Amir Akbari is an Associate Professor in the Department of Finance & Business Economics at DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University. His research focuses on empirical finance, international markets, institutional investing, and financial econometrics, with recent work addressing ESG and sustainability topics. His recent publications analyze financial integration reversals, the economic impact of pandemics, and ESG-driven market dynamics. Collaborators include scholars from diverse fields such as health policy and real estate economics. Amir Akbari's work bridges finance and broader societal challenges, reflecting interdisciplinary engagement in sustainability and global risk analysis.
Bronwyn Jones is a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh's School of Design , affiliated with the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) program and the Responsible Innovation Centre for Public Media Futures (RIC) at BBC R&D. She holds a PhD in Journalism and Technology from Liverpool John Moores University and a BA Hons in European Studies from Durham University, blending academic rigor with 15 years of journalistic experience at the BBC. Education: PhD in Journalism and Technology, Liverpool John Moores University BA Hons in European Studies, Durham University Her interdisciplinary research examines artificial intelligence in journalism , focusing on responsible AI , public interest , and value-aligned data-driven technologies . She investigates how AI reshapes news production, journalistic agency, and public service media ecosystems, funded by the EPSRC, ESRC, AHRC, and Alan Turing Institute. Recent projects include: PubVIA (Building Public Value via Intelligible AI) ICE-AI (AI Literacy in Journalism) News Futures (Socio-technical Systems for Newsrooms) Her work bridges theory and practice, emphasizing actionable insights for ethical AI integration in media. Key themes include media policy , digital governance , and public value . Scientific Awards: Alan Turing Institute Postdoctoral Enrichment Award Junior Fellow at Leuven Institute for Advanced Study (LIAS) Bronwyn actively contributes to public engagement through events like the Edinburgh Science Festival and Scottish AI Summit , while advising policymakers on AI ethics. She is affiliated with the Media and Communications cluster at the Centre for Data, Culture & Society and the Edinburgh Futures Institute .
Kayvan Kousha is a Senior Researcher at the University of Wolverhampton, leading the Statistical Cybermetrics and Research Evaluation Group within the Faculty of Arts, Business, and Social Sciences. With a PhD in Information Science and Scientometrics from the University of Tehran, his career spans academic appointments in both Iran and the UK. His research focuses on innovative methods for assessing research impact through digital sources, including: Developing AI-driven tools for evaluating REF impact case studies Analyzing grey literature and social media citations Studying peer review acceleration during global crises Creating semi-automatic URL classification systems for non-academic impact Key contributions include: 15+ recent publications on research evaluation Editorial roles at Scientometrics and Springer's AI for Scientometrics Being ranked among the top 2% of global scientists in information management Pioneering methods for assessing educational impact through online syllabi His work has significantly influenced how institutions measure research impact beyond traditional citations, incorporating digital footprints like Wikipedia, Goodreads, and YouTube.
Frank Pallas is a Professor at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, affiliated with the Faculty of Digital and Analytical Sciences. His research focuses on Privacy Engineering and Policy-Aligned Systems (PEPSys), integrating technical and legal aspects of emerging technologies. Education: Dipl.-Inform. and Dr.-Ing. in Computer Science from TU Berlin His work emphasizes techno-legal privacy engineering , policy-alignment mechanisms , and experimental assessment of privacy techniques , addressing anonymity, utility metrics, and societal impacts. Recent publications explore data anonymization, GDPR compliance, and privacy in distributed systems. Key projects include co-leading Salzburg's EXDIGIT initiative for digital sciences. Activities span organizing international workshops on privacy engineering, media contributions, and third-mission engagements like public lectures on digital privacy.
Fazleena Badurdeen is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Graduate Studies for the Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program at the University of Kentucky , where she leads research in sustainable manufacturing and supply chain systems. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Ohio University, an M.B.A. from the Post Graduate Institute of Management, and a B.Sc. in Engineering from the University of Peradeniya. Research Interests: sustainable manufacturing, lean systems, supply chain modeling, and sustainable product design. Awards: Earl Parker Robinson Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Notable Contributions: development of frameworks for product sustainability, circular economy integration, and risk assessment tools using Bayesian networks and simulation. Her recent Google Scholar publications focus on additive manufacturing , digital product passports , and real-time defect detection , with keywords spanning sustainable manufacturing, systems engineering, and environmental metrics. She has also contributed to education through curriculum development in systems thinking and graduate program leadership.
Elena Naumova is Professor and Chair of the Division of Nutrition Data Science at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She also holds professorships at Tufts' School of Medicine in Public Health and Community Medicine, School of Arts and Sciences in Community Health, and Tisch College. Her academic journey spans multiple disciplines, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to public health challenges. Dr. Naumova's research interests focus on environmental epidemiology, nutrition data science, and disease surveillance. She specializes in developing analytical tools for spatiotemporal and longitudinal data analysis applied to disease surveillance, exposure assessment, and growth studies. Her work examines how climate variations and extreme weather events influence infectious diseases, utilizing remote sensing data and satellite imagery to understand disease etiology on global scales. She conducts observational studies, meta-analyses, and clinical trials with complex recruitment schemes including birth cohort studies. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on nutrition epidemiology, public health policy, and data science methodologies. Articles examine trends in chronic kidney disease related to ultra-processed foods, extreme sodium intake patterns, and challenges in public health research methodology. Notably, she has contributed to a significant multi-journal publication campaign on nuclear weapons and public health. Doctor Honoris Causa of the Novosibirsk State Technical University (2018) Tisch College Faculty Fellowship (2018) World Class Professor award from the Indonesian Government (2018) As Director of the NIH-sponsored Tufts Initiative for Forecasting and Modeling of Infectious Diseases (InForMID), Dr. Naumova has advised over 100 PhD/MS/MPH students at Tufts and co-directed the Tufts Institute of the Environment. Her substantial grant portfolio includes projects funded by USAID, NIH, NSF, Gates Foundation, and industry partners like Nestle, focusing on nutrition, obesity, infectious disease modeling, and environmental health. Dr. Naumova leads the Division of Nutrition Data Science, directing research that integrates statistical modeling with public health applications. Her team collaborates internationally with researchers in India, Kenya, Ghana, Ecuador, Japan, Canada, Russia, and the UK, addressing global health challenges through data-driven approaches.
Dr. Pauline Riousset is a Scientific Associate at the Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) , affiliated with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) . She focuses on technology assessment, digital infrastructure, and sustainability policy, with expertise in cybersecurity, plastic waste reduction, and resilient systems. Education: Dr. rer. pol. from Free University of Berlin (2011–2016); MA in Environmental Policy (SciencesPo Paris) and M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences (Université Pierre et Marie Curie) (2009–2011); BA/B.Sc. in Social and Natural Sciences (2006–2009) Her research spans: Cybersecurity: Analyzing risks in food supply chains Resilient Infrastructure: Addressing polycrises through strategic foresight Circular Economy: Improving recycled material usage in plastics, electronics, and construction The 15 most recent articles highlight her work in digital methods , climate adaptation , and policy instrument design . Key projects include Resilience Radar and AI in Decentralized Power Systems . She co-edits the open-access journal TATuP – Journal for Technology Assessment in Theory and Practice and serves on the Advisory Board of TIAS .
Niko Vartiainen is a Lecturer in Legislative Studies at the Department of Law, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Administration, University of Eastern Finland. His work focuses on legislative drafting quality, impact assessment of legislation, municipal finance, and the integration of statistical methods and economic reasoning into legal analysis. His research includes empirical studies on Municipal restructuring and its economic implications Quality metrics for legislative drafting Impact of crises (e.g., COVID-19) on evidence-based policymaking Remote work regulation and workplace safety He actively participates in the Empirical Legal Research Unit and the Legislative Research Group. Recent publications analyze legislative challenges during pandemics, stakeholder engagement in lawmaking, economic perspectives on drafting, municipal expenditure, and multi-location work impacts. No scientific awards are mentioned in the provided texts.
Tomas Korpi is a Professor at Stockholm University's Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), specializing in labor market mobility, inequality, and social policy analysis. His research spans macro-level industrial restructuring and globalization effects, micro-level skill mismatch dynamics, and the interplay between inequality and welfare state programs. Affiliation: Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University Academic Rank: Professor Research Group: Social Policy (SOCPOL) His work employs quantitative methods to examine: Labor market transitions across life courses Union impacts on wage inequality Local governance of vulnerable populations (NEETs) Education-labor market policy interactions Globalization's effects on employment volatility Comparative social policy design Current projects as Principal Investigator include: SUSTAIN: Sustainable working life policies (Forte-funded) Union wage premium analysis (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond) Vulnerable group resource allocation (Swedish Research Council) His publications demonstrate sustained focus on: Welfare-state sustainability Education-labor market linkages Activation policy effectiveness Globalization's inequality consequences Local implementation of social programs Migration policy impacts on labor outcomes
Giorgia Marini is an Assistant Professor of Public Economics at the Department of Legal and Economic Studies (DSGE) at Sapienza University of Rome. She holds National Scientific Qualifications for Associate Professor positions in both Public Economics (valid 2025-2037) and Economic Policy (valid 2025-2037). Dr. Marini earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in 2005, following an MSc in Econometrics and Economics from the same institution in 2001 and a BA in Economics from Sapienza University of Rome in 2000. Her academic journey includes research positions at the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York and visiting scholar positions at Stanford University and Imperial College London. Her extensive research focuses on health economics, policy impact evaluation, performance measurement, digital health, hospital mergers, and migration economics. Recent work examines institutional impacts on health status, hospital merger effects, environmental crime consequences, and the economic dimensions of migration in Italy. Her publications appear in leading journals including Health Economics, European Journal of Health Economics, and International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics. Dr. Marini has secured multiple research grants, including a €224,338 PRIN 2022 grant on migration and religion. She serves on the Executive Council of the Italian Association of Health Economics (AIES) and co-founded the Economics of Digital Health Technology Special Interest Group within the International Health Economics Association. She actively supervises PhD, Master's, and undergraduate students, with numerous BA students listed from 2014-2024. Her teaching includes undergraduate courses in Regulatory Impact Analysis, Public Policy Analysis, and Public Economics. Dr. Marini also serves on various university committees including the Departmental Board and Faculty Board.
Dr Vindhya Weeratunga is a Lecturer in the School of Business at UNSW Canberra, combining her extensive HR practitioner/CEO experience with academic research. As a mixed-methods researcher, she investigates human resource management, systems thinking applications to complex organizational problems, and adaptive leadership frameworks. PhD in Management, UNSW Canberra MBA (Merit), University of Sri Jayewardenepura BSc (Magna Cum Laude), Goldey-Beacom College Her research focuses on enhancing employee outcomes through analyzing flexible work arrangements, hybrid working productivity, employee engagement metrics, and worker well-being across demographic groups. Current projects include studying hybrid work knowledge workers' productivity and facilitating adaptive leadership workshops. From 2020-2024 publications, her work spans flexible work implementation, pandemic work practices, cross-cultural HR adaptations, and systems thinking applications in public sector organizations. Key research trends include job demands-resources theory, data-driven HR decision making, and cultural dimensions affecting engagement. 2024 O'Leary Prize for Gender and Public Administration Scholarship She supervises research in human resource management, future of work, and employee well-being areas while teaching courses ZBUS8314 People and Systems, ZBUS8315 Driving Performance, and ZBUS1101 Organizational Behaviour.
Dr. Zorica Bozinovska-Lazarevska is a Full Professor at the Department of Accounting and Auditing , Faculty of Economics , University "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" in Skopje. She teaches Auditing , State Auditing , Fraud Investigation , and Audit and Assurance across multiple study cycles. Master's Degree (1993), Faculty of Economics, Belgrade Doctorate (1999), Faculty of Economics, Skopje Research Interests: Internal Auditing ESG Assurance Sustainable Accounting Blockchain in Financial Reporting Fraud Detection Integrated Reporting Recent Research Trends: Her recent work focuses on adapting auditing to post-pandemic challenges, integrating sustainability into accounting education, leveraging big data for public sector auditing, and the role of internal auditors in ESG assurance. Articles analyze audit markets in North Macedonia, financial metrics impacting stock prices, and fraud investigation frameworks. Leadership Roles: Vice Dean for Finance (2005-2010), Head of Department of Accounting and Auditing (since 2013), and Head of Second Cycle Study Program in Accounting and Auditing (since 2013).
Pradeep Kundu serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KU Leuven's Faculty of Engineering Technology (Bruges Campus), where he leads the M-Group Asset Performance Management subdivision. He is an active member of Leuven.AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and holds governance roles in the Mechanical Engineering Department Council and Faculty Council. His research centers on Industrial Artificial Intelligence integrated with Digital Twin Technology, focusing on three core domains: rotating machinery condition monitoring (fault diagnosis/prognosis), manufacturing quality control (tool wear/surface monitoring), and production process optimization. Key methodological contributions address data scarcity through synthetic data generation (Digital Twin/Generative AI) and enhance model robustness via Physics-Informed Machine Learning, Hybrid Modeling, and advanced Statistical Regression. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2024-2025) reveals a dominant focus on predictive maintenance for mechanical systems, utilizing diffusion models for damage imaging, entropy-based domain adaptation for bearing failure prediction, and sensor fusion techniques. His work consistently bridges physics-based modeling with deep learning across rotating machinery, structural health monitoring, and smart manufacturing applications. Dr. Kundu currently leads multiple funded projects including 'Intelligent Prognosis of Rotating Machines in Industry 4.0 using Generative AI' (2024-2025) and 'Digital Twin Framework for Fleet-Level Feed Drive Systems Health Assessment' (2023-2027), addressing critical challenges in data-limited industrial AI deployment. His research directly supports Industry 4.0 transformation through maintenance optimization and quality control innovations. He actively contributes to academic governance as member of the OC Smart Operations and Maintenance in Industry committee and the Mechanical Engineering Department Council, while his research group within the Mecha(tro)nic System Dynamics unit develops practical AI solutions for industrial asset performance management.
Xenia Mamakou is an academic at the Department of Business Organization and Administration, School of Business Administration, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB). She is affiliated with the Business Informatics Laboratory (BILab) and holds a PhD in Information Systems from AUEB. Education: BSc in Business Organization and Administration (AUEB), MSc in Business Information Technology (UMIST, UK), PhD in Information Systems (AUEB) Her research focuses on business analytics, digital transformation, and the organizational/social impacts of technology. She has published over 30 articles on topics like business analytics, ERP systems, e-commerce, and agile methodology. Her recent works explore AI adoption, metaverse opportunities, and agile project management in Greece. She has authored an academic book on Excel-based data analysis and received two teaching excellence awards from AUEB. She serves as scientific director of an eLearning course and participates in three other programs as a lecturer. Her involvement in committees includes Teaching and Learning Support, Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination, and AUEB Faculty Association (Treasurer since 2021). Scientific Awards: AUEB Teaching Excellence Award (twice) Treasurer, AUEB Faculty Association (2021–present)
Shahana Sheikh is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on political parties, political behavior, and party-voter linkages in developing democracies, particularly South Asia. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University, where her dissertation explored the impact of Internet-based communication technologies on Indian political dynamics. Prior to this, she received a master’s in public policy from the National University of Singapore and the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a bachelor’s in economics (Honors) from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. Her work examines how development-related transformations—such as urbanization, environmental degradation, and digital communication—shape political strategies and participation in India. Methodologically, she employs interviews, participant observation, grounded theory, content analysis, surveys, and survey experiments. She has also taught courses on Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics, Nationalism & Ethnic Politics, and Statistics. Earlier, she worked as a policy researcher at the Centre for Policy Research and the Centre for Public Policy, focusing on urban governance and public finance in India.
