Maryam Salehi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Missouri. She specializes in contaminant fate and transport, microplastics, and drinking water quality. PhD in Environmental Engineering, Purdue University MSc in Civil Engineering, University of South Alabama PhD in Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology MSc in Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology BSc in Civil Engineering, Yazd University Her research focuses on understanding the environmental impacts of microplastics, including their interaction with heavy metals and breakdown under mechanical or environmental stressors. She also investigates contaminant transport in urban water systems and hurricane-induced water-sediment dynamics. Recent publications highlight her work on biocompatible water filters, plastic-coated fertilizers, and microplastic aging processes. She collaborates internationally, including studies in Germany and Florida, and secures funding from the National Science Foundation and EPA. NSF Early CAREER Award James C. Dowell Professorship She mentors graduate students and leads the Water and Environmental Research Lab at the Missouri Water Center, which unites academia, industry, and government stakeholders.
Tomika Greer, Ph.D., serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Consumer Sciences at the University of Houston's College of Technology, where she coordinates both the graduate and undergraduate Human Resource Development (HRD) programs. Her extensive teaching portfolio spans 19 courses delivered online and face-to-face, covering quantitative methods, organizational learning, talent management, and e-learning design. Her academic credentials include: Ph.D. in Human Resource Development, Texas A&M University M.Ed. in Instructional Technology, Texas Tech University B.S. in Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University Dr. Greer's research program critically examines career development pathways for women, veterans, and underrepresented populations through lenses of gender diversity, work-life integration, and remote work dynamics. Her scholarship bridges STEM education equity and organizational behavior, with particular focus on first-generation college students and military-to-civilian transitions. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2016-2023) reveals three dominant trajectories: 1) Feminist HRD evolution toward gender diversity beyond binary frameworks, 2) Pandemic-era telework adaptation strategies and their impact on career trajectories, and 3) Systematic investigations of structural barriers facing marginalized professionals. Her work consistently employs mixed-methods approaches across journals like Frontiers in Psychology and International Journal of HRD. Major recognitions include: Double AHRD Book of the Year Award (2023) for edited volumes on critical HRD Scholarly Publication Award from UH Women of Color Coalition (2023) Inclusion in Cell Press's 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists list (2020) Dissertation of the Year Award from American Society of Training and Development (2011) Texas A&M Diversity Fellowship ($63,000) during doctoral studies As Faculty Advisor for the Student Society of HRD, she has secured Student Organization of the Year awards (2018, 2021) while mentoring students through the Graduate Enhancement for Minority Studies (GEMS) program. Her grant work focuses on minority recruitment in STEM through case studies at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Dr. Greer actively shapes the field through her re-elected service on the Academy of HRD's International Board of Directors (2018-2024) and leadership in curriculum development for HRD undergraduate education, emphasizing research-based pedagogical approaches.
Ahmed Saeed is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in scalable computer networks and systems. His research spans congestion control, operating systems, LEO satellite networks, and formal methods, with a strong record of publications and active mentorship. Education: PhD in Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology (2019) Bachelor's in Computer and Systems Engineering, Alexandria University (2010) Postdoctoral Associate, MIT (with Prof. Mohammad Alizadeh) Research Interests: Ahmed's work focuses on the theory, design, and implementation of scalable networked systems. Key themes include: Congestion control algorithms for datacenter and WAN traffic Overload control mechanisms for microsecond-scale RPCs Performance debugging tools for datacenter applications LEO satellite network modeling and policy analysis Formal verification of network protocols and resource schedulers Recent Publications Trend: His 2024-2025 papers emphasize LEO satellite resilience and datacenter performance , with contributions to emergency failover modeling, latency debugging tools, and congestion control protocols. These works combine empirical measurement, formal modeling, and policy recommendations. Awards & Funding: NSF CAREER Award (2024) – LEO satellite variability ($600k) NSF CNS Core Awards (2022) – Edge server stacks & formal verification (total $2.38M) Google Research Award (2022) – Scalable edge systems ($80k) DARPA Risers Top 5 Poster (2022) Spec Tech Award (2023) – Nanomodular electronics routing ($40k) Teaching & Service: He regularly teaches Computer Networking I (CS 3251) and Datacenter Networks & Systems (CS 8803) . Service includes PC roles for SIGCOMM, NSDI, CoNEXT, and Networking area co-chair for JSys. Lab & Students: Ahmed leads an active research group with PhD students Peidi Song, Bhaskar Pardeshi, Sherif Abdelrazek; MS students Dhyey Thummar, Pratyush Sahu, Sammy Kapoor; and undergraduate Demi Lei. Alumni have joined industry leaders like Juniper, Microsoft, and Snowflake.
Dr. Caroline Buckee is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she joined as an Assistant Professor in summer 2010 and was promoted to Professor in 2021. She served as Associate Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics from 2013-2023. Dr. Buckee co-founded and co-directs Crisis Ready (crisisready.io), a joint platform between Harvard's Data Science Initiative and Direct Relief that supports data-driven responses to public health emergencies. She also co-leads the South Asia Climate and Health Research Cluster supported by Harvard's Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability. Dr. Buckee's research spans infectious disease epidemiology and ecology with a focus on vector-borne diseases including malaria and dengue. Her work examines human mobility and the impact of labor migration on epidemic spread, as well as the intersection of climate risks and human health. Her research group actively supports National Malaria Control Programs in the global south to improve surveillance and analytical approaches. Specific projects include studying the impact of gold-mining on malaria transmission in the Amazon region and investigating how extreme heat affects poor working women in India, with the goal of developing community-led interventions. Dr. Buckee's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on integrating genomic data with epidemiological modeling, particularly for malaria parasites. Her work addresses critical gaps in understanding spatial disease dynamics, the impact of human mobility on outbreaks, and the development of privacy-preserving methods for using mobile phone data in public health. She has made significant contributions to understanding how environmental factors, including climate change and resource extraction, influence disease transmission patterns. Dr. Buckee has received NIH funding including the R35GM124715 grant for "New approaches to measuring and containing the spatial spread of human pathogens" and R21GM100207 for "An alignment free network approach to analyzing highly recombinant malaria parasites." Her research has been widely cited and has influenced public health responses to infectious disease outbreaks globally. Through Crisis Ready, Dr. Buckee's team works at the intersection of data science and public health emergency response, developing tools and approaches to improve real-time decision-making during crises. Her group maintains strong international collaborations, particularly with researchers and public health officials in malaria-endemic regions of South America and South Asia.
Dr. Haruhiko Goto is a Professor at Waseda University's School of Creative Science and Engineering, Department of Architecture. With a career spanning over four decades, he has served in multiple leadership roles including Executive Vice President and Vice President at Waseda University, and as President of The City Planning Institute of Japan. His work focuses on Urban Design , Regional Development , and Community Engagement through architectural and planning lenses. Education: PhD, MA, and BA in Architecture from Waseda University His research systematically examines environmental cognition and subjective well-being in urban contexts, analyzing how spatial experiences affect social dynamics. Recent studies investigate defensive architecture in public spaces, urban redevelopment of shrines , and post-disaster community reconstruction . His publications demonstrate strong integration between urban environmental psychology and place-based social systems . With over 14 refereed publications and 11 citations, his work addresses contemporary urban challenges including social isolation , work-life design , and cultural landscape preservation . As a leader in his field, he has received multiple planning design awards and contributed to national urban policy discussions. Scientific Awards: City Planning Institute of Japan's 60th Anniversary Commemorative Project Awards (2011) Minister of Land Infrastructure's Land Use Model Award (2010) Good Design Award (2010) Japan Institute of Architects Award (2005) As an academic leader, he has chaired numerous professional organizations including The World Society for Ekistics and The Japan Society of Lifology , and contributed to policy development through committee memberships in Japan Academic Council and Urban Planning Institute of Japan .
Professor Tatsuya Kimura serves at Waseda University's Graduate School of Business and Finance, holding a Ph.D. from Waseda University and an MBA from Lancaster University (UK). His academic appointments include Professor at the Faculty of Commerce and Graduate School of Business and Finance, with additional affiliations at the Global Education Center. His research spans Consumer Economics and Society , Marketing , Internal Marketing , and Service Management , with particular focus on Japanese market adaptations of customer satisfaction metrics. Kimura pioneered the Promoter Score Japan (PSJ) as a culturally adapted alternative to Net Promoter Score (NPS), demonstrating through empirical studies that Japanese consumer response patterns differ significantly from Western models. His publication trends reveal evolving specialization from foundational marketing theory (1990s-2000s) toward culturally-specific metric development (2010s-2020s). Recent work analyzes care worker motivation through internal marketing frameworks and examines service industry dynamics through Japanese cultural lenses. His research consistently bridges academic theory with practical business applications across manufacturing and service sectors. Nikkei Advertising Award Category Award Winner (since 1990) Fujisankei Advertising Award (since 1986) Kimura leads multiple Japan Society for the Promotion of Science research projects including Research on the promotion requirements for internal marketing (2018-2023) and Internal Marketing (2011-2013), with findings published in Routledge's Internal Marketing: Another Approach to Marketing for the Growth (2016). His international collaborations include research at Columbia University (2012-2013) on global marketing strategy. He teaches core graduate courses including Marketing & Brand Management , Service Marketing & Management , and Marketing Management , with particular emphasis on case-based learning methodologies for Japanese business professionals.
Atsumi Okada is an Associate Professor at Waseda University's School of Creative Science and Engineering , specializing in History of Europe and America , Area studies , and Cultural anthropology and folklore . Her research bridges historical analysis with contemporary media studies. Doctoral research on Mexican Revolution's impact on business Extensive work on public space and disaster memory Major contributions to understanding Japanese media's portrayal of Mexico Specialist in water resource history and language education Dr. Okada's recent work focuses on 19th-century Japanese media representations of Mexico (2024), Spanish education during pandemic (2022), and Yaqui people's image construction (2020). Her publications span from 2000 to 2024 . Her academic activities include Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering (2024-2026) and International Conference presentations since 2010. She has taught Spanish language and cultural studies at multiple schools within Waseda University.
Takeo Hirata is a Professor at Waseda University's Faculty of Sport Sciences and Graduate School of Sport Sciences. He holds a Doctor of Engineering from The University of Tokyo and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. His academic career follows a distinguished professional background in government and sports administration. His research primarily focuses on Sports Business , Sports Management , and Sports Sciences , with particular emphasis on professional football/soccer management, sports industry analysis, and the economic aspects of sports. His work bridges academic research with practical applications in sports management and policy development. Professor Hirata's publications reveal a strong trend toward analyzing Asian football systems, particularly the J-League, with comparative studies against European and South American leagues. His research examines player development pathways, national team performance correlations, sponsorship economics, and the impact of international events like the World Cup on domestic leagues. He has served in numerous leadership roles including President of the Japan Society of Sport Industry, Director of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Director of the Japan Sports Association, and Director of the Tokyo Marathon Foundation (2010-2013). Since 2013, he has advised the Cabinet Secretariat as Secretary-General of the Headquarters for the Promotion of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as Introduction of Sport Business, Outline of Sport Business, Seminar on Top Sports Business, and Business Management in Top Sports across both undergraduate and graduate levels at Waseda University. His academic guidance focuses on practical applications of sports business principles within Japan's unique sports ecosystem.
PD Dr. Ansgar Schanbacher serves as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Regional Historical Research, University of Göttingen, specializing in environmental and urban history of Early Modern Central Europe and the Netherlands. His work examines resource management and hazard responses in cities like Braunschweig, Würzburg, and Utrecht through interdisciplinary environmental history frameworks. His academic formation includes a Dr. phil. from Göttingen University (2011-2015) on Potato Blight and Famine in Northwestern Germany (1845-1848), completed within the Research Training Group Interdisciplinary Environmental History. Earlier, he earned an M.A. in History, Economy, and Polish Language/Literature from Leipzig University and Lublin's Catholic University (2003-2010), followed by freelance translation work (2009-2011). Schanbacher's research centers on Environmental History, Urban History (17th-19th centuries), History of Science, and Eastern European History. His scholarship reveals how early modern cities navigated ecological challenges through municipal policies, technological adaptations, and social coping mechanisms, with particular attention to waste management, fire prevention, food crises, and horticulture across German and Dutch urban contexts. His 15 most recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on urban environmental resilience, showing evolution from specific hazard case studies (fires, earthquakes) toward broader sustainability frameworks. Key trends include comparative analysis of municipal responses, interdisciplinary methodology bridging history and environmental science, and contextualization of historical practices within modern sustainability discourse. His scientific recognition includes: Prize of the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen (2016) DFG Scholarship at Göttingen University (2011-2014) DAAD Scholarship for Poznań/Kraków (2008) Grant leadership includes Scientific Coordination of 'Sustainability as Argument' (2016-2020) and a 2016 Graduate School of Humanities research grant. He actively disseminates research through the 'Stadtgeschichten' urban history blog (co-editor), 'Epidemien in der frühneuzeitlichen Stadt' podcast series, and public lectures on Central European urban environments. Current affiliations include the European Society for Environmental History and European Association for Urban History, with contributions to the Portal zur Geschichte and Frauenstift Gandersheim projects. Based at Göttingen University's Heinrich-Düker-Weg campus, he maintains active scholarly engagement through editorial work, conference presentations, and interdisciplinary collaborations exploring historical dimensions of urban sustainability.
Òscar Jordà serves as Professor of Economics at the University of California, Davis and Senior Policy Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. His academic career bridges rigorous econometric methodology with practical monetary policy applications, maintaining active roles in both academic and central banking institutions. Dr. Jordà's research spans five major areas: econometric methodology (particularly local projections), macroeconomics, monetary economics, economic history, and international economics. His methodological innovations in local projections have transformed how economists estimate dynamic causal effects, providing alternatives to traditional VAR approaches with greater robustness to model misspecification. His historical work with Moritz Schularick and Alan Taylor on centuries of financial data has revealed critical patterns in credit cycles, financial crises, and their macroeconomic consequences. His recent publications demonstrate significant evolution in research focus from traditional monetary policy analysis toward contemporary challenges including pandemic economic impacts, climate economics, and labor market stress measurement. The methodological thread connecting these diverse topics remains his expertise in dynamic causal inference and time series analysis. Dr. Jordà maintains extensive editorial responsibilities across leading economics journals including as Co-editor of the International Journal of Central Banking, Guest Editor for the European Economic Review, and Associate Editor for both the Journal of Applied Econometrics and the Journal of International Economics. He previously served on editorial boards for the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics and the Journal of the Spanish Economic Association. As Founding Chair of the Spanish Business Cycle Dating Committee, he has contributed to establishing systematic historical chronologies of economic activity. His work with Schularick and Taylor has produced influential datasets covering bank credit, financial crises, and asset returns across 17 advanced economies since 1870, enabling unprecedented historical analysis of financial stability.
Thomas Olsson is a **Professor in Human-Centered Design** at Tampere University, affiliated with the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences and the Computing Sciences department. He leads the *Technology x Social Interaction Research Group* and the *Digital and Sustainability Transitions in Society* research platform. His work focuses on designing ICT systems that prioritize digital ethics, social sustainability, and environmental responsibility. **Research Interests**: Social technologies, sustainable design of ICT, AI-driven recruitment systems, cultural integration through technology, and the ethical implications of digital media. He employs qualitative methods and design-through-research approaches, often collaborating across disciplines like computer science and behavioral/social sciences. Current roles: Academic Director of Digital/Sustainability Transitions Platform; Head of Master's Program in Computing Sciences and Electrical Engineering Key projects: AIdience (AI in Journalism), Trust-M (Migrant Services), Big Match (Team Assembly), Emotions in Digital Media Teaching: Coordinates Human-Technology Interaction studies and develops courses like *Sustainable Design* and *Ethics of Technology* **Lab/Team**: Leads the *Technology x Social Interaction* group (collaboration opportunities available). Active in the *Rajapinta* interdisciplinary research community.
Pascal Hitzler is a University Distinguished Professor and holds the endowed Lloyd T. Smith Creativity in Engineering Chair at Kansas State University's Department of Computer Science, Carl R. Ice College of Engineering. He directs the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDS) and the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics (ID3A). Previously, he held roles at Wright State University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and TU Dresden. His research focuses on neuro-symbolic AI, semantic web technologies, knowledge graphs, and ontology engineering. Education: PhD in Mathematics (2001, University College Cork), Diplom in Mathematics (1998, University of Tübingen). Academic achievements include over 400 publications, founding editor roles for journals like Neurosymbolic Artificial Intelligence , and leadership in organizations like the Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning Association. Research interests include AI explainability, knowledge representation, and interdisciplinary applications of semantic technologies. He leads the DaSe Lab for Data Semantics, advancing projects like the KnowWhereGraph and Enslaved.org Hub Knowledge Graph. His work bridges symbolic AI with neural networks, emphasizing practical applications in agriculture, environmental science, and historical data preservation. Grants and collaborations span academic, industrial, and international partners. He has advised numerous students and researchers, contributing to both theoretical advancements and real-world semantic systems deployments.
Nicholas V. Sarlis is a Professor of Experimental Solid State Physics at the Department of Physics , National and Kapodistrian University of Athens since 2017. With an h-index ≥36, he has authored 2 monographs, >155 peer-reviewed publications, and 80 conference communications. B.Sc. in Physics (1991), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Ph.D. in Physics (1997), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens His research applies Natural Time Analysis to: Earthquake precursor identification Space weather and cosmic ray studies Climate phenomenon prediction (El Niño) Fracture mechanics and complex systems Seismicity and geoelectric field correlations Non-extensive statistical mechanics applications Recent work includes analyzing seismic entropy changes under time reversal and developing earthquake nowcasting systems. Publications span 2025's Statistical mechanics in geophysical contexts to 2024's cross-disciplinary disaster prediction tools.
Bozidar Stojadinovic is a Full Professor and Chair of Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering at ETH Zürich's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. He leads the Institute of Structural Engineering and previously held professorships at UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan. His research focuses on community disaster resilience, seismic design, and experimental methods like hybrid simulation. Education: PhD in Civil Engineering, UC Berkeley (1995) MS in Civil Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University (1990) BS in Civil Engineering, University of Belgrade (1988) Research Interests: Performance-based probabilistic resilience evaluation of civil infrastructure. Earthquake engineering, including seismic isolation and response modification techniques. Development of experimental testing methods, such as hybrid simulations for dynamic structural analysis. Awards: ICE Journal John Henry Garrood King Medal (2023) ACI Chester Paul Siess Award (2017) NSF CAREER Award (1999) Teaching & Advising: Teaches courses on seismic design and structural dynamics at ETH. Advised 49 doctoral students to date. His work integrates advanced methodologies to enhance structural resilience against natural hazards. Labs/Teams: Leads ETH's Institute of Structural Engineering, advancing research in seismic protection and infrastructure resilience through experimental and computational innovations.
Dr. Qilin Li is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University, serving as Co-Director of the NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT). She leads research on advanced water treatment technologies, membrane processes, and nanotechnology applications to address global water challenges. Her work focuses on membrane distillation, nanomaterials for disinfection, and sustainable infrastructure solutions. Dr. Li holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.E. from Tsinghua University. Her research group investigates membrane fouling, desalination, and recovery of valuable metals from wastewater. Key projects include nanophotonics-enhanced solar desalination and electrochemical processes for contaminant removal. She has been awarded the CAPEES/Nanova Frontier Research Award and the Roy E. Campbell Faculty Development Award. Dr. Li advises multiple Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers, advancing innovative water treatment technologies. Dr. Li’s contributions span academic leadership, industry collaborations (e.g., SolMem LLC), and policy-oriented research to enhance urban water resilience. Her lab develops materials and processes for energy-efficient water reuse, with a focus on sustainable solutions for industrial and municipal systems.
