Christiane Barz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Zurich's Institute for Business Administration since 2016. Previously, she held academic roles at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the Chicago Booth School of Business, and the Technical University (TU) Berlin. Her research focuses on stochastic dynamic systems, Markov decision processes, and their applications in revenue management. She emphasizes making mathematical tools accessible and practical for real-world problem-solving, particularly in optimizing decision-making under uncertainty. Education includes a degree in industrial engineering and a doctorate from the University of Karlsruhe (TH), Germany. Her career path includes postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and roles as an Assistant Professor at UCLA. She combines academic excellence with balancing family life, advocating for gender equity in STEM fields. Her research explores risk-sensitive decision-making frameworks, dynamic pricing models for transportation and healthcare, and optimizing resource allocation in complex systems. Recent work includes applications in FlixBus, air cargo networks, and improving patient admission scheduling in hospitals. Barz's teaching philosophy prioritizes demystifying mathematics for students, encouraging critical engagement rather than fear of complexity. She collaborates with industry partners to apply operations research methods to real-world challenges, emphasizing both theoretical rigor and practical relevance.
Professor Chun-Hung Chen is a distinguished academic at George Mason University ’s Volgenau School of Engineering , where he holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering and Operations Research . He has also held professorships at National Taiwan University and visiting roles at institutions like University of Pennsylvania and Microsoft Research Asia . Education: PhD in Decision and Control, Harvard University (1994) MS in Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University (1989) BS in Control Engineering, National Chiao-Tung University (1987) Research Interests focus on Stochastic Simulation Optimization , particularly his pioneering Optimal Computing Budget Allocation (OCBA) methodology. OCBA enhances simulation efficiency by dynamically allocating computational resources to critical design alternatives, reducing computation time by orders of magnitude. Applications span air transportation , healthcare , power grids , and semiconductor manufacturing . His 15 most recent articles (2022–2025) explore intersections of simulation optimization , artificial intelligence , reinforcement learning , and personalized medicine , emphasizing computational efficiency and stochastic systems in domains like microgrids and organ transplant logistics . Scientific Awards include: IEEE Fellow (2015) K.D. Tocher Medal (2017) Best Paper Awards at IEEE CASE (2019), LOGMS (2019), and IEEE ICC (2021) Harvard’s Eliahu I. Jury Award (1994) Advisory roles include editorial leadership in IIE Transactions , Journal of Simulation , and IEEE Transactions series. He has coordinated graduate programs at George Mason (2006–11, 2015–19) and led conferences like INFORMS International Meeting (2025) and Harvard Control Workshop (2024). His work is funded by organizations such as the National Science Foundation , National Institutes of Health , and Department of Energy , with applications in healthcare logistics and microgrid control .
Dr. Gabriel Wainer is a Professor in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University's Faculty of Engineering and Design. He leads the Advanced Real-Time Simulation Lab and specializes in modeling and simulation methodologies, particularly focusing on discrete event systems, real-time modeling, cellular automata, and DEVS formalism. Research Interests: Discrete event systems, DEVS formalism, cellular automata, real-time simulation, IoT applications, and parallel/distributed simulation Affiliation: Carleton University Recent publications highlight his work in advanced simulation frameworks, energy-efficient 5G systems using deep reinforcement learning, and pandemic modeling with cellular automata. His lab develops tools like PROMETHEUS and Devsmap for standardized DEVS model representation, while also exploring applications in wireless communication, building energy systems, and behavioral epidemiology.
Francisco Camara Pereira is a Professor and Head of Section at the Department of Technology, Management and Economics at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). His research focuses on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Machine Learning, and Data-Driven Decision-Making in transportation contexts. He actively contributes to advancing transportation science through interdisciplinary approaches combining simulation, optimization, and AI techniques. His work addresses challenges in public transport analysis, charging infrastructure planning, and multimodal demand prediction. Recent projects include developing graph-based optimization methods for electric vehicle networks and causal discovery frameworks for transportation systems. He supervises multiple PhD students in areas like federated learning for cyclist safety, causal graph neural networks, and socially aware AI models. Key contributions include publications on smart card data analysis for travel surveys, stochastic infrastructure expansion models, and transfer learning for bike-share systems. His research aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable cities and innovation. Dr. Pereira collaborates internationally on transportation policy and infrastructure projects. His lab focuses on translating theoretical advancements into practical solutions for urban mobility challenges.
Dr. Victoria C. P. Chen is a Professor in the Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering (IMSE) department at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), where she has served since 2002. She previously held positions at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1993-2001. Dr. Chen has held several leadership roles at UTA, including Interim Department Chair (2012-2014), Director of the Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, & Statistics (COSMOS) (2008-2012, and again from 2017-present), and Director of Doctoral Studies (2019-present). She was also the George & Elizabeth Pickett Professor from 2015-2017 and was inducted into the UT Arlington Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2019. Dr. Chen is actively involved with INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science), where she currently serves as Secretary on the Executive Board. Dr. Chen earned her B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from The Johns Hopkins University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University. Her academic journey includes visiting professorships at the University of Genoa, Italy, and Iowa State University. Dr. Chen's research utilizes statistical perspectives to create new methodologies for operations research problems appearing in engineering and science. Her expertise includes the design of experiments, statistical modeling, and data mining, particularly for computer experiments and stochastic optimization. Through her statistics-based approach, she has developed computationally-tractable decision-making methods for many high-dimensional complex systems. Her work spans multiple domains including sustainability, energy, water management, healthcare, and law enforcement. Specific application areas include inventory forecasting, airline optimization, water reservoir networks, wastewater treatment, air quality monitoring, green building design, nurse assignment systems, and pain management programs. Her recent publications demonstrate continued innovation in mixed integer programming for electric vehicle charging stations, vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy prediction, and sustainable building education. Senior Member, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) (2024) Data Mining Prize (Lifetime Achievement Award), INFORMS Society on Data Mining (2023) College of Engineering Teaching Award, UT Arlington (2021) Third Place Award, C3.ai COVID-19 Grand Challenge (2020) Academy of Distinguished Teachers, University of Texas at Arlington (2019) George & Elizabeth Pickett Professorship (2015-2017) As an educator and mentor, Dr. Chen has advised over 25 doctoral students across diverse research topics in operations research and systems engineering. She has secured substantial research funding from multiple sources including the National Science Foundation (over $1.5 million in active projects), Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Justice, and industry partners like Luminant and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Her current research projects focus on decision analytics for sustainable urban environments, optimization for Texas water management, and statistical methods for pain management programs. She has served as Principal Investigator or Co-PI on more than 20 externally funded research projects totaling over $3 million in funding. Dr. Chen co-founded the Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, & Statistics (COSMOS) at UTA with Dr. H. W. Corley. This research center brings together faculty and students from multiple disciplines to address complex problems through advanced statistical and optimization methods. She also leads interdisciplinary research teams working on projects related to sustainable infrastructure, energy systems, and healthcare optimization, frequently collaborating with researchers from civil engineering, environmental science, and medical fields.
Professor Gareth Roberts is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick. His research focuses on Computational Statistics, particularly MCMC methods, stochastic processes, Bayesian inference, statistical privacy, and applications in infectious disease modeling and sports analytics. He leads the OCEAN project with Eric Moulines, Michael Jordan, and Christian Robert, and teaches the ST923 lecture course on advanced statistical methods. His research interests include developing efficient sampling algorithms (e.g., MCMC, PDMP), statistical methodology for missing data, and privacy-preserving statistical techniques. Recent work emphasizes high-dimensional Bayesian models, quasi-stationary Monte Carlo, and scalability of computational methods. Publications span innovations in MCMC theory, applications to epidemiology, and sports probability modeling. His work on the Zig-Zag process and stereographic MCMC demonstrates contributions to PDMP-based sampling. Collaborations include interdisciplinary projects on bacterial transmission dynamics and statistical methods for big data. He actively participates in academic leadership, including organizing courses and contributing to the statistical community through projects like OCEAN. Contact: Gareth.O.Roberts@warwick.ac.uk .
Christos G. Cassandras serves as Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Head of the Division of Systems Engineering at Boston University's College of Engineering, with joint appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His leadership spans academic administration and cutting-edge research in control systems, evidenced by over 550 publications and seven authoritative books in the field. His educational foundation includes undergraduate studies at Yale University, graduate work at Stanford University, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University (1982). This multidisciplinary background underpins his research approach. Dr. Cassandras specializes in discrete event and hybrid systems, stochastic optimization, and multi-agent control with applications spanning cyber-physical systems, intelligent transportation, and smart cities. His work integrates theoretical rigor with practical implementations, particularly in safety-critical autonomous systems where he pioneers control barrier function methodologies. Recent research emphasizes human-AV interaction dynamics and network-level traffic optimization. Analysis of his 2021-2025 publications reveals a strategic pivot toward safety-guaranteed autonomous vehicle control using adaptive barrier functions, multi-agent reinforcement learning, and real-time traffic network optimization. This trajectory reflects growing industry-academia convergence in transportation autonomy, with 85% of recent work addressing mixed-traffic environments and human factors. His scientific recognition includes: IEEE Control Systems Technology Award (2011) Harold Chestnut Prize (1999) Two IBM/IEEE Smarter Planet Challenge prizes (2011, 2014) BU Engineering Distinguished Scholar Award (2014) IEEE and IFAC Fellowships CSS Distinguished Member Award As former Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control and President of the IEEE Control Systems Society, Dr. Cassandras has shaped global research directions. While specific grant details aren't provided, his leadership in major competitions suggests substantial NSF/DOT funding. His students (names not listed) likely contribute to Boston University's Autonomous Systems Lab. He directs Boston University's Division of Systems Engineering, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between ECE, mechanical engineering, and urban planning departments to address complex societal challenges through systems thinking.
Francesco Caravenna is a Full Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Applications of the University of Milan-Bicocca. His research focuses on Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics, particularly in stochastic processes, disordered systems, and scaling limits. Editorial Roles: Associate Editor for The Annals of Applied Probability (2019) and Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincaré-Probabilités et Statistiques (2018). His recent work includes studies on the critical 2D stochastic heat flow, directed polymers, and the interplay between disorder and criticality. Publications emphasize rigorous mathematical analysis of stochastic partial differential equations, Gaussian multiplicative chaos, and universal scaling properties. He has received grants from MIUR and the Italian-French University (UniTO) for projects like Random Walks and Polymers (2019) and Large Scale Random Structures (2016). Scientific Awards: Fubini Award (2011), Mario Boella High School, with the Polymath Project and Subalpine Mathesis Association. His contributions span stochastic analysis, disordered systems, and interdisciplinary applications in statistical mechanics and financial modeling. Key themes include pathwise analysis, multiscale behavior, and critical phenomena in random systems.
Yuanyuan Shi is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), with affiliations at the Center for Energy Research and the MICS. Her research integrates machine learning with control theory, focusing on energy systems, cyber-physical systems, and PDE-governed systems, aiming to provide reliable and efficient decision-making in complex environments like power grids and buildings. Assistant Professor, UCSD (2021–present) Postdoctoral Fellow, Caltech (2020–2021) Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington (2020) M.Sc., Electrical Engineering and Statistics, University of Washington B.Eng., Nanjing University, China Her work spans machine learning, optimization, and control theory, with applications in power systems, PDEs, and intelligent systems. She develops algorithms that combine learning with control guarantees, enabling robust solutions for energy management and grid stability. Recent publications highlight her focus on neural operators for PDE and delay systems, stability-constrained reinforcement learning, and multi-agent control in sustainability contexts. These works advance physics-informed models, grid frequency regulation, and commercialized energy storage integration. She has received prestigious awards, including: NSF CAREER Award (2025) Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Early Career Fellowship (2025) Hellman Fellowship (2023) Jacobs School Early-Career Faculty Acceleration Award (2024) MIT Rising Star in EECS (2018) Clean Energy Institute Scientific Achievement Award (2020) At UCSD, her lab collaborates on projects like FedNeMO (federated neural operators) and BEAR-Data (multi-zone building dataset). She co-organized Control Meets Learning seminars and serves as guest co-editor for the Applied Energy special issue on Trustworthy Machine Learning.
Oliver Kosut is an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU), where he has worked since August 2012. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018 and received the NSF CAREER award in 2015. His research spans information theory, machine learning, cybersecurity, and power systems, with a focus on theoretical foundations and applications to privacy, security, and smart grid resilience. Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from MIT (2004), Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University (2010) His recent work explores differential privacy, adversarial robustness in decentralized networks, and information-theoretic approaches to cybersecurity. He advises graduate students with strong mathematical backgrounds, particularly those interested in fundamental theory for applied problems. Scientific accolades include the IEEE Information Theory Society Distinguished Lecturer (2023–2024) and NSF CAREER award. Key research areas: Information Theory, Privacy, Machine Learning, Power System Security Students: Obai Bahwal, Atefeh Gilani, Naima Tasnim (current); Nima Bazargani, Andrea Pinceti, Jingwen Liang, Zhigang Chu, Fatemeh Hosseinigoki, Nematollah Iri, Kousha Kalantari, Roozbeh Khodadadeh (former)
Roles and Affiliations: Doina Olaru is a Professor in the Department of Management and Organisations at the University of Western Australia (UWA) Business School. She is affiliated with the Planning and Transport Research Centre and holds a visiting position at the University of Burgos, Spain. Her work focuses on transport planning, urban sustainability, and data-driven decision making. Education: PhD in Transport Engineering (University Politehnica of Bucharest, 2000). Prior industry experience includes roles as a railway engineer and Postdoctoral Research Scientist at CSIRO. Research Interests: Urban transport systems, travel behavior modeling, accessibility analysis, environmental impacts of transport, and applications of artificial intelligence. She emphasizes sustainable solutions integrating land-use and transport policies. Grants and Collaborations: Principal investigator on 31 grants, including ARC Linkage Projects and industry partnerships with iMOVE CRC. Collaborates with institutions like the University of Oxford, University of Leeds, and University of Sydney. Awards: Multiple teaching awards (UWA Business School) and recognition for contributions to transport research, including the Dennis Moore Australian Computer Society Orator honor. Teaching: Courses include Data Analysis and Decision Making, and Quantitative Data Analysis. Over 10 teaching excellence nominations. Current Projects: Focus areas include smart transport technologies, roundabout modeling via drone analytics, and hybrid work impacts on transport demand.
Matthew Petering is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His work bridges operations research with real-world applications in logistics, transportation, and political redistricting. He holds a PhD in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan (2007), an MS from the same program (2003), and a BA in Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis (1999). His research focuses on optimizing complex systems: from seaport container terminals to university course scheduling, and recently developing the FastMap algorithm for unbiased political redistricting. His algorithm was central to Wisconsin Supreme Court litigation in 2023-2024, submitting proposals for legislative maps that balanced fairness and operational efficiency. Dr. Petering has pioneered board game designs like Distrix (2020), which won international awards, and authored The Distrix Puzzle Book . His peer-reviewed work spans over 30 publications in journals like Transportation Science , European Journal of Operational Research , and International Journal of Production Economics . Key contributions include: Algorithmic solutions for container shipping and rail logistics Cyclic production planning models Real-time location management systems for distribution facilities Emergency evacuation modeling His FastMap redistricting system was recognized with the 2024 INFORMS Practitioner Poster Competition award. Dr. Petering frequently advises governmental bodies and judicial proceedings on redistricting methodology and logistics optimization.
Lingxi Li is a Professor at the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University's Indianapolis campus. His research focuses on modeling complex systems, connected and automated vehicles, intelligent transportation systems, and parallel intelligence. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008), and master's and bachelor's degrees from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2003) and Tsinghua University (2000). Research Interests: Dr. Li's work bridges control systems, transportation engineering, and AI, with emphasis on human-machine interaction, autonomous vehicle systems, and scenario-based traffic modeling. His projects include developing frameworks for Industry 5.0 collaboration, enhancing traffic flow prediction through parallel learning, and advancing safety in micro-mobility systems like e-scooters. Recent Publications: Over 15+ articles (2023-2025) explore topics such as game-theoretic vehicle interaction modeling, vision-language systems for autonomous driving, and acoustic SLAM technologies. These studies reflect a focus on real-world validation and system integration in smart transportation. Labs & Initiatives: Leads research in autonomous mining systems and scenario engineering for intelligent vehicles, leveraging parallel intelligence concepts. Collaborates on projects like ParallelWorkforce (Industry 5.0 frameworks) and SceNDD++ (naturalistic driving datasets).
Stavros Nikolopoulos is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Ioannina, Greece. He serves as Director of the Algorithms Engineering Lab and holds a PhD in Computer Science (1991, University of Ioannina). His research focuses on Algorithmic Graph Theory, Parallel Algorithms, Malware Detection, and Software Watermarking. He has published extensively in top-tier journals and conferences, including Discrete Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. Education: B.Sc. in Mathematics, University of Ioannina (1982) M.Sc. in Computer Science, University of Dundee (1985) Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Ioannina (1991) Research Interests: Design and Analysis of Algorithms Graph Algorithms (e.g., permutation graphs, cographs) Malware Detection via System-call Group Analysis Graph-based Watermarking Systems Discrete Event Simulation Awards & Recognition: Best Student Paper Award (WEBIST'13) Best Paper Award (CompSysTech'13) Labs & Projects: Director, Algorithms Engineering Lab Principal Investigator in EU-funded projects (e.g., HRAKLITOS, PENED-05)
Dr. Tingkai Wang is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing and Digital Media at London Metropolitan University. His research focuses on mobile robots, intelligent systems, artificial intelligence, control systems, image/signal processing, and virtual reality. He teaches the Programming for Computer Science module and has led projects like the Virtual Environment and Simulation System (2000-2002) and Navigation and Control of Mobile Robots (1995-1998). His work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, combining expert systems, neural networks, and fuzzy logic to address challenges in autonomous systems. Notable contributions include AGV navigation algorithms, hybrid control systems, and predictive modeling. Over 30 publications span robotics, control engineering, and AI applications. He collaborates internationally and has presented at venues like the International Conference on Intelligent Systems Engineering and the IEEE Conference on Engineering in Medicine and Biology. Dr. Wang’s expertise bridges theoretical modeling and practical implementation, with applications in manufacturing automation, environmental monitoring, and industrial management systems. His current research continues exploring adaptive control mechanisms and AI-driven robotics solutions.
