's research expertise spans satellite positioning, inertial and integrated navigation systems, sensor orientation and calibration, attitude determination, mobile mapping, airborne laser scanning, and Kalman filtering techniques. His work bridges theoretical development with practical applications in UAV navigation, photogrammetry, and remote sensing. He teaches across three EPFL sections and two faculties, demonstrating his interdisciplinary approach to education. His publication record shows consistent contributions to the field, with recent work (2023-2025) focusing on vehicle dynamic model-based navigation for various UAV platforms, including delta-wing and fixed-wing drones. His research demonstrates a clear trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated navigation systems that integrate aerodynamic modeling with traditional sensor fusion approaches. This trend reflects the growing importance of model-based navigation in achieving higher precision and autonomy in UAV operations. 2021: Samuel Gamble Award for career contribution in photogrammetry & sensing (ISPRS) 2020: U.V. Helava Award for best paper in ISPRS Journal (2016-2019) 2017: Best Demo Award at IEEE International Workshop on Metrology & Aerospace 2014: Hansa Luftbild Award for best paper in PFG journal 2012: Karl Kraus Medal for best textbook in Photogrammetry 2009: GNSS Leader to Watch Innovation Award (GPS World) Dr. Skaloud has supervised numerous PhD students whose work focuses on advanced navigation systems, sensor calibration, and UAV applications. His research has received funding for projects involving direct georeferencing, mobile mapping systems, and UAV-based search and rescue operations. The ESO lab he directs serves as a hub for cutting-edge research in Earth observation technologies. The Earth Sensing and Observation Lab under Dr. Skaloud's direction brings together researchers working on navigation systems, sensor integration, and data processing techniques for geospatial applications. The lab maintains strong connections with industry partners and international research organizations, facilitating technology transfer and collaborative research projects.
Srdjan Lukic is the Deputy Director of the FREEDM Systems Center and a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on power electronics, power systems, and electric vehicle infrastructure. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (2007). His work emphasizes high-power converters, DC microgrids, and extreme fast charging (XFC) technologies for electric vehicles. Recent projects include the development of a 13.2 kV solid-state transformer for EV XFC stations and resilient distributed control frameworks for smart grids. He has contributed to wireless charging systems and modular medium-voltage fast chargers. Key Awards: University Faculty Scholars (2022) Grants: DOE-funded XFC projects, modular EV charging infrastructure Labs/Teams: FREEDM Systems Center, RIAPS control architecture development Publications highlight innovations in microgrid control, power electronics modeling, and privacy-preserving distributed systems. His work addresses grid resilience, cyber-physical integration, and high-efficiency energy conversion.
Peter W. Klein is an Emmy Award-winning full professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Journalism, Writing, and Media within the Faculty of Arts. He founded the UBC Global Reporting Centre and served as director of the school from 2011 to 2015. Klein also holds an affiliation as a faculty associate at the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. He runs the Global Reporting Program, a year-long course that works with master's journalism students from UBC and other universities worldwide. Klein's research focuses on Global Journalism, Innovation in Journalism, Documentary Production, and Investigative Reporting. His work emphasizes collaborative international reporting frameworks, solutions-focused empowerment journalism, and the ethical dimensions of global reporting practices. He has developed long-term investigative projects like Hidden Costs, which examines the hidden costs of global commerce through data, field reporting, academic research, and artistic exhibits. His scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on international reporting practices, fixer-journalist relationships, data journalism, and environmental investigations. The articles reveal a career-long commitment to investigative methodologies with emphasis on cross-border collaboration, ethical reporting frameworks, and innovative storytelling approaches that bridge journalism with academic research. Emmy Award for Best Investigation (National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) Sigma Delta Chi award Edward R. Murrow award Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism fellowship Ochberg Fellow at Columbia University's Dart Center 2011 UBC President's Award for Public Education through Media Klein has supervised numerous student-led investigative projects through the International Reporting Program and Global Reporting Program, working with news organizations including The New York Times, Toronto Star, The Guardian, PBS Frontline, Vice News and Al Jazeera. His research projects have received funding from SSHRC and CIHR, including the Hidden Costs initiative and Million Dollar Meds project. He has also collaborated with the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies on solutions-focused empowerment journalism projects.
Don John Omale serves as a Senior Lecturer in Criminology within the College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, focusing on critical issues in Nigerian and African criminal justice systems. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical field applications across diverse security and justice contexts. Dr. Omale's research centers on restorative justice mechanisms, police ethics, and conflict resolution in Africa. He extensively examines traditional African dispute resolution models alongside modern criminal justice challenges, with particular emphasis on Nigeria. His studies address farmer-herder conflicts, prison conditions, terrorism countermeasures, and domestic violence in semi-urban settings, consistently advocating for culturally grounded solutions that enhance community trust and institutional accountability. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2010-2025) reveals a dominant focus on restorative justice implementation and police accountability in Nigeria. His work demonstrates a methodological shift from theoretical discourse (2005-2011) toward empirical field studies examining practitioner perspectives and community-level impacts, particularly in conflict-affected regions like the Niger Delta and North Central Nigeria. The research consistently connects indigenous African conflict resolution traditions with contemporary security challenges. No scientific awards were documented in available sources Professional activities show no recorded student advising or grant funding in the provided materials, though his extensive publication record suggests active research supervision. His work frequently engages criminal justice professionals and community stakeholders, indicating collaborative field-based approaches to justice reform.
