Kumar Varoon Agrawal is an Associate Professor at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), holding the Gaznat Chair for Advanced Separations. He is affiliated with the School of Basic Sciences (SB), the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC), and the Laboratory of Advanced Separations (LAS) in Sion, Switzerland. Additionally, he contributes to the Swiss Doctoral School in Chemical and Bioengineering (SCGC) and serves as Vice President of the Confédération des Chimistes et des Génie Chimique (CCE). Research Focus: Material Chemistry & Engineering at the Ångström scale for high-performance inorganic and hybrid membranes, emphasizing energy-efficient molecular separations. Teaching: Courses include Fundamentals of separation processes , Diffusion and mass transfer , and Chemical engineering product design . Scientific Contributions: His 15 most recent publications (2025-2020) span topics like graphene pore engineering , 2D material synthesis , carbon capture , and gas separation membranes , with keywords such as Nanotechnology , Materials Science , and Molecular Transport . Subfields include Atomic-Scale Pores , Membrane Stability , and Industrial Scalability . Students and Collaborations: He advises 10 current PhD students and has mentored 9 past PhD candidates in areas like graphene membranes , ion separation , and MOF films . He is an Academic Referent for the EPFL Carbon Team and a committee member for the EDCH Doctoral Program in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
Giancarlo Ferrari Trecate is an Adjunct Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) , affiliated with the School of Engineering and the SCI-STI-GFT department. He is also involved in teaching and research through the STI-SGM and EDRS-ENS programs. Research Interests : Automatic control, state estimation, system identification, machine learning, distributed control, hybrid systems, microgrids, biochemical networks, voltage and frequency stabilization in AC/DC microgrids. Publications Trends : His recent work focuses on integrating Neural ODEs and Hamiltonian structures for stable control systems, regret minimization in distributed control, and robust state estimation under uncertainty. Applications include autonomous mobility-on-demand , power grid optimization , and secure microgrid control against cyber-attacks. Scientific Awards : No specific awards mentioned in the provided data. Teaching & Advising : He supervises PhD students in mechanical engineering and teaches courses on Multivariable control and Networked control systems . His lab, DECODE , specializes in Dependable Control and Decision systems.
Daniel Sage is a Lecturer and Scientific Advisor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , affiliated with the Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (LIB) under the College of Engineering (STI) and School of Life Sciences (SV) . He specializes in bioimage informatics , structured-illumination microscopy , and deep learning applications for biomedical imaging. His work spans algorithm development for single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) , fluorescence imaging , and 3D reconstruction . His research group has developed open-source tools like FlexSIM for light inhomogeneity correction, DeepImageJ for integrating deep learning in ImageJ, and Steer'n'Detect for orientation-accurate template detection. His publications focus on correcting multiple-blinking artifacts in PALM, optimal transport metrics for SMLM evaluation, and contextual feature analysis for xenograft cell classification. He mentors PhD students and contributes to interdisciplinary education through courses such as Bioimage Informatics and Fundamentals of Image Analysis , emphasizing practical software solutions and Java programming for bioimage processing. His collaborations include institutions like Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) .
Natalia Díaz Rodríguez is an Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence at ENSTA ParisTech, where she works in the Computer Science and Systems Engineering department within the Autonomous Systems and Robotics Lab (U2IS). She is also affiliated with the INRIA Flowers team, focusing on developmental robotics. Her research spans deep learning, reinforcement learning, continual learning, and symbolic AI, with applications in explainable AI, computer vision, and robotics for social good. Her academic background includes a double PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Abo Akademi University and the University of Granada, alongside MSc degrees in Soft Computing and Computer Engineering from the University of Granada. She contributes to interdisciplinary AI, particularly in robotics, ethics, and healthcare applications, and co-organizes workshops on continual learning. Double PhD in Artificial Intelligence (2015), Abo Akademi University and University of Granada Doctoral diploma on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2017), EIT Digital MSc in Soft Computing and Intelligent Systems (2012), University of Granada MSc in Computer Engineering (2010), University of Granada Her recent publications focus on trustworthy AI, including bias identification, counterfactual explanations, and continual learning strategies, reflecting her commitment to ethical and robust AI systems. She also explores AI applications in structural engineering, climate visualization, and financial risk assessment, emphasizing practical deployment and interpretability.
Xuming He is an Associate Professor at the School of Information Science and Technology (SIST), ShanghaiTech University, where he leads the PLUS Lab. His research spans computer vision and machine learning with a focus on developing algorithms that operate effectively under limited supervision and evolving data conditions. His core research interests include weakly-supervised and few-shot learning for scenarios with sparse annotations, continual learning frameworks for knowledge retention during sequential task acquisition, semantic segmentation techniques for scene understanding, and multimodal vision-language representations. He emphasizes interpretable machine learning to build transparent AI systems capable of human-understandable reasoning, addressing critical challenges in model trustworthiness and deployment reliability. Recent publications reveal strong trends toward novel class discovery in long-tailed recognition scenarios, physics-informed generative modeling for scientific applications, and robust segmentation under distribution shifts. His work increasingly integrates large language models for multimodal reasoning while maintaining focus on efficiency in resource-constrained environments like robotic grasping and medical imaging analysis. He actively mentors students, having supervised Qian He to PhD completion and Chuanyang Hu to Master's degree in 2023. He welcomes prospective graduate students through ShanghaiTech's Computer Science & Technology program and offers undergraduate research projects requiring minimum six-month commitments. The PLUS Lab under his direction drives innovation in learning under supervision constraints, with recent work spanning medical tumor analysis, cross-view geolocation, photonic computing, and semiconductor design verification. The lab's research bridges theoretical advances with practical applications across healthcare, robotics, and scientific discovery domains.
David Atienza is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the School of Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), renowned for pioneering embedded systems education and research in ultra-low power computing. His innovative teaching methods, including using Nintendo DS consoles and smartphones to teach embedded systems, earned him the 2015 EPFL Teaching Award in Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on Embedded Systems , Edge AI , and Wearable Healthcare , with breakthroughs in energy-efficient hardware-software co-design for biomedical applications. Key contributions include open-source platforms like X-HEEP and HEEPocrates for ultra-low power edge computing, and frameworks like SzCORE for seizure detection benchmarking. His work bridges computer architecture with real-world healthcare challenges, emphasizing privacy-preserving algorithms and sustainable computing. Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal a dominant trend toward biomedical edge AI and sustainable computing , with 70% of articles targeting healthcare wearables (seizure detection, cough monitoring) and 30% addressing energy efficiency in data centers and edge devices. His research consistently integrates open-hardware principles (RISC-V) with novel algorithm-hardware co-design. Awards include: 2015 EPFL Teaching Award in Electrical Engineering section While specific advising details are unreported, his extensive publication record and leadership in multi-partner projects like Sustainable Textile Electronics (STELEC) indicate active graduate supervision and significant research funding. His group develops open-source hardware frameworks used globally in academia and industry. He leads the Embedded Systems Laboratory at EPFL, driving projects in ultra-low power RISC-V architectures, biomedical wearables, and sustainable computing. Current initiatives include carbon-aware data center frameworks and multi-modal health monitoring systems deployable on commercial wearables.
Frédérick Massin is a researcher at ETH Zürich's Swiss Seismological Service (SED), specializing in seismology, earthquake early warning systems, and volcanic monitoring. He is affiliated with the Bedretto Underground Lab (BULGG) and contributes to global seismic research. His work focuses on developing advanced algorithms for rapid earthquake rupture characterization (e.g., FinDer), improving earthquake early warning (EEW) systems in regions like Central America and New Zealand, and analyzing seismic data to enhance disaster preparedness. Key research areas include: Earthquake Source Physics and Real-Time Modeling Seismic Data Center Innovation and Global Networks Volcanic Seismicity and Lahar Detection Socio-Technical Aspects of EEW Systems Recent projects involve assessing EEW impacts in Central America, improving seismic catalogues (FEAR-1), and investigating lake ice seismicity. He collaborates internationally on initiatives such as the Nepal School Seismology Network and Yellowstone volcano-tectonic studies.
Debabrota Basu is a tenured faculty member (Inria Starting Faculty Position - ISFP) at the Scool team (previously called SequeL) of Inria Centre at University of Lille in France. He teaches postgraduate-level courses on privacy, responsible machine learning, and research methods in AI at École normale supérieure-PSL University, Université de Lille, and Centrale Lille. He is also a member of the ELLIS Society (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) and the Paris unit of ELLIS. Dr. Basu earned his PhD in Computer Science from the Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, National University of Singapore, advised by Stéphane Bressan and Pierre Senellart. Prior to that, he obtained a B.E. degree with Honours in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University. Before joining Inria, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers University of Technology's Data Science and AI Division. Dr. Basu's research focuses on constructing algorithms for developing efficient, robust, private, and ethical learning machines that solve real-world problems. His methodological approach blends statistics, machine learning, and optimization. His application interests span sustainable agro-ecology, medical and pharmaceutical applications, energy-efficient autonomous systems, and algorithmic audits. Recent collaborations include the Inria-Indian Statistical Institute associate team SeRAI for developing Sequential Testing and Learning Algorithms for Verifiably Robust and Responsible AI, and the Inria-INRAE collaboration on Resilient Agricultural Decision Making under Environmental Risks. His publication record demonstrates expertise in bandit algorithms, reinforcement learning, and privacy-preserving machine learning. Recent work shows a strong theoretical foundation with practical applications, particularly in pure exploration bandits, differential privacy mechanisms, constrained optimization, and fairness verification. His research bridges the gap between theoretical guarantees and real-world deployment challenges across multiple domains. Dr. Basu has received notable recognition for his contributions: Best Student Paper Award at ACM EAAMO 2022 for 'On Meritocracy in Optimal Set Selection' Young researcher (JCJC) grant from the French National Research Agency (ANR) in 2022 in 'Artificial Intelligence and Data Science' He leads the project 'RL under Real-life Constraints: Regrets and Algorithms' and supervises PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. His research is supported by multiple projects including REPUBLIC ('Vers l'IA responsable avec l'apprentissage par renforcement sous contraintes') and 'Foundations of robustness and reliability in artificial intelligence.' Dr. Basu actively collaborates with institutions worldwide, including establishing the RELIANT associate team with Kyoto University for investigating structured multi-armed bandit problems.
Michael Baudis is a Professor of Bioinformatics and Tumorgenomics at the Institute of Molecular Biology , Faculty of Science, University of Zurich. He leads the development of the Progenetix database, a global reference for cancer genomic copy number alterations, and contributes to international standards through his membership in the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) . Research focuses on genomic data representation , cancer subtype classification , and data sharing protocols Key projects include Beacon networks , Phenopackets , and GA4GH standards Email: michael.baudis@uzh.ch His recent work explores short tandem repeat variations , attention-based deep learning for CNAs , and heterogeneity in cancer classifications . Methodological contributions include segment_liftover , CNARA , and pgxRpi for genomic data calibration and analysis.
Dr. Sina Rafati Niya serves as a Senior Researcher at the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (BDLT) group, University of Zurich (UZH), where he specializes in blockchain data governance and analytics for PoS-based systems including Cardano, Tezos, Casper, and Polkadot since 2022. His research spans decentralized applications in DeFi, supply chain tracking, identity management, and IoT domains, building on continuous work since 2017. He completed his Ph.D. at UZH in 2021 with the dissertation "Efficient Designs for Practical Blockchain-IoT Integration," establishing foundational work for his current research trajectory. Rafati Niya's research centers on Blockchain Data Engineering and Analysis, with specific expertise in transaction untangling (Cardano shared send transactions), address clustering heuristics, privacy-preserving micro-payment systems for resource-constrained IoT devices, and GDPR-compliant blockchain adaptations. His methodology emphasizes practical implementation challenges in scalability and real-world deployment across financial, supply chain, and industrial IoT contexts. Publication analysis reveals concentrated advancements in Cardano analytics (60% of recent work), including novel transaction analysis frameworks and network structure investigations in Polkadot, alongside persistent exploration of blockchain-IoT integration patterns. This body of work demonstrates evolving sophistication from protocol design (2017-2020) toward advanced analytics and privacy solutions (2021-2025). No scientific awards were documented in the source material. While specific advisees and grants remain unlisted, his extensive co-authorship pattern (27+ publications 2017-2025) indicates active mentorship within the BDLT group and collaboration with researchers including C. J. Tessone, Burkhard Stiller, and M. Chegenizadeh. Current projects focus on offline micro-payment verification and Cardano transaction analytics. As a core contributor to UZH's BDLT research group, he drives initiatives in blockchain analytics infrastructure and practical protocol development, maintaining strong industry-academia connections through publications in IEEE ICBC, Springer, and Elsevier venues.
Dr. Konstantin Mikityuk is Group Leader of Advanced Nuclear Systems at Paul Scherrer Institute's Laboratory for Simulation and Modelling. He has researched fast reactor safety since 1992, focusing on neutronics and thermal-hydraulics of sodium-cooled systems. As coordinator of the Horizon-2020 ESFR-SMART project, he leads European sodium fast reactor safety research. He represents Switzerland in the Generation-IV International Forum Experts Group and co-chairs its Education Task Force. Dr. Mikityuk also serves as Swiss representative to IAEA's Technical Working Group on Fast Reactors. His research develops computational methods for reactor safety assessment, including advanced simulation tools for sodium boiling phenomena, core power distribution, and fuel performance. Recent work examines metallic fuel behavior, accident progression in loss-of-flow scenarios, and uncertainty quantification methodologies. He obtained his PhD from Russian Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" (2002) and holds engineering degrees from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute.
Prof. Beat Keller is a Professor and Head of Molecular Plant Biology and Phytopathology at the University of Zurich's Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (Faculty of Science). His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of disease resistance in wheat against fungal pathogens like Blumeria graminis (powdery mildew) and leaf rust. Key areas include NLR immune receptors, effector proteins, and translational breeding for durable resistance. His group integrates genomics, genetics, and evolutionary biology to identify resistance genes in wheat landraces and wild relatives, leveraging genebanks for crop improvement. Recent work includes the AGENT project exploring Swiss wheat landraces for mildew resistance via k-mer-based GWAS, cloning non-canonical resistance genes like Pm4 and WTK4, and analyzing pathogen co-evolution. He teaches courses like 'Form und Funktion der Pflanzen' and supervises numerous PhD students. His work is funded by EU Horizon 2020 and other grants, emphasizing practical applications in agriculture.
Fazl Barez is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford leading research on Technical AI Safety and Governance. He is also affiliated with Cambridge's CSER, NTU's Digital Trust Centre, Edinburgh's Informatics, and is a member of ELLIS. Previously, he was a researcher at Amazon and Huawei, and Co-director and Head of Research at Apart Research. He currently serves as an advisor to Martian and has worked with Anthropic's Alignment team (2024-2025). University of Oxford: Senior Research Fellow Cambridge CSER: Affiliate NTU Digital Trust Centre: Affiliate Edinburgh Informatics: Affiliate ELLIS: Member Anthropic: Alignment Team Collaborator (2024-2025) Martian: Advisor Dr. Barez's research focuses on ensuring AI systems remain safe, interpretable, and beneficial as they grow in capability. His work spans four interconnected areas: Interpretability (developing methods to reveal how AI models process information internally), Safety and Alignment (creating tools to detect and address deceptive behaviors), Technical Governance (translating technical insights into governance frameworks), and Societal Impact (examining broader implications of AI on society). His research is funded by OpenAI, Anthropic, Schmidt Sciences, Future of Life Institute, and NVIDIA. The trends in Dr. Barez's publications show a consistent focus on making AI systems more transparent and safer. His recent work explores mechanistic interpretability techniques like sparse autoencoders, investigates how language models relearn removed concepts, examines machine unlearning for safety applications, and develops frameworks for value alignment measurement. His publications appear in top venues including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, and EMNLP, reflecting his significant contributions to both theoretical and practical aspects of AI safety. Future of Humanity Institute PhD Affiliate (2022-2024) EPSRC PhD Student Scholarship (2019-2023) MSc Scholarship (2017-2018) BA (Hons) Sports Performance Scholarship (2013-2017) Dr. Barez has mentored numerous students who have gone on to prominent positions at organizations like Microsoft Research, DeepMind, and Martian. His research is generously funded by major AI organizations including OpenAI, Anthropic, Schmidt Sciences, Future of Life Institute, and NVIDIA. He has served as an Area Chair for ACL 2025 and on program committees for major conferences including ECAI 2024. His work has practical impact, with algorithms like N2G adopted by OpenAI to evaluate sparse autoencoders for interpretability. Dr. Barez leads research at the intersection of technical AI safety and governance. His work connects with multiple research groups including the UK AI Security Institute, Alan Turing Institute, and various university centers. He has co-organized workshops such as the first Mechanistic Interpretability workshop at ICML 2024 and actively collaborates with researchers across the AI safety ecosystem. His research bridges the gap between theoretical safety research and practical implementation in real-world AI systems.
Elizabeth M. Daly is a Research Scientist at IBM Research Laboratory, Dublin, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin's School of Computer Science and Statistics. Her work focuses on interactive AI , human-centered design , and fairness in algorithmic systems . She contributes to AI governance and LLM safeguarding through projects like AutoFair and Granite Guardian. Ph.D. in Computer Science (2007), Trinity College Dublin Thesis: Social Network Analysis for Routing in Disconnected Delay-Tolerant MANETs Her research interests span: Interactive AI : Facilitating AI-human negotiation for common objectives Trustworthy AI : Addressing fairness, accountability, and transparency in industrial applications Explainable AI : Developing tools like AIMEE for model exploration and editing She serves on the program committees of top conferences (RecSys, IUI, WWW, UMAP, ICWSM) and the Royal Irish Academy’s committee on Engineering and Computer Science. Notable scientific award: ACM Distinguished Member . Projects: AutoFair : Human-compatible automation of fairness in AI AIMEE : AI model explorer and editor tool Usage Governance Advisor : Translating AI intent into governance frameworks She leads the Interactive AI Group at IBM Research Europe - Ireland.
Dr. Maren Brehme is a Lecturer at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich, specializing in geothermal energy systems and subsurface fluid dynamics. Her research focuses on geothermal reservoir engineering, CO2 storage integration, and sustainable energy solutions. She is affiliated with the Institute of Geophysics and contributes to projects addressing geothermal resource assessment, reservoir stimulation, and environmental impacts of energy extraction. Her work bridges geology, geochemistry, and engineering, with emphasis on optimizing geothermal operations and mitigating operational challenges such as injectivity decline and clogging. Her research interests encompass geothermal reservoir modeling, diagenetic processes in high-CO2 environments, and interdisciplinary approaches to energy systems. She has published extensively on topics including geothermal precipitates, CO2-plume geothermal (CPG) systems, and the techno-economic viability of geothermal energy for heat and power applications. Key projects include studies on the Aachen geothermal system, Mezőberény sandstone reservoirs, and the Aquistore CCS site in Canada. Her work often involves numerical simulations and field case studies, contributing to the advancement of geothermal energy technologies and their integration with carbon capture strategies.
