Franziska Boenisch is a tenure-track faculty member at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security , where she co-leads the SprintML lab for Secure, Private, Robust, Interpretable, and Trustworthy Machine Learning. Her research lies at the intersection of privacy-preserving machine learning and trustworthy ML , with a focus on differential privacy , model inversion attacks , and privacy risks in federated learning . She completed her PhD at Freie Universität Berlin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence under Prof. Nicolas Papernot. Her work has been recognized with awards such as the Academics Rising Start Award (3rd Prize) and the GI Junior-Fellow honor. Her research spans a wide range of topics including memorization in diffusion models , watermarking generative models , membership inference attacks , and privacy-preserving federated learning . She has published extensively in top-tier venues like ICML , NeurIPS , ICLR , and CVPR . She is actively involved in the academic community, serving as an Area Chair for NeurIPS , Track Chair for ACM AsiaCCS , and co-organizing workshops at ICML . She is currently hiring PhDs, postdocs, and research interns for her group.
Benjamin Alarie is a Professor and the Osler Chair in Business Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He is a leading scholar at the intersection of artificial intelligence, law, and taxation, and the co-founder and CEO of Blue J, an AI-powered tax research platform used by over 3,000 organizations across North America and the UK. Education: LL.M. – Yale Law School (2003) J.D. – University of Toronto (2002), with honours M.A. – University of Toronto (2002) B.A. – Wilfrid Laurier University (1999), with high distinction Research Interests: Alarie’s research spans tax law , legal theory , judicial behaviour , and the applications of machine learning in law . He introduced the concept of the “legal singularity”—the idea that legal systems may evolve toward greater clarity and predictability through AI and computational methods. His work explores how AI can enhance legal reasoning, regulatory design, and tax compliance. He is particularly focused on the ethical and practical implications of generative AI in legal and tax practice, including liability, transparency, and the future role of human practitioners in AI-augmented systems. Scientific Awards: PROSE Award (2024) for The Legal Singularity Donner Prize shortlist (2024) for The Legal Singularity vLex Fastcase 50 Honoree (2023) Top 50 Changemaker, The Globe and Mail (2022) Alan Mewett QC Prize for Excellence (2009) Advising & Grants: Alarie is a frequent advisor to courts, government agencies, and global professional networks. His work at Blue J involves strategic partnerships with CPA.com, CPA Canada, the National Association of Tax Professionals, Big 4 accounting firms, and Tax Notes. He also serves as a faculty affiliate at the Vector Institute for AI and the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. Labs & Teams: As CEO of Blue J, Alarie leads a multidisciplinary team of legal scholars, engineers, and data scientists. The platform is used by tax authorities and accounting firms to deliver precise, defensible, and efficient tax research and decision-making tools.
Lisa Austin is a Professor of Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, holding the Chair in Law and Technology. She serves as Associate Director at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and is a Faculty Associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center. Previously, she co-founded the IT3 Lab at the University of Toronto, which conducted interdisciplinary research on privacy and transparency issues. Professor Austin earned her BA &Sc from McMaster University (1994), MA from the University of Toronto (1995), LLB from the University of Toronto (1998), and PhD from the University of Toronto (2005). She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2006 and previously served as law clerk to Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci of the Supreme Court of Canada. Her research spans data governance, privacy law, property law, and legal theory. Professor Austin has published in prestigious journals including Legal Theory , Law and Philosophy , Theoretical Inquiries in Law , and Canadian Journal of Law and Society . She co-edited Private Law and the Rule of Law (Oxford University Press, 2015), challenging the conventional understanding that the rule of law applies only to public law. Professor Austin's scholarship consistently emphasizes the relationship between privacy, power dynamics, and legal frameworks, arguing that privacy is fundamentally about power rather than mere consent or harm prevention. Her recent work addresses pressing issues including the data governance gap during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital rethinking of constitutional privacy protections, and smart city data governance. 2017 President's Impact Award from the University of Toronto Professor Austin actively engages in policy discussions, having submitted testimony before parliamentary committees on privacy legislation reform, including the Privacy Act and the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act. Her work bridges academic scholarship with practical policy impact, making her a leading voice in Canadian privacy law and technology governance.
Dr. Jay Pujara is a Research Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California (USC) and Director of the Center on Knowledge Graphs. He is also a Principal Scientist at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and leads research teams in data science and AI. Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park (2016) M.S. and B.S. in Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University Research Interests include artificial intelligence, probabilistic models, knowledge graph construction, statistical relational learning, NLP, and streaming inference. His work focuses on scalable algorithms for big data and uncertainty modeling in dynamic environments. Recent Publications highlight advancements in knowledge graphs, LLM reasoning, and table understanding. Notable topics include non-verbal abstract reasoning , faithful conversational datasets , and KGQA re-ranking . Scientific Awards : SWSA Ten-Year Award (2023), Outstanding Paper (IUI 2019), Top Reviewer (NeurIPS 2018), Best Paper (SRL Workshop 2016) Advising & Grants : Mentored 12+ graduate students, including Ph.D. advisees on topics like causal modeling and neuro-symbolic tasks. Secured NSF funding for table understanding in paleoclimate studies.
Callan Hummel (they/them) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Arts. Their research focuses on why and how communities with little political power organize and negotiate with their governments, with particular expertise in comparative politics, civil society, LGBTQ+ policy, labor politics, health policy, and Latin American politics. Hummel earned their Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017 and 2014, respectively, and completed their B.A. at the University of Washington in 2009. As a nonbinary researcher, they bring unique perspectives to their work examining political power dynamics and marginalized communities. Dr. Hummel is the author of Why Informal Workers Organize: Contentious Politics, Enforcement, and the State (Oxford University Press 2021), which won the 2023 Riker Prize for the Best Book in Political Economy. Their current research agenda examines the expansion of trans and nonbinary rights globally, using diverse methodologies including statistical analysis, ethnography, survey, computational, experimental, and formal modeling. They conduct field research with trans-led NGOs and street vendor unions in Miami, Florida, La Paz, Bolivia, and São Paulo, Brazil. Hummel's recent scholarly output demonstrates a strong focus on transgender rights, particularly in Latin American contexts, with several 2024-2025 publications examining gender-affirming policies in Bolivia and transgender experiences in Florida. Their work consistently bridges political science with public health concerns, particularly regarding the impacts of policy on marginalized communities. The research combines comparative analysis with deep ethnographic engagement, often focusing on how informal workers and transgender communities navigate state institutions. 2023 Riker Prize for Best Book in Political Economy Publications in Lancet Global Health , BMJ Global Health , British Journal of Political Science Research funded by NIH, NSF, Department of Education, and APSA Dr. Hummel actively supervises graduate students and has contributed to understanding harassment and satisfaction among political science graduate students. Their interdisciplinary approach connects political science with public health, gender studies, and economic sociology. They are available for collaborations through research clusters and grant opportunities at UBC.
Victoria Lemieux is a Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Arts, School of Information, and Cluster Lead for Blockchain@UBC, Canada’s largest research cluster focused on blockchain technology. Her research centers on risks to trustworthy records in blockchain systems and their impact on transparency, financial stability, and human rights. She has pioneered Canada’s first research-oriented graduate blockchain training program and organized multiple interdisciplinary summer institutes. Education: Ph.D. in Archival Studies from University College London (2002), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP, 2005). Affiliated with UBC’s Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, Sauder School of Business, and Institute for Computers, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS). Research interests span blockchain technology , trustworthy records , risk management , information governance , and visual analytics , with recent work addressing healthcare data frameworks, Web3 AI integration, and socio-cultural dynamics of decentralized systems. She has published extensively on blockchain applications in archives, land transactions, and privacy-preserving technologies. Scientific Awards : 2015 Emmett Leahy Award 2015 World Bank Big Data Innovation Award 2016 Emerald Literati Award 2016 Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Award Supervision: Currently accepts doctoral students in Computational Archival Science and blockchain-related archival research. Affiliated with the Blockchain@UBC cluster and multidisciplinary research teams exploring decentralized systems for social good.
Allison Godwin is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Cornell University, joining the faculty in 2023. She holds a B.S. (2011) and Ph.D. (2014) in Chemical Engineering and Science Education from Clemson University. At Purdue University, she was a tenured member of the School of Engineering Education and held a joint appointment in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering (2020). Research Interests: Engineering identity development, particularly for underrepresented groups Inclusive pedagogies to reduce equity gaps in STEM Engineering workforce diversity and retention strategies Mixed-methods research on belonging and motivation Scientific Awards: 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Research 2022 AERA Division I Outstanding Research Publication Award 2021 CEE William H. Corcoran Award 2017-Present NSF CAREER Award 2016 NARST Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award Leadership Roles: Past Chair of ASEE Educational Research Methods Division (2021-2023) Associate Editor for Chemical Engineering Education (2020-Present) Co-led Purdue’s Faculty Learning Community for inclusive teaching
Michele Gelfand is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Professor of Psychology by courtesy at Stanford University . She is renowned for her research on cross-cultural organizational behavior, negotiation, conflict management, and cultural psychology. Her work explores the concept of tight and loose cultures and their impact on global leadership, organizational dynamics, and societal responses to threats. PhD in Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1996) Her research spans interdisciplinary approaches, integrating computational methods, neuroscience, and behavioral science to understand cultural evolution and its multilevel consequences. She has led groundbreaking studies on the effects of cultural tightness-looseness on political polarization, pandemic responses, and corporate mergers. Recent publications highlight her work on social norm dynamics, threat-driven cultural adaptation, and the psychological underpinnings of political and terrorist ideologies. Her articles frequently appear in top journals such as Science , Nature Human Behaviour , and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Notable scientific awards include the 2020 Katzell Award , 2016 Diener Award , and 2011 Anneliese Maier Research Award . She has also been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Gelfand’s Culture Lab at Stanford investigates topics like cultural norms, revenge, forgiveness, and diversity. She actively mentors postdoctoral researchers and serves as an editor for the Oxford Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management . Her executive education programs focus on global leadership and negotiation strategies.
Sara Hägg is a Senior Lecturer at the Karolinska Institutet , affiliated with the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics . She is also a Docent in molecular epidemiology. PhD in Computational Biology (Linköping University, 2009) MSc in Molecular Biology (Stockholm University, 2003) BSc in Computer Science (Stockholm University, 2003) Her research focuses on human biological aging , including measurement of aging markers (telomere length, epigenetic clocks, frailty index), causal pathway analysis, and identification of geroprotectors for age-related diseases. She utilizes longitudinal twin studies (SATSA, GENDER, HARMONY), UK Biobank, and Swedish cohorts with methods like Mendelian randomization and genome-wide analyses . Recent articles demonstrate trends in epidemiological aging research , with emphasis on cardiovascular aging , neurological disease interactions , metabolic profiling , and epigenetic clocks . Her work often involves multivariable modeling and cross-cohort validation . Leadership roles include Director of LifeGene Core Facility (2024-) and Founding Board Member of the Nordic Aging Society (2023-). She serves on expert groups for the Swedish Twin Registry and Strategic Research Area in Epidemiology and Biostatistics .
Dr. Kanwaljeet S. Anand is a dual-appointed Professor of Pediatrics (Pediatric Critical Care) and Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. As director of the Pain/Stress Neurobiology Lab and Jackson Vaughan Critical Care Research Fund, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Research and maintains active membership in Bio-X, MCHRI, and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. Rhodes Scholar with D.Phil from University of Oxford Harvard postdoctoral fellowship and Boston Children's Hospital residency Founded Harmony Health Clinic - Arkansas' largest charitable medical-dental facility A translational researcher with 30+ years of impact, Dr. Anand established the first scientific framework for infant pain perception and developed novel pain assessment methodologies. Current research focuses on: Hair biomarker analysis for stress and social affiliation (cortisol/oxytocin) Machine learning systems for objective pain detection in non-verbal infants Biopsychosocial interventions for stress reduction in disadvantaged youth Neurotoxicity mechanisms of sedatives in developing brains Global NICU opioid usage patterns through the NeoOpioid Consortium His work has yielded over 260 publications and significant advances in: Pediatric pain management protocols Neonatal stress biomarker development Critical care neurobiology insights Community health initiatives AI-driven clinical decision support systems Scientific Recognition 9th Annual 'In Praise of Medicine' Public Address, Erasmus University (2014) Nightingale Excellence Award (2016) Honorary Doctorate from University of Örebro (2019) NIH SBIB-H82 Study Section Chair (2018) Multiple IASP and American Pain Society awards Swedish Academy of Medicine's Nils Rosén von Rosenstein Award (2009) St. Jude Endowed Chairholder (2010) As mentor to Med Scholar Anjali Gupta and advisor to numerous professional bodies, Dr. Anand maintains active clinical leadership in Pediatric Intensive Care while advancing computational approaches to pain detection through collaborations with Stanford's AI researchers.
Jan Borchers is a full professor of computer science and head of the Media Computing Group, an endowed Chair in the Computer Science Department at RWTH Aachen University. He serves as deputy member of the Faculty Council for Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences (2024-2026) and previously headed the Computer Science Department's Examination Board from 2015 until February 2025. Borchers established his research group in 2003, pioneering modern HCI academic research and teaching in Germany, and opened Germany's first Fab Lab in 2009. Borchers received his PhD 'summa cum laude' in computer science from Darmstadt University of Technology in 2000. Before joining RWTH Aachen, he held faculty positions at Stanford University and ETH Zurich. His PhD thesis, 'A Pattern Approach to Interaction Design,' became the first book to bring design patterns to HCI. His research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction with particular interest in new user interfaces for soft robotics, textile user interfaces, 3D printing and personal fabrication, augmented reality, wearable and tangible computing, interfaces for software development, deceptive patterns, and interactive guides and exhibits. He is a member of ACM, SIGCHI, SIGCHI Germany, and GI, and introduced the Interactivity format to the CHI conference in 2005. Recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on deceptive patterns/dark patterns in UI design, textile interfaces, and the impact of generative AI on creative teamwork. His work spans from fundamental research in interaction techniques to practical applications in smart homes, accessibility, and children's interfaces, with a consistent focus on usability and user-centered design. IDC 2025 Best Work in Progress: 'If They Have No Choice, They'll Accept!' CHI'25 Student Games Competition Winner: 'The Deceptive Dungeon' RWTH-Wissenschaftsnacht 2024 Best Science Slam: 'Usability: 4 Prinzipien guter User Interfaces' Multiple CHI/UIST Honorable Mentions and Best Paper awards spanning two decades Author of influential books including 'A Pattern Approach to Interaction Design' and 'Arduino In A Nutshell' Borchers has provided extensive consulting, training, and user interface design services to major clients including AirBus, Apple, ARD, Bayer, Children's Museum Boston, Daimler, Handelsblatt, OTIS, Scout24, TEDx, and Deutsche Telekom. He actively organizes the Computer Science Department's weekly Faculty Lunch since 2003 and coordinates the department's public relations and web presence since 2010. He leads the Media Computing Group, which has become a leading German lab in terms of archival publications at CHI, the top international conference in HCI. Since March 2025, he serves as faculty patron for TechLabs Aachen, a student initiative providing practical digital skills training.
Desmond Elliott is an Associate Professor in the Natural Language Processing section at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen (UCPH). His research focuses on multimodal and multilingual models with specific emphasis on vision-language integration and tokenization-free NLP approaches. He teaches Bachelor and Master's level courses including Advanced Topics in Natural Language Processing (since 2019), Grundlæggende Data Science (since 2023), and previously Data Science (2021-2023). His research interests center on building and understanding multimodal and multilingual models , particularly exploring vision and language interactions through billion-parameter systems. Current work investigates cultural representation disparities in vision-language models, parameter-efficient captioning, and multimodal distributional semantics across diverse domains including food culture and medical imaging. His methodology emphasizes real-world applicability in non-English contexts and ethical considerations in multimodal systems. Elliott's recent publications (2025) demonstrate leadership in multimodal NLP, with significant contributions to vision-language pretraining, multilingual evaluation frameworks, and clinical NLP applications. His work spans theoretical advancements in model architectures and practical implementations addressing challenges in low-resource languages and domain adaptation. Best Long Paper Award at EMNLP 2021 Best Poster Award at COLING 2019 As an active educator, Elliott contributes to courses on Fair and Transparent Machine Learning and previously taught Information Retrieval. His research collaborations span international institutions with particular focus on European and non-English language contexts, reflecting UCPH's recognition as Europe's #1 institution for HCI research over the past decade.
Yael Feldman Maggor is a Postdoctoral Fellow at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, affiliated with the Media Technology & Interaction Design Division and the Digital Futures research center. Her work bridges educational technologies, artificial intelligence, and science education, with a focus on enhancing pedagogy through innovative tools. Research Themes: Generative AI in education, self-regulated learning, learning analytics, chemistry education, and ethical considerations in AI integration. Key Projects: Contributions to the International Journal of Science Education, development of AI-driven evaluation frameworks, and pandemic-era online teaching analysis. Methodologies: Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, educational data mining, and design of interactive learning platforms. Recent publications emphasize cross-cultural trust in AI, generative AI applications in chemistry education, and explainable AI for teacher professional development. She co-authored studies on nanotechnology courses for educators and self-regulation strategies in online learning environments.
Priyank Chandra is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information and Director of the STREET Lab (SocioTechnical Resistance and Ethical Technologies Lab). His interdisciplinary research focuses on sociotechnical practices of marginalized communities, leveraging HCI, CSCW, STS, and development studies to design inclusive technologies. He holds a PhD in Information from the University of Michigan, along with MS in Economics and BE in Electronics Engineering. Chandra has received awards at ACM CHI and CSCW for his work on labor movements, digital resistance, and accessibility. Education: PhD in Information, University of Michigan (2019) MS in Economics BE in Electronics Engineering Research Interests: Chandra explores how marginalized communities reconfigure technologies to foster self-organization and resistance. His work bridges HCI/CSCW with theories from development studies and institutional analysis, emphasizing ethical, socially just systems. Recent projects include studying farmer movements in India, gig economy platforms, and weather risk communication for visually impaired Ontarians. Grants & Awards: SSHRC Grant: Repertoires of Contention in Digital Labour Platforms (2023-2024) NSERC Grant: Designing Inclusive Platforms for the Gig Economy (2022-2027) Connaught New Researcher Award (2023) ACM CHI/CSCW Awards for contributions to labor studies and accessibility Advising & Labs: Supervises students in ICTs, design, and marginality. Directs the STREET Lab at KMDI, focusing on ethical tech for vulnerable communities. Teaches courses on inclusive design and marginalized communities' ICT practices.
Dr. Koustuv Saha is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), leading the OnCARE lab. He holds a PhD from Georgia Tech and a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur. His research focuses on computational social science, social computing, and ethical AI applications in mental health and wellbeing. His work bridges computer science with psychology, sociology, and public policy to address societal challenges. Education: PhD in Computer Science (Georgia Tech, 2021), B.Tech in CSE (IIT Kharagpur, 2012). Previous roles include Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research Montreal (FATE group) and industry research experience in Silicon Valley. Research interests include wellbeing sensing technologies, algorithmic fairness, and large language models’ societal impacts. Recent work examines caregiver mental health, deceptive wellness apps, and AI ethics in content moderation. His studies combine causal inference, NLP, and multimodal data analysis. Publications span top venues like CHI, CSCW, ICWSM, and JMIR. Notable awards include Georgia Tech’s Outstanding Dissertation Award (2022) and Snap Research Fellowship (2020). He advises on AI governance and collaborates with policymakers, clinicians, and industry. OnCARE lab explores human-centered AI for societal good, with projects on mental health support systems, ethical tech design, and algorithmic transparency in health contexts. Current focus includes caregiver AI tools, LLM-based empathetic systems, and workplace wellbeing interventions.
