Qizhen Zhang is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Arts and Science. Specializing in hyperscale data processing systems, Zhang leads research at the intersection of cloud computing, distributed systems, and data center networking. Recent work focuses on network-centric designs for efficient large-scale data processing, including pioneering contributions to disaggregated data center architectures. Research interests center on hyperscale data processing , network-aware system design , and disaggregated infrastructure . Current projects investigate DPU-accelerated systems (dpBento, DPDPU), memory disaggregation (Cowbird, Redy), and blockchain scalability (FlexChain). Zhang's approach systematically integrates network characteristics into distributed system optimization, addressing challenges in trillion-item workloads through novel shuffle layers (TeShu) and compute pushdown mechanisms (TELEPORT). Zhang advises multiple graduate students working on satellite networking (SaTE), federated learning, and DPU-optimized storage (DDS). Professional service includes program committees for SIGMOD, VLDB, NSDI, and EuroSys (2023-2026), plus journal reviews for ACM TODS and IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking. Industrial collaborations with Microsoft Research have yielded production-oriented systems like Redy and CompuCache. Key contributions include MimicNet for scalable network simulation (SIGCOMM 2021), GraphRex for network-aware graph processing (SIGMOD 2019), and foundational work on disaggregated data centers (CIDR 2020, VLDB 2020). Teaching responsibilities encompass graduate courses CSC2235 (Cloud-native Data Management) and undergraduate CSCC43 (Databases) at the University of Toronto.
Yongjoo Park is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), affiliated with the Grainger College of Engineering. He leads research in data-intensive AI systems as a member of the Data and Information Systems (DAIS) lab, focusing on novel data systems that bridge database theory and practical AI applications. His work emphasizes open-source contributions through GitHub and direct societal impact. Research interests center on systems for data-intensive AI , particularly efficient Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems for exploratory AI, data science versioning, and in-storage computing. Key projects include Kishu (the world's first undoable Jupyter notebook with time-travel capabilities), CARE (a causal-relational system for structured/unstructured data), and AirDB/AirIndex (serverless transactions and automatic index optimization). His group develops tools enabling scalable, optimized AI workflows from storage layers to LLM inference. Recent publications reveal a strong focus on interactive data systems (85% of recent work), with significant contributions to notebook environments (Kishu), vector databases (ISCA'25), and RAG optimization. Awards highlight technical innovation, including SIGMOD 2025 Best Demo Award and NSF CAREER funding. His open-source philosophy drives GitHub releases of all major systems. SIGMOD 2025 Best Demo Award (Kishu) NSF CAREER Award (Novel data science systems) SIGMOD'23 Best Artifact Award Honorable Mention (DeepOLA) IBM-Illinois Project Selection (VectorDB/RAG) Mentorship spans 12 current PhD/MS students and 6 graduated advisees, including Supawit Chockchowwat (now Postdoc at Google, future Assistant Professor at CMKL University). He teaches advanced courses like CS511 (Advanced Data Management) and recruits 1-2 new PhD students annually, prioritizing data systems research. His lab emphasizes diversity, individual respect, and concrete outcomes in a collaborative workspace.
Ping Yang is a Professor and Associate Director for Research and Graduate Programs in the School of Computing at Binghamton University (SUNY). She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stony Brook University, an ME from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a BS from Zhongshan University. Her research focuses on cybersecurity, AI-based security, virtual machine security, privacy policy analysis, and formal methods. She directs the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity and coordinates cybersecurity programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Education: BS in Computer Science, Zhongshan University ME in Computer Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences MS and PhD in Computer Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook Research Interests: Dr. Yang's work spans information and systems security, security in virtualized computing, access control mechanisms, privacy policies, and formal methods for security verification. Her projects include blockchain-based provenance storage, real-time anomaly detection in workflows, and privacy-preserving virtual machine migration. She has led NSF-funded initiatives on security in cloud environments and scientific workflows. Awards: Not explicitly listed in the provided materials. Advising & Grants: Advised over 30 PhD/Master’s students and contributed to grants including NSF Scholarship for Service and GenCyber programs. Her team develops tools like RBAC-PAT for access control analysis. Labs/Teams: Leads the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity and collaborates on projects involving secure data workflows and blockchain applications in scientific research.
Kenneth Ross is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University in New York City. His primary appointment is within the Department of Computer Science, with affiliations including the Foundations of Data Science Committee. His work bridges theoretical database research and practical system implementation. His research focuses on database systems with particular expertise in query processing, query language design, data warehousing, and architecture-sensitive database system design. Additional research spans computational biology, especially analysis of large genomic data sets. Current projects include Linear Algebra Operators in Databases for machine learning workloads and Repeats and Somatic Mutation analysis in genomics. His work consistently addresses the intersection of hardware capabilities and database system design. Ross leads the Database Research Lab at Columbia, which has produced significant work on query optimization, GPU database processing, and hardware-conscious database systems. His recent publications demonstrate strong focus on adapting database systems to modern hardware including GPUs, SIMD processors, and persistent memory. His scientific recognition includes: Packard Foundation Fellowship Sloan Foundation Fellowship NSF Young Investigator Award Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award (2008) Ross actively advises undergraduate engineering students (juniors with last names P-Z) and has taught foundational courses including Introduction to Databases and Programming and Problem Solving for over two decades. His teaching portfolio shows consistent engagement with both theoretical concepts and practical implementation challenges in computer science education.
Yi Ding is an Assistant Professor in the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, where they lead the STYLE (Sustainable computing Systems and LEarning) Lab. Dr. Ding joined Purdue in August 2023 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT CSAIL as an NSF Computing Innovation Fellow, mentored by Michael Carbin. During their postdoc, they also held a visiting position at Meta Infra Data Center to improve server maintenance efficiency in hyperscale datacenters. They received their Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Chicago, advised by Henry Hoffmann. Dr. Ding's research focuses on computer systems, computer architecture, and AI/ML, with strong emphasis on applications in sustainability and healthcare. Their work spans sustainable computing, including energy efficiency in datacenters and LLM serving, as well as healthcare applications such as mental health prediction and EEG analysis. Their recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward addressing environmental impacts of computing, particularly in datacenters and AI systems, while also exploring innovative healthcare applications. Their research bridges systems, sustainability, and health domains, creating novel solutions for pressing societal challenges. Dr. Ding has received notable recognition including the Seed Funding for High-Impact Review Papers (2024), the Meta Research Award (2021), and was selected as a Computing Innovation Fellow by CRA/CCC (2020). Seed Funding for High-Impact Review Papers (2024) with Inez Hua 1st Place in Research Talk in CoE at Fall 2024 Undergrad Research Expo (awarded to Gavin Fortwendel) 2020 Computing Innovation Fellow by CRA/CCC Meta Research Award on Statistics for Improving Insights, Models, and Decisions (2021) Dr. Ding is actively recruiting self-motivated Ph.D. students interested in AI/ML systems research. They have secured funding for undergraduate research projects through DUIRI, focusing on sustainable AI computing and energy use in training autonomous vehicles. Their lab collaborates with various institutions including MIT, Meta, and interdisciplinary partners at Purdue. The STYLE Lab under Dr. Ding's leadership is actively engaged in multiple research initiatives addressing sustainable computing and healthcare applications, with strong industry connections and funding support from both internal university sources and external partners.
Alan Zaoxing Liu is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park , with appointments at the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) and Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2) . His research bridges systems, networking, and cybersecurity to design scalable, trustworthy approximate computing systems. Ph.D. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University (2018) Postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon CyLab (2018–2020) Research Interests : Networked and data-intensive systems Telemetry/analytics for heterogeneous networks Machine learning for network optimization Security in programmable networks Recent Publications include work on future-proof telemetry (PromSketch, VLDB’25), scalable caching (OctoCache, ASPLOS’25), and secure network analytics (TrustSketch, NDSS’24). His NSF-funded projects focus on optics-enabled DDoS defense and data-driven network management. Scientific Awards : USENIX FAST Best Paper (2019) USENIX ATC 'Best of Rest' (2021) Red Hat Collaboratory Research Awards (2022, 2023) Teaching : Leads Cloud Computing at Boston University , emphasizing agile development, open-source collaboration, and cloud infrastructure.
Tianzheng Wang is an Associate Professor and Director of the Dual-Degree and Partnerships Programs at the School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University. His research focuses on database systems, transaction processing, parallel and distributed computing, and embedded systems. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto (2017) and a BSc in Computing from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2012). Research Interests: Database systems optimized for modern hardware, parallel programming, synchronization, and distributed architectures. His work emphasizes high-performance transaction processing and efficient indexing techniques, with applications in cloud and embedded systems. Awards: ACM SIGMOD Best Paper Award (2025), IEEE TCSC Early Career Award (2019), and multiple distinguished reviewing recognitions (SIGMOD/VLDB 2021-2024). His research has been integrated into systems like Amazon Redshift and DragonflyDB. Teaching: Leads courses such as CMPT 454 (Database Systems II), CMPT 300 (Operating Systems), and special topics in databases. Actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students in research projects. Labs & Collaborations: Heads the Data-Intensive Systems Lab, part of SFU's Data Science and Systems groups. Collaborates on tools like PiBench for persistent memory benchmarking and contributes to open-source projects like CoroBase and Tabular.
Ji-Quan Shi is a Research Fellow in the Department of Earth Science & Engineering at Imperial College London's Faculty of Engineering. His affiliations include the Energy Futures Lab, Minerals, Energy and Environmental Engineering, and Petroleum Geoscience and Engineering. His research focuses on geomechanical and coupled THM (thermo-hydro-mechanical) modeling for CO2 storage, geothermal energy systems, and mining-induced seismicity. Key interests include induced seismicity risk assessment, reservoir simulation, and fracture mechanics in subsurface energy systems. Education background not explicitly stated in text, but his expertise spans geoscience, civil engineering, and environmental systems. Research areas emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to subsurface energy challenges, including carbon capture and storage (CCS), geothermal reservoir management, and coal mining hazards. His work combines field observations, numerical modeling, and laboratory experiments to address challenges like CO2 plume tracking, fault activation mechanisms, and microseismic event forecasting. Recent studies focus on Iceland's geothermal fields (Hellisheiði) and North African CO2 storage sites (In Salah). He has pioneered methods for integrating microseismic data with reservoir models to improve safety and efficiency in subsurface operations. Notable contributions include probabilistic frameworks for hazardous microseismicity prediction in coal mines and coupled modeling of thermal effects on induced seismicity. His research also explores innovative monitoring technologies like distributed fiber optic sensing for CO2 plume tracking.
Jeremy Gibbons is a Professor of Computing at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Department of Computer Science within the Faculty of Computer Science. He serves as Director of the Professional Programmes, overseeing part-time postgraduate degrees in Software Engineering. His roles include Chair of the Faculty of Computer Science (2012–2016), Director of the Software Engineering Programme, and Fellow of Kellogg College. Gibbons' research focuses on programming methodologies, particularly functional and object-oriented languages, with an emphasis on program calculation, design patterns, and bidirectional transformations. He leads the Algebra of Programming research group and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Functional Programming and The Art, Science, and Engineering of Programming . Education includes a D.Phil. from Oxford University. His work spans formal methods, domain-specific modeling for clinical trials (e.g., CancerGrid project), and semantic frameworks for software systems. He has advised numerous students and contributed to open-access initiatives in publishing. Key collaborations include roles in ACM SIGPLAN and IFIP Working Groups 2.1 and 2.11. Research interests emphasize foundational aspects like profunctor optics, categorical programming, and algorithm design. Notable projects include datatype-generic programming and metadata-driven engineering for clinical trials. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications in software architecture and system design.
Ye Zhisheng is the Dean’s Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering & Management at the National University of Singapore (NUS). His research focuses on reliability engineering, inventory control, emergency response systems, and statistical modeling. He holds a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from NUS, along with a BEng in Material Science and Engineering and a BEco in Economics from Tsinghua University. His work emphasizes practical applications in mission-critical systems, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making. Current research initiatives include optimal maintenance policies for manufacturing systems, degradation analysis of bearings, and federated learning approaches for battery lifecycle prediction. He has pioneered methods for integrating physics-informed neural networks into prognostics and health management (PHM) systems. Key technical contributions span advanced statistical methodologies like sieve estimation for survival data, phase-type distributions modeling, and condition-based maintenance optimization. His interdisciplinary approach bridges operations research, mechanical engineering, and computer science to address complex reliability challenges. Recent projects include resilient consensus-based power grid management and contamination source identification frameworks. Notable collaborations involve developing intelligent cross-domain fault diagnosis systems using transformer networks and advancing the Internet of Federated Things (IoFT) for distributed data analytics. His work has been applied in aerospace, telecommunication infrastructure, and medical emergency response systems.
Duminda Wijesekera serves as Professor in the Department of Cyber Security Engineering and Department of Computer Science at George Mason University, where he was inaugural chairman of the Cyber Security Engineering Department until December 2022. He concurrently held the position of visiting research scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from 2007-2022 and maintains status as a fellow at the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies. He leads the Mason Innovation Laboratory at Mason Square, driving translational research in cyber-physical security. His educational foundation includes: PhD in Computer Science, University of Minnesota (1997) PhD in Mathematical Logic, Cornell University (1990) BSc in Mathematics, University of Colombo Professor Wijesekera's research centers on cyber-physical system security , with pioneering work in Intelligent Transportation Systems spanning trains, aircraft, and connected vehicles. His digital forensics innovations establish frameworks for evidence-based scenario reconstruction and error management, while his formal methods research provides mathematical guarantees for safety-critical systems. Current projects address Next G-based edge services, digital twin vulnerability detection, and healthcare security architectures, consistently bridging theoretical rigor with real-world infrastructure protection. Analysis of his 2022-2025 publications reveals intense focus on autonomous vehicle security (38% of recent output), including traffic signal control optimization, ramming attack countermeasures, and CARLA-based scenario validation. Digital forensics using AI (20%) and secure manufacturing/edge computing (27%) constitute other major thrusts, demonstrating how formal verification and machine learning converge to solve complex cyber-physical security challenges across transportation, energy, and healthcare domains. His scientific recognition includes: CCI Impact Award (2022) for groundbreaking cyber-physical security contributions Fellowship at the Potomac Institute of Policy Studies for cybersecurity policy leadership Professor Wijesekera has secured substantial research funding through: NIST grants for health record security frameworks (2014-2015) US Department of Transportation projects on wireless frequency mapping for high-speed rail (2013-2014) Cyber Security Research Alliance funding for trust architectures in cyber-physical systems (2014) Commonwealth Cyber Initiative awards for autonomous vehicle security and energy-efficient manufacturing His industry partnerships with Honeywell and NIST ensure practical impact of theoretical research. The Mason Innovation Laboratory under his direction serves as an interdisciplinary hub for cyber-physical security, integrating researchers from computer science, electrical engineering, and policy studies to develop deployable solutions for transportation networks, power grids, and critical infrastructure protection.
David De Roure is Professor of e-Research at the University of Oxford and Academic Director of both the Digital Scholarship initiative and the Laboratory for AI Security Research. He is also an Honorary Research Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), where he serves as Technical Director of the Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music (PRiSM). His work bridges computer science, digital humanities, cybersecurity, and music through his distinctive interdisciplinary approach. De Roure received his PhD in 1990 supervised by David W Barron and Peter Henderson, with research in Lisp and distributed systems. Prior to joining Oxford in 2010, he was Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton and Director of the Centre for Pervasive Computing in the Environment. His career spans multiple institutions and research domains, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary work. De Roure's research focuses on new methods of digital scholarship, innovation in knowledge infrastructure, cybersecurity, and computational approaches to music. His work uniquely combines humanities (digital musicology), social sciences (social machines and web science), engineering (Internet of Things), and computer science (distributed systems, AI). A key theme is empowering human creativity through technology rather than replacing humans with AI. He emphasizes co-creation between humans and machines, particularly in music composition where he explores how algorithms can generate fragments for human assembly. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on AI security in IoT systems, digital scholarship methods, and the intersection of music with computational approaches. There's a clear trajectory from foundational work in social machines and web science toward current applications in cybersecurity and music-AI co-creation. His publications consistently bridge technical domains with humanistic inquiry, demonstrating his commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship that addresses real-world challenges. Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (FIMA) Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) Chartered IT Professional (CITP) Turing Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute (2018-2024) De Roure has co-founded three major interdisciplinary initiatives: PETRAS National Centre of Excellence for IoT Systems Cybersecurity (the world's largest socio-technical research center focused on IoT security), the Software Sustainability Institute (dedicated to improving research software), and PRiSM at RNCM. He was Director of the Oxford e-Research Centre from 2012-17 and has led numerous research projects including SOCIAM (The Theory and Practice of Social Machines), FAST (Fusing Audio and Semantic Technologies), and Transforming Musicology. The Laboratory for AI Security Research, which he directs, took its first PhD students in 2024. At Oxford, De Roure chairs the Digital Research Cluster at Wolfson College and oversees the Laboratory for AI Security Research. The PRiSM team at RNCM has produced numerous musical works and performances, including six premieres in New York in 2024. He has been involved in designing gesture recognition software used in many performances and has collaborated on public engagement projects including the Science Together project which released a Hip Hop album. His current work includes exploring Chladni Plates for new musical instrument design and developing algorithmically enhanced instruments.
Kaiyang Liu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland. He holds a Ph.D. from Central South University (2019) and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Victoria, Canada. His research focuses on distributed cloud/edge computing, data center networks, and distributed machine learning, emphasizing optimization for data-intensive services. He is an IEEE Senior Member and has received prestigious awards, including the NSERC Discovery Grants and IEEE TCCLD Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Award. Education: Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology, Central South University (2014–2019) M.Sc. in Information Science and Technology, Central South University (2012–2014) B.Eng. in Information Science and Technology, Central South University (2008–2012) Research Assistant at the University of Victoria (2016–2018) Research Interests: Kaiyang’s work bridges AI and cloud computing, exploring optimization strategies for next-generation systems. Key areas include learning-based congestion control, energy-efficient resource management, and scalable distributed storage solutions. His research has been published in top-tier journals like IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems and conferences such as IEEE ICDCS. Awards & Grants: NSERC Discovery Grants & Discovery Launch Supplement (2024) IEEE TCCLD Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Award (2020) CSC-UVic Fellowship (2016–2018) Teaching: He teaches courses on Computer Networks, Advanced Computer Networks, and Operating Systems at Memorial University and previously at the University of Victoria. Labs & Teams: His research group focuses on Space Edge Computing, leveraging LEO satellites for resilient, low-latency networks. Ongoing projects include optimizing distributed systems for AI workloads and satellite-based data centers.
Maximilian Hilger is a doctoral researcher at the Chair of Perception for Intelligent Systems, part of the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence at Technische Universität München (TUM). He joined the chair in 2024 and specializes in radar perception for autonomous systems. M.Sc. in Automation Engineering (RWTH Aachen, 2023) Doctoral studies previously at AASS, Örebro University, Sweden His research focuses on radar-based localization, mapping, and introspection in challenging environments, with publications addressing 4D imaging radar SLAM, loop closure techniques, and sensor fusion methodologies. Recent work includes evaluating radar odometry algorithms and developing robust mapping systems using intensity-augmented normal distributions transform. Key research themes: Radar perception for autonomous systems SLAM robustness and introspection Occlusion-resistant localization Sensor fusion in dynamic environments He collaborates with team members including Prof. Achim Lilienthal, Valeria Salazar, and Thomas Wiedemann at TUM's Siemens Technology Center campus in Garching, Germany.
Yiming Yang is a Professor at the Language Technologies Institute and Machine Learning Department within the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University , where he has held faculty positions since 2003. His research spans foundational and applied aspects of machine learning , artificial intelligence , and scientific computing . Professor, Carnegie Mellon University (2003–Present) Associate Professor, Carnegie Mellon University (1996–2003) Yang's research focuses on LLM-based problem-solving agents , combinatorial optimization , and scalable oversight frameworks . His work explores diffusion models, Langevin dynamics, and Fourier neural operators for NP-hard problems, while advancing reinforcement learning techniques for self-play supervision and principle-driven fine-tuning of large language models. Recent publications highlight his contributions to code synthesis , PDE solving , and multi-agent reinforcement learning . Key methodologies include demonstration-guided control, retrieval-augmented reasoning, and test-time scaling laws. His team has developed frameworks like FEEDER for efficient in-context learning and μTransfer-FNO for zero-shot hyperparameter transfer in PDE solvers. Notable scientific achievements include: Best Student Paper Runner Up (2013) Best Theoretical Paper Award (1994) Best Theoretical Paper Award (1993) Yang has mentored over 20 PhD students and postdocs, including Shengyu Feng , Zhiqing Sun , and Aman Madaan , across domains like graph learning , extreme multi-label classification , and language model alignment .
