Andrea Young is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), where they lead the Young Lab. The lab investigates quantum materials through nanofabrication and electronic measurement techniques. Affiliation: University of California Santa Barbara (Department of Physics) Research Interests: Andrea Young's work focuses on the interplay of symmetry, topology, and correlations in low-dimensional systems, particularly exploring superconductivity, magnetism, and fractionalization in graphene and van der Waals heterostructures . They utilize cryogenic measurements and heterostructure engineering to probe thermodynamic properties of these materials. Publication Trends: Recent articles emphasize twisted bilayer/trilayer graphene , moiré superlattices , and fractional quantum Hall effects , with keywords spanning condensed matter physics, quantum materials, and nanofabrication. Scientific Awards: Moore Foundation grant (2020) NSF fellowship (2020) CAREER award (2017) Advising: Andrea Young has advised PhD students such as Dr. Haoxin Zhou (2021) and Dr. Marec Serlin (2021). Their lab also supports research fellows like James Ehrets, who received an NSF fellowship in 2020. Labs & Teams: The Young Lab at UCSB specializes in creating van der Waals heterostructures and developing techniques like picosecond transport and nanoscale interferometry to study fragile electronic states.
Tomaso Aste is a Professor of Complexity Science at the Department of Computer Science, University College London (UCL). He founded the Financial Computing and Analytics group and co-founded the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies. His work bridges complex systems, data science, and finance, with applications in blockchain, fintech, and market modeling. Education: PhD in Physics (Politecnico di Milano, 1994); Laurea in Physics (University of Genoa, 1990) Prior Appointments: Reader at University of Kent's School of Physics; Associate Professor at Australian National University's Applied Mathematics His research focuses on data-driven modeling of complex systems , particularly financial systems, complex networks, and statistical physics. He has pioneered information filtering networks and topological machine learning methods for financial applications, including portfolio optimization, risk assessment, and cryptocurrency analysis. Recent publications highlight his expertise in financial time-series analysis, blockchain technology, and AI-driven modeling. Articles explore topics like limit order books, cryptocurrency market fragility, and topological neural networks. His work has influenced regulatory technology (RegTech) frameworks and digital economy strategies. Scientific Awards : Marie Curie Individual Fellowship University of Genoa graduate study specialization Fellowship Bacheflor Boncompagni-Ludovisi Foundation Fellowship Awarded fellowships from European Commission and academic foundations support his interdisciplinary research. He has held editorial roles at journals like Philosophical Magazine and Granular Matter , and contributed to professional societies including American Physical Society and Australian Research Council panels. Teaching & Academic Leadership : Co-created four UCL Master's programs: Financial Risk Management, Computational Finance, Financial Technologies, Emerging Digital Technologies Coordinates executive training on AI, blockchain, fintech, and regtech for regulators and private firms Teaches graduate-level courses in Data-Driven Modeling, Data Science, and Advanced AI
Oscar Westlund serves as Professor at the Department of Journalism and Media Studies within the Faculty of Social Sciences at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), where he co-leads the OsloMet Digital Journalism Research Group. He maintains a secondary appointment at the University of Gothenburg and acts as Editor-in-Chief of Digital Journalism . His research spans digital journalism, fact-checking, platform dynamics, media management, news consumption, and mobile media. Westlund's scholarly focus centers on journalism safety in digital environments, sociotechnical dimensions of misinformation combat, and platform-induced challenges for news organizations. His work examines professional fragilities of journalists, epistemological foundations of data journalism, and legitimacy paradoxes in public service media-platform relationships. Current projects address disinformation countermeasures through the SCAM initiative (Source Criticism And Mediated Disinformation). Analysis of his 2022-2024 publications reveals dominant themes: journalism safety frameworks (33%), platform-journalism tensions (27%), and fact-checking as sociotechnical practice (23%). Key methodological approaches include cross-national comparative studies, epistemological analysis, and practice theory applied to digital news production. Westlund actively contributes to academic discourse through editorial leadership at Digital Journalism and special issue guest editing. His research group coordinates interdisciplinary collaboration on digital journalism studies, while the SCAM project develops practical methodologies for disinformation detection in democratic contexts. Recent work demonstrates increasing emphasis on mobile news ecosystems and journalist safety cultures. He co-leads the OsloMet Digital Journalism Research Group, which investigates platform impacts on news production, mobile journalism evolution, and epistemological shifts in data-driven reporting. The group maintains strong international partnerships, particularly with Swedish institutions through his University of Gothenburg affiliation.
Laurie Shannon is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English at Northwestern University, with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She studies English literature and culture in the long sixteenth century, focusing on the history of ideas in language, stakeholdership, embodiment, and cross-species relations. She serves as convener of The Anne Lister Society and is collaborating with Oxford University Press on a scholarly edition of Anne Lister’s Journal. Education: J.D., Harvard Law School; Ph.D., University of Chicago Shannon’s research explores the political imagination in early modern literature, particularly through friendship (Sovereign Amity: Figures of Friendship in Shakespearean Contexts) and animal studies (The Accommodated Animal: Cosmopolity in Shakespearean Locales). Her current monograph, 'Frailty’s Name: Shakespeare and the Natural History of Human Being,' examines human negative exceptionalism in Renaissance thought and its implications for climate crisis ethics. Her publications span Shakespeare studies, queer theory, environmental humanities, and textual editing. Notable awards include the Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Teaching Award, and Dean’s Award for Graduate Mentoring. She has held NEH, ACLS, and Guggenheim fellowships. Scientific Awards: Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, Dean's Award for Graduate Mentoring, NEH Fellowship, ACLS Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship Shannon contributes to the Anne Lister Diary Transcription Project and has served as English Department Chair at Northwestern. Her recent articles focus on Shakespeare’s engagement with natural history, queer cosmology, and animal sovereignty, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach.
Martin T. Wells is the Charles A. Alexander Professor of Statistical Sciences at Cornell University, with joint appointments in the Department of Statistical Science, Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology, Department of Social Statistics, and as Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research at Weill Medical School. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the ASA-SIAM Book Series and Co-Editor of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Weill Cornell Medical College Research Interests span applied and theoretical statistics, Bayesian methods, biostatistics, clinical epidemiology, and computational biology. His work bridges disciplines like finance, legal studies, and health services research. Article Trends highlight advancements in Bayesian modeling, quantum cognition machine learning, tensor analysis, and misclassification correction, with applications in genomics, finance, and public health. Fellow of the American Statistical Association Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society Contributions include developing statistical software (e.g., rTensor), methodological innovations in clinical trials, and empirical legal studies on civil rights and the death penalty.
Alice Reagan is Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Theatre at Barnard College, Columbia University. She teaches directing, performance, and seminars on Zora Neale Hurston, Black performance, and AIDS activism, while also directing professionally across the U.S. Education: B.A., Bates College M.A., Tisch School of the Arts, New York University M.F.A., Columbia University, School of the Arts Her research and artistic practice centers on theatre directing, adaptation, new play development, and ensemble-based work , with a strong commitment to feminist and socially engaged theatre. She founded New Plays at Barnard , commissioning works by women-identified playwrights. Her recent and upcoming productions include Evelyn Brown (A Diary) , Cherry Orchard , Measure for Measure , and The Thanksgiving Play . Her recent publications and public scholarship focus on the revival of María Irene Fornés' work and the ethics of white educators teaching Black diasporic material, especially her influential 2019 article Teaching While White . The articles reflect a consistent engagement with race, pedagogy, classical reinterpretation, and feminist performance . Selected Awards & Honors: Named to Kilroys List, 2023 Individual Artist Grant, NYSCA, 2023 Cherry Orchard Teaching Excellence Award, 2022 Princess Grace Award Drama League Directing Fellow Berkshire Theatre Award nominations (9) She advises student productions and leads the New Plays at Barnard program, shaping the next generation of theatre artists. She has received grants from the Shubert Foundation and NYSCA. Her professional affiliations include Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, New Georges, and Wingspace Design. She is deeply involved in lab programs such as the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and Mabou Mines/SUITE. She leads the New Plays at Barnard initiative and collaborates with professional ensembles like Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble and Shakespeare & Company, bridging academic and professional theatre.
Eduardo Miranda is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. He specializes in structural engineering, with a focus on performance-based earthquake engineering. His work involves analyzing ground motion impacts on structures and society, and developing methods to improve seismic design and construction. He holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley (1991), an MSc from UC Berkeley (1988), and a Civil Engineering degree from UNAM (1986). Education: PhD in Structural Engineering, UC Berkeley (1991) MSc in Structural Engineering, UC Berkeley (1988) Civil Engineer, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) (1986) Research Interests: His primary research areas include seismic risk assessment, ground motion analysis, and the development of computational tools for structural analysis. He investigates the directional effects of earthquakes on building responses and has contributed to methodologies for regional seismic risk evaluation. His work also focuses on improving seismic isolation techniques and nonstructural component design. Recent Research Trends: Miranda’s recent publications emphasize directional ground motion effects, particularly in earthquakes like those in Türkiye and Taiwan. He explores novel friction models for seismic isolation bearings and evaluates the seismic performance of structures on soft soils. His work bridges theoretical analysis and practical application, aiming to enhance building resilience. Advising & Grants: No specific grants or advisees are listed, but his research is funded through collaborations with institutions like EERI and StEER for field assessments and computational studies. Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Stanford Earthquake Engineering Research (StEER) Group, contributing to post-earthquake reconnaissance reports and regional risk assessments.
Deval Desai serves as Reader in International Economic Law at the University of Edinburgh's Edinburgh Law School, a position he has held since 2020 after serving as Lecturer from 2020-2023. His academic career includes research positions at Harvard Law School and the Geneva Graduate Institute. Dr. Desai also brings extensive practical experience from a decade working with the World Bank on rule of law and governance in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as advising the United Nations on rule of law issues. Dr. Desai's educational background includes an MA in History and French Literature from Oxford University, followed by legal training at City University/BPP Law School (PGDipL and PGDipLP), and advanced law degrees (LLM and SJD) from Harvard Law School. At Harvard, he held prestigious fellowships including the Byse Fellowship, Program on Negotiation Next Generation Fellowship, and Institute for Global Law and Policy Fellowship. MA (Oxon), History and French Literature PGDipL, PGDipLP, City University/BPP Law School LLM, Harvard Law School SJD, Harvard Law School Dr. Desai's research centers on law and development, administrative law and regulation, theories of the state, and patterns of knowledge and authority across the Global North and South. His work examines institutional reform processes, particularly how expertise and knowledge operate within rule of law initiatives. His interdisciplinary approach draws from legal and social theory, development studies, international relations, and performance studies, as evidenced in his monograph Expert Ignorance (Cambridge University Press). His recent work focuses on fiscal sociology, administrative law in the Global South, and the politics of social welfare provision. Dr. Desai's publications span leading journals in law, political science, and development studies, revealing a consistent focus on the intersections between legal institutions, governance, and development. His work demonstrates increasing engagement with comparative methodologies and critical perspectives on knowledge production in global governance. Recent articles show particular attention to fiscal policy, welfare systems, and responses to global crises like the Covid-19 pandemic, with comparative studies between India and European contexts. Dame Muriel Spark Medal (2024, Royal Society of Edinburgh) Chancellor's 'Rising Star' Award (2023, University of Edinburgh) Member of the Young Academy of Scotland Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe Dr. Desai has secured significant research funding from diverse international sources, including a £2.1 million Swiss National Science Foundation Sinergia grant titled 'Reversing the Gaze: Towards Post-Comparative Area Studies' where he serves as PI. He also leads projects funded by the British Academy, University of Edinburgh's Big Ideas Accelerator, Scottish Funding Council, and Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. His commitment to mentoring is evident through his recognition with the Susan Manning Award for Inspiring Mentor and his leadership in establishing programs like the Global Scholars' Academy at the Geneva Graduate Institute and the Global Justice summer school at CEU. As editor-in-chief of the Cambridge University Press book series 'Elements in Legal Theory and the Global South' and serving on multiple editorial boards, Dr. Desai plays a significant role in shaping scholarly discourse. His current research projects examine 'loss' in legal institutions guiding transitional processes, constitutional implications of fiscal arrangements in fragile contexts, and social welfare provision in India and Italy.
Dr. Daniel Dutton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University's Faculty of Medicine, based at the Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick campus in Saint John. His research focuses on how social environments influence health outcomes and the role of government policies in mitigating these impacts, particularly in areas like poverty, homelessness, and health economics. He holds adjunct roles at the University of New Brunswick (Sociology) and is the Scientific Director of APPTA, a hub bridging aging research and policy. He teaches courses in epidemiology, population health, and statistics. Education: PhD in Community Health Sciences (University of Calgary) MA in Economics (University of Calgary) BA Honours in Economics (Queen’s University) Research Interests: Dr. Dutton examines population-level health determinants, government policy effectiveness, and socioeconomic disparities. His work employs large datasets and econometric models to analyze topics such as homelessness incidence, healthcare cost savings through preventive measures, and the distributional impacts of public spending. Key Contributions: Scientific Director of the APPTA aging and technology hub. Co-founder of the IMPART research collaborative. Author of influential studies on Housing First programs, opioid prescribing patterns, and the fiscal benefits of guaranteed annual income policies. Advising & Grants: Supervises multiple MSc students and has collaborated on grants analyzing healthcare utilization in New Brunswick and Alberta. His work often intersects with policy-making, emphasizing actionable insights from quantitative research. Labs & Teams: Leads the Dutton Research Group, which uses mascot Odin the Saint Bernard to foster team cohesion. Active in interdisciplinary collaborations across public health, sociology, and economics.
Bliss Cua Lim is a Professor at the Cinema Studies Institute, University of Toronto, specializing in Philippine cinema, film archiving, and queer theory. She is the author of The Archival Afterlives of Philippine Cinema (2024) and Translating Time: Cinema, the Fantastic, and Temporal Critique (2009), which was a John Hope Franklin Book Prize recipient. Education: PhD in Cinema Studies, New York University; BA in English, University of the Philippines, Diliman Her research explores intersections of cinema, folklore, and political histories, with a focus on archival fragility, transnational horror genres, and camp aesthetics in Southeast Asian media. Recent work analyzes the crisis of state-run film archives and the role of folklore in queer transmedia storytelling. Key trends in her publications include: Queering the Filipinx Zombie Movie (2025) and Cosmopolitan Animisms (2022), which examine genre hybridity and postcolonial spectralities. Her 2013 writings on Philippine archival advocacy and 2015 essays on queer aswang narratives highlight institutional and cultural challenges in media preservation. Scientific Awards: Selected John Hope Franklin Book Prize (2009) Lim serves on the Editorial Collective of Camera Obscura and the Advisory Board of Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication . Her teaching includes courses on Queer Asian Cinemas, Sound and Animation, and Film Cultures II.
Zhe Ji is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at McCormick School of Engineering and the Department of Pharmacology at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. His research integrates computational and experimental genomics to study gene transcription and RNA translation in cell fate commitment and oncogenic processes, aiming to develop precision medicine strategies. **Education**: Postdoctoral Fellow in Cancer Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Biology, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Ph.D. in Computational Genomics, Rutgers University B.S. in Biotechnology, Nanjing University, China **Research Focus**: Keywords include Data Science, Computational Biology, Functional Genomics, RNA, Cancer, Inflammation, and Machine Learning. The lab explores regulatory mechanisms underlying disease, with a focus on translational control, cancer metastasis, and inflammatory networks. **Grants & Advising**: No specific grants or student advisees listed. The lab emphasizes collaborative projects and computational-experimental approaches. **Lab Affiliations**: Zhe Ji’s lab is part of Northwestern’s interdisciplinary environment, bridging engineering and medicine to advance genomic technologies and therapeutic strategies.
Jason Brownlee is a Professor in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on comparative politics, democracy, and authoritarianism, with a regional emphasis on the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Ph.D., Princeton University Contact: brownlee@austin.utexas.edu Research Interests : Brownlee investigates the persistence of authoritarian regimes, the political economy of repression, and the impact of foreign intervention on domestic politics. His work often analyzes Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Key Publications : Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization (Cambridge, 2007) Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the U.S.-Egyptian Alliance (Cambridge, 2012) The Arab Spring: Pathways of Repression and Reform (Oxford, 2012, co-authored with Tarek Masoud and Andrew Reynolds) Teaching : Brownlee offers courses such as "War/Freedom in South Asia/Middle East" and "Issues & Policies in American Government," delivered both in-person and online.
Simon Langlois-Bertrand serves as a Part Time Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University, teaching core courses including Introduction to International Relations (POLI205), Sustainability and Governance (POLI208), and Global Energy Politics and Policy (POLI486). His interdisciplinary academic foundation combines engineering and political science, reflected in his educational trajectory: PhD International Affairs, Carleton University M.Sc. Political Science, Université de Montréal M.Ing. Industrial Engineering, École Polytechnique de Montréal B.Ing. Computer Engineering, École Polytechnique de Montréal Langlois-Bertrand's research critically examines energy politics and policy , global environmental governance , and sustainability transitions , with particular emphasis on social-technical dimensions of development and U.S. political dynamics. His work bridges engineering perspectives with political analysis to explore how technological systems interact with institutional frameworks. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals concentrated expertise in North American energy transitions, featuring empirical studies on electricity rate structures, Quebec's carbon policy, and theoretical investigations of uncertainty in energy governance. Key thematic threads include decarbonization pathways, circular economy implementation, and life-cycle policy approaches, predominantly focused on Canadian and Quebec contexts. Scientific awards: No awards documented in source material. Regarding academic mentorship, the provided text contains no information about graduate students supervised or research grants secured. His current research projects indicate ongoing work on the geopolitics of ecological transition and environmental state theory through life-cycle analysis frameworks. No laboratory affiliations or research team memberships are specified in the available documentation.
Ricardo Soares de Oliveira is Full Professor of Political Science at CERI Sciences Po and Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford . He also co-directs the Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance and serves as joint editor of Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations by Oxford University Press. He is a fellow of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. Education: While specific degrees are not listed, his academic trajectory includes affiliations with the University of Cambridge, Yale University, and the Woodrow Wilson Center, indicating a robust scholarly background. Research Interests: His work centers on the international political economy of African states , with a strong focus on extractive industries , offshore finance , kleptocracy , African-Asian relations , and post-conflict reconstruction . His fieldwork spans multiple African countries and examines how global financial systems and governance structures interact with African political systems. Publications: His scholarly output includes major monographs such as Magnificent and Beggar Land: Angola Since the Civil War (2015) and Oil and Politics in the Gulf of Guinea (2007), as well as edited volumes like China Returns to Africa (2008). His current book project, Africa Offshore , explores the global offshore economy's impact on African politics. Awards and Fellowships: British Academy Senior Research Fellowship (2023) Leverhulme Trust Fellowship (2011) Grants and Collaborations: He has received funding from leading institutions including the ESRC , Rockefeller Foundation , Volkswagen Foundation , and DFID/FCDO . He has consulted for organizations such as the World Bank , European Commission , UNCTAD , and Oxfam . Labs and Teams: He co-directs the Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance at the University of Oxford, a major interdisciplinary initiative examining governance challenges across the African continent.
John W. van de Lindt is the Harold H. Short Endowed Chair Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University and Co-director of the NIST Center of Excellence for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning. His research develops performance-based engineering frameworks for natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Research integrates physical testing (full-scale shake tables), computational modeling, and field reconnaissance to quantify community resilience. Key areas include: multi-hazard fragility assessment; coupled physical-socio-economic recovery modeling; climate adaptation strategies; and resilient timber structural systems. Recent projects include longitudinal tornado impact studies, earthquake-tsunami risk assessment for coastal communities, and life-cycle analysis of sustainable buildings. Publications document innovations in resilience-informed design, validation of recovery models using disaster reconnaissance, and development of the IN-CORE computational platform for community resilience planning. Research consistently bridges structural engineering with social science for multidisciplinary disaster impact reduction. Awards include ASCE Fellow (2019), Ernest E. Howard Award (2017), and multiple best paper awards. Van de Lindt has led disaster reconnaissance following major US events including the 2021 Midwest tornado outbreak.
