Dr. Amin Keramati is an Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management at Widener University’s School of Business Administration. He holds a PhD in Transportation & Logistics from North Dakota State University and previously served as a graduate research assistant at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. His work includes federally funded projects like the Mountain-Plains Consortium’s MPC-550 project, focusing on highway-rail grade crossing safety. Dr. Keramati teaches courses in enterprise resource planning, decision analytics, database management, transportation/logistics, project management, and data analytics. Education: PhD in Transportation & Logistics, North Dakota State University Graduate Research Assistant at Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute Research Focus: Dr. Keramati develops mathematical, statistical, and machine learning approaches to solve complex problems in transportation, supply chain, and logistics. Key areas include data mining, big data decision support, transportation network analytics, project scheduling, smart manufacturing, and accident analysis. His interdisciplinary work bridges supply chain optimization with emerging technologies like blockchain for healthcare and clinical trials. Awards & Recognition: Student Paper Award, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (2017) Grants & Projects: Lead researcher on the Mountain-Plains Consortium’s MPC-550 project, which expanded his dissertation work on safety systems for highway-rail crossings. Collaborates on federally funded transportation safety initiatives and supply chain optimization for bioethanol and pharmaceutical industries. Labs/Teams: Active in Widener’s School of Business research groups focusing on supply chain innovation and interdisciplinary projects combining logistics with emerging technologies.
Ronald McGarvey is a Full Professor at IÉSEG School of Management since 2022, with prior roles including Associate Professor with Tenure at the University of Missouri (2013-2022) and Senior Operations Researcher at RAND Corporation (2002-2022). He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Pennsylvania State University and an H.D.R. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Paul Sabatier, France. Education : H.D.R. (2024), Industrial Engineering, University of Paul Sabatier Ph.D. (2002), Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Pennsylvania State University His research focuses on Operations Research and Robust Optimization applied to diverse domains: Healthcare Logistics : Modeling access disparities in rural obstetric care for American Indian populations Environmental Sustainability : Analyzing biomass energy systems, forest carbon impacts, and waste management frameworks Network Design : Developing optimization models for supply chain resilience, military logistics, and urban transit safety Policy Analysis : Evaluating multi-state environmental collaborations and localized food systems His publications demonstrate strong interdisciplinary applications of mathematical programming and spatial optimization to real-world challenges in healthcare access, energy sustainability, and transportation systems. Key Collaborations : Working with researchers in public health (Thorsen, Noble), environmental science (Aguilar), and engineering (Mirzaee, Gutierrez-Lopez)
Jörg Bohlmann is a Professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia , affiliated with the Michael Smith Laboratories, Botany Department (Faculty of Science), and Wine Research Centre. His research spans genomics, biochemistry, and chemical ecology of plant specialized metabolism, focusing on terpenoids and phenolics for applications in forest health and bioproducts. Research Streams : Plant defense against insects/pathogens, metabolic engineering of bioproducts, forest genomics, and molecular evolution of terpenoid pathways. Collaborations : National and international partnerships with academia, government, and biotech industries. Recent Publications highlight genomic insights into Western Redcedar (2023), including its low genetic diversity and adaptation mechanisms despite self-fertilization. Earlier work (2001–2022) covers conifer defense systems, Arabidopsis terpenoid pathways, cannabis flavor genetics, and mass spectrometry infrastructure. Scientific Awards include: NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Fellow (2015), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2015), Feodor Lynen Postdoctoral Fellowship (1995–1998), and Distinguished University Scholar (UBC). Funding Sources : NSERC (Discovery/Strategic grants), CFI, Genome Canada/BC, provincial/federal agencies. Labs & Facilities : Michael Smith Laboratories (UBC), National Centre of Excellence, Forest Sciences Centre, and a dedicated mass spectrometry lab for metabolite analysis.
Ann B. Lee is a Professor and Co-Director of the PhD Program in Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University , with a joint appointment in the Department of Statistics & Data Science and the Machine Learning Department. Prior to joining CMU, she held positions as a J.W. Gibbs Assistant Professor at Yale University and a visiting research associate at Brown University. PhD in Physics, Brown University MSc/BSc in Engineering Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden Her research focuses on statistical methodology for complex data in the physical sciences , emphasizing trustworthy inference, uncertainty quantification, and integration of classical statistics with machine learning. Recent work includes likelihood-free inference, calibrated forecasting, and diagnostics for generative models. The STAMPS research group , which she co-founded in 2018, hosts weekly meetings and public webinars. In Fall 2024, STAMPS will transition into a CMU Research Center. Recent publications span likelihood-free inference , climate modeling , and astronomy . Notable collaborations include applications to hurricane intensity guidance , galaxy redshift estimation , and cosmological parameter biases . She mentors PhD students and has advised multiple award-winning researchers, including ASA Best Student Paper Award winners. Her teaching includes advanced courses on probability, regression, and AI for climate sciences.
Dr. Kevin Kochersberger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech , with a career spanning academic research, technical innovation, and educational leadership. His work focuses on autonomous aerial systems , robotic control , and applied aerodynamics , particularly through the Uncrewed Systems Laboratory . Kochersberger's research has pioneered UAV-based radiation detection , 3D terrain mapping , and low-resource drone applications , including establishing the African Drone and Data Academy in Malawi . Education: Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech (1994) M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech (1984) B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech (1983) A.S., Engineering Science, Jamestown Community College (1981) Kochersberger's publications demonstrate expertise in UAV path planning , smart material actuation , and radiation source localization , with over $9M in research funding. His scientific awards include AIAA Associate Fellow (2009) and Aviation Week Aerospace Laureate (2003). Notable projects involve helicopter-deployable robotic systems and urban canyon navigation without GPS. Recent articles highlight BVLOS drone simulators , 2.5D terrain mapping , and autonomous negative obstacle traversal , reflecting his focus on real-time adaptive control and heterogeneous robotic systems . He teaches Drone Technology and Flight Operations and Advanced Design Projects , emphasizing student-driven innovation and industry collaboration .
Gregory Paradis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Forestry. His research focuses on sustainable forest management, integrating operations research, mathematical optimization, and systems modeling to address complex interactions between ecosystems, industries, and society. He works with the FRESH Lab and collaborates with the Integrated Remote Sensing Studio, emphasizing ecological and economic integration in forest planning. Sustainable Forest Management Operations Research Forest Economics Data Science Risk Assessment GIS-based Methods His research spans forest inventory optimization, climate change adaptation strategies, wildfire risk modeling, and decision support systems for invasive species. He develops computational frameworks to enhance wood supply planning, carbon management, and ecological resilience. Recent work includes machine learning applications for fire safety in timber structures and automated road planning tools for wildlife conservation. Paradis’s publications highlight trends in applying optimization methods to sustainable forestry, with a focus on biodiversity, climate adaptation, and value chain innovation. He advocates for interdisciplinary approaches that bridge silviculture, industrial engineering, and data science to tackle emerging challenges in forest ecosystems. As an educator, he seeks motivated students with quantitative and creative problem-solving skills. His lab collaborates on remote sensing integration, risk assessment models, and policy-relevant forest management strategies, ensuring plans account for uncertainties like insect infestations or windthrow events.
Kyle C. Hale is an Associate Professor at Oregon State University's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (College of Engineering). He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from Northwestern University (2016, 2013) and a B.S. in Computer Science from UT Austin (2010). Prior to joining Oregon State in 2024, he served as an Associate Professor at Illinois Tech in Chicago. His research spans operating systems, high-performance computing (HPC), virtualization, computer architecture, and system security. Current work focuses on specialized system software stacks for emerging computing paradigms like memory disaggregation and parallelism optimization. He leads the HExSA Lab and collaborates with the HiPCastor group. Scientific Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2023-2028) Illinois Tech College of Computing Excellence in Research (2023) Illinois Tech College of Computing Excellence in Teaching (2021) Illinois Tech Department of Computer Science Teacher of the Year (2020) EuroSys '22 Best Artifact Award Recent Research Trends: His publications emphasize compiler techniques for memory-disaggregated systems, optimizing parallel runtimes through hardware-software integration, virtualization at fine granularities, and accelerating machine learning workloads via system-level innovations. Keywords include HPC, virtualization, parallelism, and secure execution contexts. Teaching: Courses taught include Computer Architecture (CS/ECE 472), System Security (CSP 544), Operating Systems (CS 450), and advanced topics in serverless/edge computing. He actively recruits PhD students to the HExSA Lab.
Saurabh Amin is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also serves as the Edmund K. Turner Professor and Undergraduate Officer. He is a Principal Investigator at the Laboratory of Information and Decision Systems and holds affiliations with the Operations Research Center and the Center for Computational Science and Engineering. His educational background includes: B.Tech. 2002, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee M.S. 2004, University of Texas (UT) Austin Ph.D. 2011, University of California (UC) Berkeley Saurabh Amin's research focuses on the design and control of infrastructure systems using game theory and optimization in networks. His work spans three main areas: resilient network control, information systems and incentive design, and optimal resource allocation in large-scale infrastructure systems. By concentrating on critical infrastructure domains including highway transportation, electric power distribution, and urban water networks, his research develops innovative theory and tools to enhance system performance against both stochastic and adversarial disruptions. His approach involves modeling cyber-physical interactions in infrastructures to assess vulnerabilities, developing detection and response tools for failures at various scales, and designing economic incentive schemes that improve aggregate public good while accounting for dependencies and private information among strategic entities. Amin's work bridges mathematical systems theory with practical civil engineering applications, creating a rigorous theoretical foundation for infrastructure resilience that addresses diverse failure mechanisms from natural disasters to deliberate malicious actions. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on decarbonization of energy systems, resilient infrastructure planning under climate uncertainty, optimization methods for complex networked systems, and game-theoretic approaches to sustainable infrastructure management. His work increasingly integrates artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques with traditional control theory to address contemporary challenges in infrastructure resilience and sustainability. The research shows a clear trajectory toward addressing climate change impacts on infrastructure systems while maintaining economic efficiency and operational reliability. Professor Amin has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: Common Ground Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025 HSCC Test-of-Time Award, 2024 MIT CEE, Distinguished Service and Leadership Award, 2023 Samuel M. Seegal Prize (SoE) – inspiring students in pursuing and achieving excellence, 2022 Earll M. Murman for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, 2022 C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute Research Award, 2020 MIT, Ole Madsen Mentoring Award, 2020 MIT, Energy Initiative Research Award, 2020 National Academy of Engineering, China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium speaker, 2019 MIT, Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor, 2015-2018 Google Faculty Research Award, 2015 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2015 Siebel Energy Institute Research Award, 2015 MIT, Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fund Award, 2012 Professor Amin has been actively involved in significant research projects including the C3.ai DTI project on Causal Reasoning for Real-Time Attack Identification in Cyber-Physical Systems and another on Learning in Routing Games for Sustainable Electromobility. He serves as the chief scientist on multi-institutional NSF grants, including the $9 million Foundations of Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) project. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as 1.008 Engineering for a Sustainable World, 1.104 Sensing and Intelligent Systems, 1.020 Engineering Sustainability: Analysis and Design, and 1.208 Resilient Networks. As Undergraduate Officer, he plays a key role in shaping the educational experience for civil and environmental engineering students at MIT. Professor Amin leads the Resilient Infrastructure Networks Lab at MIT, where his team develops theoretical foundations and practical tools for infrastructure resilience. The lab focuses on the intersection of control theory, game theory, and optimization applied to cyber-physical infrastructure systems. Current research directions include pandemic-resilient urban mobility and hurricane-resilient smart grid operations, reflecting the lab's commitment to addressing pressing societal challenges through rigorous systems engineering approaches.
Andrew Li is an Associate Professor of Operations Research at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business since 2024, previously serving as Assistant Professor since 2018. His research bridges statistics, optimization, and machine learning with applications to healthcare operations and retail management. Current teaching: Optimization, Business Analytics Capstone, and Topics in Optimization and Statistics PhD from MIT's Operations Research Center (2018), BS in Operations Research/Applied Mathematics from Columbia University (2012) Research Focus: Dr. Li develops data-driven decision frameworks for complex systems. Key areas include: Experience-based learning models with fairness constraints (organ allocation) Anomaly detection in low-rank matrices (retail inventory accuracy) Nanoparticle-based diagnostic systems for CAD and Alzheimer's Nonstationary demand forecasting in supply chains Publication Trends: Recent work combines bandit algorithms with healthcare applications (split liver transplants, CAD detection) and retail operations (inventory accuracy). Theoretical contributions include regret-optimal policies and entrywise anomaly detection guarantees. Scientific Honors: INFORMS Nicholson Award (2018) INFORMS Pierskalla Award (2021) NSF CAREER Award (2023) Professional Leadership: Active in INFORMS and CMU committees including MBA Analytics Curriculum, Thompson Award, and ENAiBLE AI-driven retail collaborative co-founder since 2021.
Professor Vasyl Stepanovych Kravtsiv is a distinguished academic and researcher at the Institute of Regional Studies named after M. I. Dolishnyi, part of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He serves as both the Director of the Institute (from 2014 to July 2025) and Head of the Department of Regional Environmental Policy and Nature Management. With a career spanning over four decades in regional studies, environmental policy, and economic development, Professor Kravtsiv has established himself as a leading expert in regional economics and environmental management in Ukraine. Professor Kravtsiv's educational background includes a degree in Geography from Ivan Franko Lviv State University (1980). His academic achievements include becoming a Candidate of Economic Sciences (1987), Senior Researcher (1994), Doctor of Economic Sciences (2007), and Professor (2010). He has also been honored as a 'Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine' for his significant contributions to the field. His scholarly work examines the theoretical and practical aspects of regional environmental policy formation, particularly during Ukraine's transition to a market economy. Professor Kravtsiv's research primarily focuses on regional economics, environmental policy, spatial development, and cross-border cooperation. His work examines the intersection of economic development and environmental sustainability, with particular emphasis on the Carpathian region of Ukraine. He pioneered economic methods of environmental quality management in Ukraine, which now operate as pollution fees. Professor Kravtsiv has developed numerous regional environmental safety programs approved by Western Ukrainian authorities and contributed significantly to Ukraine's State Regional Policy Concept. His recent publications address contemporary challenges including the impact of the war and pandemic on tourism, spatial economic development amid European integration, and sustainable growth in decentralization contexts. His scholarly contributions include over 100 scientific works, with 18 monographs exploring regional development, environmental policy, and cross-border cooperation. Professor Kravtsiv's work demonstrates consistent evolution from theoretical foundations to practical policy implementation, with recent publications showing adaptation to Ukraine's wartime conditions and European integration requirements. Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine Editor-in-chief of the journal 'Regional Economy' Editor-in-chief of the collection 'Socio-economic problems of the modern period of Ukraine' Author of over 100 scientific works including 18 monographs Key contributor to Ukraine's environmental policy framework As Director of the Institute of Regional Studies, Professor Kravtsiv oversees extensive research activities, coordinates international collaborations through Erasmus+ and Visegrad Fund programs, and guides scholarly publication efforts. His leadership has positioned the Institute as a key contributor to Ukraine's regional development policies and environmental management strategies. He actively participates in developing Ukraine's adaptation to European standards and contributes to reconstruction planning amid wartime conditions, demonstrating both academic rigor and practical policy relevance.
Dr. Yanchao Liu is an Associate Professor at Wayne State University's College of Engineering, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He has received research funding from the National Science Foundation and the State of Michigan, including the NSF Career Award. His academic career spans prior industry roles as a Data Scientist and Manager of Advanced Analytics at Sears Holdings Corporation (2016-2017) and Director of Brand Marketing Analytics at Catalina Marketing Corporation (2017). He teaches courses in data science, IoT, and stochastic processes. B.S. Industrial Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (2006) M.S. Industrial Engineering, University of Arkansas (2008) Ph.D. Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014) Dr. Liu's research focuses on mathematical modeling for transportation systems, industrial AI, and data analytics. His work addresses drone traffic management, battery-constrained delivery routing, and optimization algorithms for urban mobility. He has developed novel methods for UAV safety diagnostics, random forest implementations, and fairness-aware path planning in urban air mobility. His publications span journals like Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics , Transportation Research Part C , and IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems , with conference contributions at IISE and FAIM. His research combines theoretical advancements with practical applications in smart cities and logistics. NSF Career Award (2020) Faculty Research Excellence Award (2021) IEEE PES Best Conference Paper (2015) IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid Best Reviewer (2015) Hubei Province Distinguished Bachelor’s Thesis Award (2006) Dr. Liu advises PhD students like Zhenyu Zhou and J. Chen. He has contributed to energy market modeling (with M.C. Ferris) and published extensively on drone operations, machine learning algorithms, and stochastic processes. His work includes U.S. patent pending applications for UAV safety systems.
Noah Molotch is a Professor of Geography at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he serves as Director of the Mountain Hydrology Group and is a Fellow of INSTAAR (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research). His research and teaching focus on hydrologic processes in mountainous regions with expertise in snow hydrology, remote sensing, and ecohydrology. Molotch earned his Ph.D. from The University of Arizona in 2004. His research utilizes ground-based observations, remote sensing, and computational modeling to understand hydrological processes, particularly snow distribution and water-carbon-nitrogen fluxes in mountain ecosystems. His work has significant implications for sustainable resource management and environmental policy. His recent publications show a strong focus on snow water equivalent estimation, snowmelt timing impacts on forest productivity, and the development of advanced remote sensing techniques for monitoring mountain hydrology. His research increasingly addresses climate change impacts on water resources, with particular attention to the Western United States. Fellow of INSTAAR Art+Science fellowship in partnership with artist Hannah Taylor Molotch advises numerous graduate students and leads significant research projects including those funded by NASA and NSF. His Mountain Hydrology Group operates field sites across the Western U.S., including Storm Peak Laboratory and Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research Program. The group produces near-real-time snow water equivalent estimates and contributes to the Snow Today website at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Dr. Heesung Woo is an Assistant Professor of Advanced Forestry at the College of Forestry, Oregon State University , specializing in robotics, sensor integration, and precision forestry. His work focuses on autonomous forestry machinery, AI-driven forest management, and sustainable practices. He advises two graduate students and collaborates internationally through research projects. Research Interests: Autonomous Forest Machinery Development Sensor Integration & ICT Solutions Precision Forestry via Remote Sensing/LiDAR/GIS Machine Learning for Forest Inventory Advanced Forestry Practices for Sustainability Publications emphasize innovative applications of technology in forestry, including LIDAR integration, harvester data analytics, and carbon offset project modeling. His work bridges engineering, environmental science, and policy. Dr. Woo leads the Advanced Forestry Lab at Oregon State, focusing on real-world deployment of cutting-edge technologies to address challenges in forest operations, sustainability, and resource optimization.
Kishalay Mitra is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad , with affiliations to the Department of Chemical Engineering , Department of Climate Change , and Department of Artificial Intelligence . He also holds visiting professorships at Washington University in St. Louis and University of Washington, Seattle . His work in the Global Optimization & Knowledge Unearthing Laboratory (GOKUL) spans interdisciplinary optimization, machine learning, and their applications in industrial-scale engineering problems. Education : Ph.D. from IIT Bombay. Research Interests : Mitra's research focuses on optimization under uncertainty , surrogate modeling , multi-objective optimization , and integrating machine learning with physics-based models . His work addresses real-world challenges in wind energy , bioenergy supply chains , chemical process control , nanoscience , and environmental modeling (e.g., PM10 spatiotemporal analysis, forest fire prediction, and carbon capture). Article Trends : His recent publications emphasize wind energy systems (layout optimization, yaw control, forecasting), materials science (precipitate growth prediction, polymerization), and industrial processes (crystallization, grinding circuits). Techniques include neural operators , Bayesian optimization , generative adversarial networks (GANs) , and explainable AI .
Professor Jaana Kaarina Bäck is affiliated with the University of Helsinki, serving in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry's Department of Forest Sciences. She leads the 'Ecosystem processes' research group and oversees ecosystem research at the SMEAR measurement network. Her work bridges forest ecology, atmospheric science, and climate change mitigation, focusing on forest-atmosphere interactions and biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). PhD in Physiological Plant Ecology (University of Oulu, 1994) Docentship in Forest-Atmosphere Interactions (University of Helsinki, 2010) Docentship in Plant Ecophysiology (University of Oulu, 1998) Bäck's research explores how boreal forests influence atmospheric composition, carbon cycling, and climate dynamics. She investigates BVOC emissions, ecosystem responses to climate change, and feedback mechanisms between vegetation and the atmosphere. Her recent publications (277 total) analyze carbon dynamics after forest thinning, aerosol production in boreal ecosystems, and harmonized environmental observations via eLTER. These works span soil functions, air quality, and climate risk research. Knight, First Class, Order of the White Rose of Finland (2021) Open Science Award (University of Helsinki, 2018) Pro Scientia Award (Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters, 2017) Bäck supervises 3 postdoctoral researchers, 4 doctoral students as main supervisor, and 12 as co-supervisor. She has secured over 6 M€ in research funding, including EU Horizon grants and Academy of Finland projects.
