Martial Hebert serves as the Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, a position he assumed in August 2019. He is the sixth dean to lead the school since its inception in 1988 and holds the title of University Professor of Robotics. Professor Hebert is an active participant in global AI discussions, with an upcoming speaking engagement at the AI and Planet session on May 30, 2024, where he will address "Generative AI and regulation: From local implementations to global standards." Professor Hebert is a leading researcher in the fields of computer vision and robotics. His work has contributed significantly to advancing these disciplines, which are critical components of modern artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. His expertise spans theoretical foundations and practical applications of vision systems and robotic technologies, positioning him as a key figure at the intersection of academic research and real-world AI implementation. As Dean of one of the world's most renowned computer science schools, Hebert oversees a diverse academic community dedicated to innovation and excellence in computing education and research. Under his leadership, the School of Computer Science continues to maintain its position at the forefront of technological advancement and academic achievement in the computing field, while also engaging with critical issues around AI governance and regulation.
Roberto Berjón Gallinas is a Professor at the School of Computer Science, Deusto University. His research focuses on semantic technologies, internet of things, and data integration, with a strong emphasis on mobile applications and open data. He leads two research groups: ICS (Innovación en Ciencias Sociales) MARATON (Mobile applications, internet of things, data processing, semantic technologies, open data) His recent work includes developing smart tracking frameworks for IoT workflows and digital twins, event-driven architectures for IoT systems, and semantic integration solutions for university research. His projects often bridge technical innovation with practical applications in collaborative e-learning and spatial analytics. Key trends in his publications highlight advancements in IoT frameworks , semantic technologies for data integration, and real-time systems using BLE and open data. These works frequently intersect with collaborative e-learning , university transparency , and adaptive mobile platforms .
Xavier Serra is a Full Professor at the Department of Engineering at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona. He is the founder and director of the Music Technology Group (MTG), and leads the UPF-BMAT Chair on AI and Music. He also coordinates the Master in Sound and Music Computing and serves as President of the Phonos Foundation. His research focuses on audio signal processing, sound and music computing, and computational musicology, emphasizing open science and open innovation. Education: BSc in Biology, University of Barcelona (1981) Master in Music, Florida State University (1983) PhD in Computer Music, Stanford University (1989) Research Interests: Audio Signal Processing Data-Driven and Knowledge-Driven Methodologies Music Information Retrieval Cultural Music Analysis (e.g., Carnatic/Turkish/Andalusian Music) Music Education Technology Notable Projects: CompMusic (ERC Advanced Grant, 2010-2017): Multicultural computational music analysis Open datasets: Freesound, Saraga, FSD50K Technologies: Reactable, Vocaloid, Essentia API Recent Trends in Articles: Focus on AI-driven audio processing (neural fingerprints, generative models), cross-cultural music analysis, and explainable music difficulty estimation. Awards: ERC Advanced Grant (2010) for CompMusic Project. Labs/Teams: Director of MTG, Phonos Foundation, and UPF-BMAT Chair. Active in open-source projects and international collaborations.
Antonio González is a full Professor at the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), where he is affiliated with the Department of Computer Architecture. He leads the Microarchitecture and Compilers (ARCO) research group, focusing on robust and energy-efficient computing systems, including general-purpose processors, GPUs, and cognitive computing architectures. His research spans computer architecture, microarchitecture, compilers, GPU design, and deep learning acceleration, with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and memory optimization. His work integrates hardware and compiler techniques to enhance performance in modern computing systems. The recent publications highlight a strong trend in energy-efficient DNN acceleration, GPU microarchitecture, memory systems, and near-data processing. His team explores novel quantization methods, adaptive caching, and architectural extensions for vision and AI workloads, published in top-tier venues such as MICRO, ISCA, and IEEE/ACM journals. ACM Fellow (2020) ICREA Academia Award (2014, 2019, 2024) UPC Duran Farell Award (2008) HiPEAC 2024 Paper Award (twice) González has supervised several PhD students and leads competitive R&D+i projects, including those funded by ICREA and the European Research Council. His research group collaborates extensively within UPC and with international institutions. He is actively involved in advancing computer architecture through innovation in simulation, hardware design, and AI acceleration. He is a member of IEEE and ACM, and his work continues to influence both academic and industrial developments in high-performance and energy-efficient computing.
Carme Torras Genís is a Research Professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), affiliated with the Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI) in Barcelona and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). Her career spans over three decades, focusing on robotics, neurocomputing, and artificial intelligence with applications in healthcare and deformable object manipulation. M.Sc. in Mathematics (University of Barcelona, 1978) M.Sc. in Computer Science (University of Massachusetts, 11981) Ph.D. in Computer Science (UPC, 1984) Research Interests : Robotic manipulation of deformable objects (especially textiles) Neurocomputing and machine learning for robotic control Human-robot interaction and assistive robotics Computational topology for cloth state representation Ethics in social robotics and AI Medical applications of robotics for neuromuscular disease assessment Scientific Leadership : ERC Advanced Grant recipient (2016) IEEE and EurAI Fellow Coordinator of Horizon Europe project SoftEnable and former ERC project CLOTHILDE Editorial leadership in IEEE Transactions on Robotics and multiple journals Active in ethics committees and AI policy advisory boards Advisory Committee of Ethics in AI (Catalan Government) Vice-President of CSIC Ethics Committee Member of Royal Academy of Engineering (Spain)
Nicolò Cesa-Bianchi is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Milan, where he serves as head of the Computer Science programs. He is also associated with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) at Politecnico di Milano. Cesa-Bianchi holds significant leadership roles including Board member, Fellow and co-director of the Milan unit of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), and membership in the prestigious Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He is also involved with The European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI (ELSA), The European Lighthouse of AI for Sustainability (ELIAS), and The FAIR foundation. Professor Cesa-Bianchi's research focuses on the theoretical foundations of machine learning, with special emphasis on sequential decision making and online learning algorithms. His work spans multiple areas including multi-armed bandit problems, regret analysis, prediction with expert advice, and learning on graphs. He has made significant contributions to understanding the theoretical limits of learning algorithms and developing efficient methods for various learning scenarios. His research has important applications in online markets, social networks, and bioinformatics. His monographs 'Prediction, Learning, and Games' and 'Regret Analysis of Stochastic and Nonstochastic Multi-armed Bandit Problems' are considered seminal works in the field. His recent publications demonstrate continued leadership in advancing the theoretical understanding of machine learning, with 2024-2025 papers covering cooperative online learning, multitask learning, fair trade mechanisms, and refined analyses of bandit algorithms. The research shows increasing focus on practical economic applications while maintaining strong theoretical foundations. Google Research Award Xerox Foundation UAC Award Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei ELLIS Fellow Cesa-Bianchi has been deeply involved in academic service, having served as action editor for the Machine Learning Journal, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, and the Journal of Machine Learning Research. He currently serves as associate editor for the Journal of Information and Inference and TheoretiCS. He has held leadership positions including President of the Association for Computational Learning and member of the steering committee for the EC-funded Network of Excellence PASCAL2. He was program chair of the 13th Annual Conference on Computational Learning Theory and the 13th International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory. He leads the Laboratory for AI and Learning Algorithms (ALGA) at the University of Milan, which focuses on theoretical and applied research in machine learning. His international collaborations are extensive, with visiting positions at UC Santa Cruz, Graz Technical University, Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Google, and Microsoft Research. As an educator, he teaches advanced courses including Reinforcement Learning and Statistical Methods for Machine Learning, and has supervised numerous students through the years.
Alicia Orea Giner is a Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences of Rey Juan Carlos University, specializing in sustainable tourism and social justice. Her research focuses on Generation Z's sustainable consumption practices in food tourism, AI integration in hospitality, and ethical dimensions of tourism. She co-authored the award-winning article The way we live, the way we travel: generation Z and sustainable consumption in food tourism experiences , recognized with the 2024 Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Award. Her work bridges sustainability, technology, and cultural studies. Key themes include feminist methodologies in tourism research, transformative travel through ecofeminism, and post-pandemic food tourism trends. She explores AI applications in service robots, wellness tourism's mental health connections, and marginalized communities' roles in culinary tourism. Recent studies address LGBTQ+ tourism challenges, stakeholder participation in World Heritage sites, and ghost tours' cultural narratives. Awards highlight her contributions to sustainability and social justice in tourism. Awards: 2024 Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Award Research Foci: Food Tourism, AI Ethics, Feminist Tourism Studies, Cultural Heritage Management Labs/Teams: No specific lab mentioned; collaborates across interdisciplinary tourism research networks.
Bryon Aragam is an Associate Professor of Econometrics and Statistics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on the intersection of causality, statistical machine learning, and probabilistic modeling, with particular emphasis on applications to artificial intelligence systems including large language models like ChatGPT and generative models like DALL-E. Dr. Aragam completed his PhD in Statistics and a Masters in Applied Mathematics at UCLA, where he was an NSF graduate research fellow. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, he was a project scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Research Focus: Causal structure learning in probabilistic generative models Key Areas: Causal machine learning, deep generative models, latent variable models, statistical learning theory Applications: AI interpretability, ethics, and fairness in artificial intelligence systems Teaching: Business Statistics, Econometrics and Statistics Colloquium His recent publications demonstrate a strong theoretical foundation combined with practical applications, particularly in understanding and improving AI systems. His work spans causal discovery, graphical models, deep learning, and latent variable modeling, with particular attention to the theoretical properties of these methods and their applications to real-world AI challenges. The research shows a progression toward increasingly complex problems in causal representation learning and AI interpretability. Scientific Awards: Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar NSF Graduate Research Fellow Dr. Aragam's work has been published in top statistics and machine learning venues including the Annals of Statistics, Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), and the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR). His research group publishes broadly across both statistical and machine learning communities, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of his work at the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and causal inference. As a data science consultant for technology and marketing firms, Dr. Aragam has applied his expertise to problems in survey design, customer retention, logistics, and ranking, bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical applications.
Bernhard Schölkopf is a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and holds a Professorship at ETH Zurich. He is one of Europe's leading researchers in Artificial Intelligence and serves as co-founder and president of ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems). His scientific interests focus on machine learning and causal inference, with applications spanning biomedical problems, computational photography, and astronomy. Schölkopf has conducted research at prestigious institutions including AT&T Bell Labs, GMD FIRST in Berlin, and Microsoft Research Cambridge before joining the Max Planck Society in 2001. Schölkopf's recent work examines the tangible risks of AI systems rather than speculative existential threats, highlighting important challenges including algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, privacy violations, worker exploitation, carbon footprint of AI systems, and job displacement across multiple publications in different languages. His scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards: Academy Prize of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Royal Society Milner Award Leibniz Award Koerber European Science Prize BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award Allen Newell Award Fellow of the ACM Fellow of the CIFAR Program "Learning in Machines and Brains" Schölkopf is a member of the German Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) and co-founded the series of Machine Learning Summer Schools. His work bridges theoretical advances in machine learning with practical applications across diverse domains, while advocating for responsible AI development that addresses real-world challenges rather than speculative existential threats.
Michalis Vazirgiannis is a Professor at LIX, École Polytechnique (France) leading the Data Science and Mining (DaSciM) group. With academic backgrounds in Physics (Athens University), AI (Heriot-Watt University), and Informatics (Athens University), he has conducted research at Fraunhofer, Max Planck MPI, and INRIA/FUTURS while teaching at institutions across Greece, France, China, and Spain. His research spans Machine/Deep Learning for Graphs (GNNs, graph kernels, embeddings) Text Mining & NLP (Graph-of-Words, biomedical text analysis) Combinatorial Optimization for pandemic forecasting and energy systems Event/Anomaly Detection in time series and sensory data Industrial collaborations with Airbus, Google, Tencent, and BNP . He has supervised 29 completed PhD theses, published over 250 papers, and received prestigious awards including Marie Curie and Tencent Rhino-Bird Fellowships. His team leads the ANR-HELAS Chair (2020-2025) focusing on heterogeneous data deep learning.
Carles Pont Sorribes is an Associate Professor and Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Communication at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), where he also directs the Journalism Degree program. He serves as Academic Director of the Master in Political and Institutional Communication at UPF Barcelona School of Management. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Social Communication, a Master's in Social Communication, and a Bachelor's in Journalism and Education Sciences. Education: Ph.D. in Social Communication Master's in Social Communication Bachelor's in Journalism and Education Sciences His research focuses on political communication, public opinion, risk/crisis communication, and journalism. Key themes include the Catalan sovereignty process's international media coverage, digital news credibility, and media engagement strategies. Recent work explores AI's role in journalism training and the impact of disinformation on senior populations. Publications highlight trends in crisis communication (e.g., Ebola and Germanwings disasters), the framing of Catalan independence in global media, and the evolution of Twitter as an emergency communication tool. His books include El impacto del engagement y el futuro de la empresa periodística (2022) and Risk and News (2020). Dr. Pont Sorribes has no listed scientific awards but contributes to academic-industry collaboration through his roles in educational programs. His work emphasizes media sustainability and audience loyalty, with proposals for operational frameworks in journalism.
Andrea Ianiro is a Full Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), where he leads research in fluid dynamics, turbulence, and heat transfer. His work bridges experimental techniques and machine learning applications for flow analysis and control. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (2025-2028) and directs the EFM Lab (Experimental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory) at UC3M. Professor Ianiro's research focuses on turbulence characterization, boundary layer flows, and the application of machine learning to fluid mechanics problems. His work spans experimental techniques including Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), infrared thermography, and advanced data processing methods. Recent research emphasizes data-driven approaches for flow field reconstruction, turbulence control, and heat transfer optimization in wall-bounded flows. His projects often combine theoretical, experimental, and computational approaches to address complex fluid mechanics challenges. The analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward integrating machine learning with traditional fluid mechanics. His work increasingly focuses on using deep learning techniques (particularly CNNs and GANs) for flow field prediction from limited measurements, developing meshless computational methods for flow analysis, and applying optimization techniques (including genetic algorithms) to heat transfer enhancement. His research maintains a strong experimental foundation while embracing data-driven approaches to tackle turbulence modeling challenges. Associate Editor of the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (2025-2028) Professor Ianiro leads multiple significant research projects including SPANDRELS (SParse AND paRsimonious Event-based fLow Sensing, 2025-2030), HumanIC (Human-Centric Indoor Climate for Healthcare Facilities, 2024-2027), and EXCALIBUR (Extraction of machine learning strategies for turbulent flow control, 2023-2026). His work has attracted funding from the European Commission, Spanish National Research Agency, and industry partners including Airbus. He has supervised numerous theses on topics including AI-based sensing of turbulent flows, convective heat transfer control, and turbulent boundary layers. At UC3M, Professor Ianiro directs the Experimental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (EFM Lab), which focuses on advanced measurement techniques for fluid flow and heat transfer characterization. The lab specializes in PIV/PTV techniques, infrared thermography, and the development of novel experimental approaches for turbulence research. Current research directions include machine learning applications for flow field reconstruction, plasma-based flow control, and heat transfer optimization in complex flow configurations.
Rubén Lluc Comas Forgas is a Full Professor at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in the Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology . He holds a European PhD in Educational Sciences from UIB (2009) and has served as a visiting researcher at institutions including the University of East Anglia, Liverpool John Moores University, Panteion University, Autonomous University of Yucatán, and Stockholm University. Current research focuses on Academic Integrity , Research Integrity , Scientific Communication , Educational Uses of ICT , and Environmental Education . He leads multiple EU-funded projects (e.g., AI-UpskillED , CHARLIE ) and national initiatives like Academic Integrity in Initial Teacher Training (MCI-AEI-ERDF). His recent publications analyze the impact of generative AI on academic writing, predatory journals in education sciences, and plagiarism trends among Spanish students. He collaborates with the Research Group on Academic Integrity (GRIAC) and Education for Sustainability (GREAS) .
Jordi Guitart Fernández is a Professor at the Department of Computer Architecture, Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). He is also affiliated with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), a leading national supercomputing facility. He leads the CROMAI research group, focusing on Computing Resources Orchestration and Management for AI. His work bridges high-performance computing, cloud systems, and artificial intelligence. Research Interests: Cloud Computing and Edge Computing Green and Energy-Efficient Computing Containerization and Virtualization for HPC Resource Orchestration and Management Autonomic and Self-Adaptive Systems Machine Learning Workflow Management AI-Driven System Optimization His recent publications reveal a strong focus on intelligent management of computing resources across cloud, edge, and HPC environments using machine learning and agent-based frameworks. He investigates performance, efficiency, and reliability in containerized AI and HPC workloads, particularly within Kubernetes and distributed infrastructures. His work increasingly integrates human-in-the-loop and trustworthiness aspects into AI systems. Scientific Awards: CLOUD Conference 2025 Best Paper Award VISIGRAPP 2025 Best Student Paper Award Premi Extraordinari de Doctorat 2025 - Àmbit d'Enginyeria de les TIC Test of Time Award Honorable Mention (e-Energy) Reconeixement als Mèrits Docents d'Especial Qualitat Top reviewers for Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Computer Science) - September 2017 Advising and Grants: He has advised doctoral students, including Peini Liu. He leads and participates in numerous competitive R+D+i projects, such as CROMAI and DALEST, funded by national and European programs like HORIZON 2020 and the Spanish State Research Plans. His work is supported by grants focused on knowledge generation and industrial leadership in computing technologies. Labs and Teams: He is the leader of the CROMAI - Computing Resources Orchestration and Management for AI research group at UPC. He also collaborates closely with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), contributing to large-scale computing initiatives and strategic research agendas in Europe.
Agustín Zaballos Diego is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at University Ramon Llull (URL), Barcelona, Spain, since 1999. He serves as Research Coordinator in the Department of Engineering at La Salle Campus Barcelona and leads the R&D Networking and Security Area since 2002. His academic background includes a PhD in Data Networks and Internet Technologies (2012), an International MBA (2014), and an M.S. in Electronic Engineering (2000). University: University Ramon Llull (URL) Department: Department of Computer Engineering Research Group: GRITS Research Focus: Real-time QoS-aware routing protocols in Smart Grids, Ubiquitous Sensor Networks, and IoT communications. His work bridges telecommunications, computer science, and energy systems through projects like OPERA (FP6), INTEGRIS (FP7), and FINESCE (FP7). Publication Trends: Recent articles highlight advancements in HF communications for Antarctic research, hybrid genetic algorithms for traffic engineering, IPv6 testing, and Industry 4.0-related networking solutions. Keywords span Smart Grids, IoT, Sensor Networks, and QoS optimization. Collaborative Projects: Key initiatives include the Antarctica Project , ATHIKA (ICT in healthcare), ENVISERA (environmental sensor networks), HOTSUP (online teaching innovation), PLANET4 (AI/ML in industry), and XIoT (IoT scalability challenges).
