Dr. Alex Bigazzi is an Associate Professor and Associate Head (Undergraduate Program) in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), with a joint appointment in the School of Community and Regional Planning. He leads the REACT Lab, focusing on active transportation, micromobility, and sustainable infrastructure design. His research emphasizes the intersection of physics, physiology, and behavior in active travel, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists, and addresses emissions reduction and equitable urban mobility. Bigazzi holds a B.M. in Jazz Saxophone from the University of Miami and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Portland State University. His career includes academic and practical contributions, such as founding the REACT Lab and leading projects on e-bike incentives, air pollution exposure, and infrastructure design. His work has earned awards like the 2024 Wall Legacy Award for inclusive transport design and the 2023 Climate Action Award. He teaches courses on pedestrian/bicycle facility design and capstone projects, mentoring students through UBC’s Civil Engineering programs.
Richard W. Robins is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, within the College of Letters and Science. He is Director of the Personality, Self and Emotion Laboratory and the California Families Project, and a core faculty member of the NIMH Training Program in Affective Science. Ph.D. in Psychology (Social/Personality), University of California, Berkeley (1995) B.A. in Psychology, University of California, Berkeley (1988) His research centers on personality development, self-esteem, narcissism, self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, guilt, contempt), and developmental trajectories of Mexican-origin youth. He employs longitudinal and experimental designs with multi-method data collection across biological, psychological, and sociocultural domains. His recent publications reflect a strong trend in longitudinal analysis of personality and emotion, particularly focusing on developmental pathways in youth, self-evaluation processes, and cultural influences on emotional expression. Key themes include the interplay between temperament and social behavior, the stability of self-esteem, and the distinction between genuine self-worth and narcissism. Award highlights include: 2012 Diener Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Contributions to Personality Psychology Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (2011) Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution (APA) Theoretical Innovation Prize (SPSP) Chancellor’s Fellow at UC Davis (2002–2007) Professor Robins has secured research funding from the National Institutes of Health, particularly supporting the California Families Project. He has served as Associate Editor for Personality and Social Psychological Review and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , and has edited major handbooks in personality psychology. He mentors graduate students and teaches courses in Personality Psychology, Personality Development, The Self, Emotion, and Longitudinal Methods. He leads the Personality, Self and Emotions Laboratory at UC Davis, which focuses on social development, emotion regulation, and self-esteem using integrative and naturalistic research approaches.
Snježana Babić serves as Associate Professor and Head of the Graduate Study Program Informatics - Teaching Major at the Faculty of Informatics in Pula , University of Pula. With a PhD obtained in 2016 and university affiliation since 2017, she teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs focusing on ICT fundamentals, web design, digital competencies, and informatics education methodology. Her educational background includes graduation in 1993 followed by doctoral studies culminating in 2016. Though specific institutions aren't detailed in the text, her career trajectory shows progression from foundational ICT teaching to specialized informatics education leadership. Babić's research centers on educational technology adoption with particular emphasis on programming pedagogy for young learners through the MEMA method. Her work investigates digital competencies across multiple educational contexts, from primary schools to higher education. Recent publications demonstrate rapid adaptation to emerging technologies, with 2025 studies examining ChatGPT integration in Croatian educational settings and cross-cultural applications of programming methods. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on technology acceptance models applied to Croatian educators and students. The research trajectory shows evolution from foundational e-learning systems (2016-2020) to cutting-edge AI and robotics applications (2022-2025), maintaining strong methodological focus on teacher motivation , implementation barriers , and culturally-specific adoption factors . Her teaching portfolio demonstrates deep integration with research interests: Undergraduate: ICT Fundamentals, Web Design and Application Graduate: Digital Competencies in Education, Informatics Education Methodology, Practicum for IT Educators Cross-disciplinary: ICT in Nursing, Healthcare Informatics Babić actively contributes to institutional leadership as program head while maintaining robust research productivity. Her work bridges theoretical technology adoption frameworks with practical implementation challenges in Croatian educational contexts, particularly examining how emerging technologies like humanoid robots and AI assistants can be effectively integrated into teaching practices.
Anna S. Mattila is the Marriott Professor of Lodging Management and serves as Professor-in-Charge of the Graduate Program at the School of Hospitality Management, Pennsylvania State University. Her research spans social media, service recovery, servicescape, prosocial behaviors, cross-cultural studies, and wellness in hospitality contexts. Education : B.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University, M.B.A. from University of Hartford Mattila's work examines how emotions, cultural norms, and technological innovations like AI influence consumer decisions in hospitality. Her studies cover topics from robotic service interactions to sustainable food marketing and moral psychology in tourism. She has published extensively in journals such as International Journal of Hospitality Management and Journal of Consumer Marketing . Her recent articles focus on AI integration in hospitality, consumer trust in virtual influencers, upcycled food adoption, and the psychological effects of servicescape design. Key themes include ethical consumption, digital transformation, and cross-cultural consumer behavior. Advising : Supervised Anqi Luo's dissertation on service recovery in 2022 Mattila's office is located in 224 Mateer Building, University Park, PA. She contributes to advancing hospitality research through methodological consulting and the Penn State Biomarker Core Laboratory.
Dr. Krishnan Mahesh is a Professor at the University of Michigan with joint appointments in Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He serves as Director of the Center for Naval Research and Education and leads the Computational Fluids Laboratory, where he develops advanced numerical methods for simulating multi-physics turbulent flows. Education: Ph.D. (1996), M.S. (1990) from Stanford University, B.Tech (1989) from IIT Bombay Leadership: Director, Center for Naval Research and Education (2022-present) His research focuses on high-fidelity simulations of turbulent flows with applications in marine propulsors, multiphase systems, cavitation, hydroacoustics, superhydrophobic surfaces, biofouling, fluid-structure interaction, and flow stability. His group develops the MPCUGLES software for unstructured grid simulations on parallel computing platforms. Recent work examines cavitation dynamics , tip vortex flows , and roughness-induced transition in complex marine and aerospace systems. His 15 most recent articles demonstrate expertise in LES/DNS of multi-physics flows, with emphasis on marine propulsion, bubble collapse, and turbulent noise prediction. Scientific Honors: 2021 AIAA Best Paper Award 2018 Fulbright Scholar 2017 Marine Propulsors Symposium Best Paper 2011 APS Fellow 2010 Taylor Award for Distinguished Research He mentors numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, with collaborative projects spanning jet in crossflow analysis, gas turbine simulations, and shock-turbulence interactions. His research receives funding from ONR, NSF, and international naval programs.
Dr. Elaine T. Jurkowski serves as Professor in Social Work at Southern Illinois University's College of Health and Human Sciences, holding multiple leadership roles including Graduate Program Director (2021-present) and Program Director for Gerontology Programs (2020-present). She maintains cross-appointments as Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine's Family Practice Residency Program and Professor in the Department of Health Education, demonstrating her interdisciplinary impact. B.S.W. (Industrial Social Work), University of Manitoba, Canada M.S.W. (Policy and Administration), University of Manitoba, Canada Ph.D., Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago M.B.A., Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2022) Dr. Jurkowski's research program centers on health disparities, access to mental health services, aging, and disability issues, with particular focus on rural populations. Her work bridges public health, social work, and gerontology through innovative approaches to program evaluation, technology-enhanced teaching, and culture change in long-term care settings. She has developed expertise in international health planning and inter-professional collaboration across diverse cultural contexts. Her publication portfolio shows consistent thematic development across decades, with recent work focusing on medical tourism during the pandemic, rural-urban health disparities, and technology applications in gerontology education. These publications reflect her commitment to addressing healthcare access challenges for vulnerable populations through both scholarly inquiry and practical interventions. Great Cities Research Fellow in Health Provost Faculty Fellow (2018) Provost Assessment Fellow (2016) Student Hotspotting certification (2018-present) A.P.M. Assessment Academy certification (2016, 2017) Dr. Jurkowski has successfully secured over $1 million in research funding from agencies including Health Resources and Services Administration, The Hartford Foundation, and Administration on Aging. Her grant portfolio demonstrates sustained commitment to improving services for older adults and people with disabilities, particularly in rural settings. She has served as Graduate Program Director twice (2003-2014, 2021-present), mentoring numerous social work students through their academic and professional development. Her professional activities extend beyond campus through international consulting in West Africa, Hong Kong, India, China, Russia, and Egypt, and community engagement via the "Dare to Care" radio show and board service with Caring Counseling Ministries, Supporting People in Need, and UNA/USA Southern Illinois Chapter.
Bridget Buoniconti serves as Dean of Students, Chief Conduct Officer, and Title IX Deputy Coordinator at Regis College. She joined the institution in 2014 as Assistant Director of Residence Life, later advancing to Director of Residence Life and Associate Dean of Student Affairs before assuming her current leadership roles. A graduate of Boston College with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and higher education, she earned her doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Regis College in 2023. Education: Bachelor’s in English and Secondary Education, Boston College Master’s in English Literature and Higher Education (Student Affairs concentration), Boston College Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership, Regis College (2023) Her work focuses on fostering student development through academic, social, and spiritual support systems. As a member of the First-Year Seminar faculty, she combines teaching and advising to enhance student retention and engagement. She actively develops campus programs, supervises the Department of Residence Life, and champions inclusivity as a Pride Fan. Bridget’s leadership extends to crisis management, including overseeing temporary on-campus housing initiatives for commuter students during exams and participating in institutional updates to public health protocols.
Benjamin Carrison-Schafer is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Texas at Dallas. He leads the Design Automation and Reconfigurable Computing Laboratory (DARClab), focusing on systems, high-level design, and programming methodologies for VLSI computing systems and FPGAs. Education: MBA from McGill University, Canada (2012) PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University of Birmingham, UK (2003) Research Interests: His work spans modeling, analysis, synthesis, optimization, and implementation of VLSI systems. Current projects include: Approximate Computing, High-Level Synthesis Design Space Exploration, Hardware Security, Behavioral MPSoC Optimization, and Automatic Fault-Tolerant System Generation. His research blends theory and practice, using analytical and experimental techniques to solve real-world problems. Publication Trends: Recent publications demonstrate strong focus on hardware security, FPGA optimization, and automated design methodologies. Key themes include High-Level Synthesis innovations, hardware acceleration techniques, and cross-disciplinary applications of reconfigurable computing. His work frequently addresses challenges in hardware trustworthiness, energy efficiency, and design automation scalability. Professional Activities: Associate Editor: IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Computing (2022-present) Conference Chair: ICCD 2024, DCAS 2024 Program Committee: ASP-DAC, DATE, FCCM, GLSVLSI Advising & Labs: Supervises multiple PhD and Master's students at DARClab. Current research includes domain-specific architecture design, hardware security, sustainable computing, and ML for VLSI design. The lab collaborates with industry partners like Renesas Electronics and develops commercial tools through spin-off company highX Technologies.
Florentina Bunea is a Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Cornell University’s Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, and an active member of the Graduate Fields of Statistics, Applied Mathematics, and Computer Science. She also serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Council of her college, championing workforce diversity in data-science disciplines. Education & Institutional Roles Professor, Department of Statistics and Data Science, Cornell University Member, Graduate Fields of Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science Member, Diversity and Inclusion Council, Bowers College of Computing and Information Science Research Interests Professor Bunea’s research lies at the intersection of statistical machine-learning theory and high-dimensional inference. She develops rigorous methodology supported by sharp theoretical guarantees to tackle core problems in modern data science. Recent themes include: Soft-max mixtures for understanding large-language-model/AI algorithms Optimal transport for high-dimensional mixture distributions Wasserstein-distance inference for sparse mixing measures in topic models Latent-space clustering and cluster-based inference in high dimensions Network modeling and hidden-structure inference Applications spanning genetics, systems immunology, neuroscience, sociology, and economics Research Funding & Awards Her work is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF-DMS). She is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and a recipient of the IMS Medallion Award. Editorial & Service Contributions Associate Editor: Annals of Statistics, Bernoulli, JASA, JRSS-B, EJS, Annals of Applied Statistics Co-Editor: Chapman & Hall/CRC Statistics and Applied Probability Monograph Series Advising & Collaboration Professor Bunea has mentored numerous doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, including Xin Bing, Shuyu Liu, Seth Strimas-Mackey, and Yang Ning, among others. Collaborative projects extend across Cornell and external institutions, producing widely-used software packages and high-impact publications. Contact Office: 1184 Comstock Hall, Cornell University Email: fb238@cornell.edu Phone: (607) 255-8449
Adrien Desjardins is a Professor at the University of British Columbia, jointly appointed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering within the Faculty of Applied Science. He joined UBC in 2024 after serving as a Full Professor at University College London from 2019-2024, following 13 years on faculty there. His educational background includes a B.Sc. from UBC (2001) and a Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard University (2007). Dr. Desjardins' research program focuses on interdisciplinary development of imaging and sensing modalities and autonomous robotics with marine and biomedical applications. His work integrates photonics, ultrasound, machine learning, and robotics to create innovative diagnostic tools and sensing systems, particularly in optical coherence tomography, diffuse optical spectroscopy, and photoacoustic imaging. His publication record reveals an evolution from foundational neuroimaging work (2001) toward increasingly sophisticated optical systems culminating in breakthroughs like ultrasensitive optical microresonators for ultrasound sensing (2017), demonstrating consistent innovation in biomedical optics with growing emphasis on machine learning integration and real-world applications. His scientific contributions have been recognized through prestigious awards: Research Chair from the Royal Academy of Engineering Healthcare Technologies Challenge Award from EPSRC Starting grants from ERC, EPSRC, and Royal Society World Economic Forum Young Scientist (2015) UCL Provost Teaching Prize (2013) Dr. Desjardins actively mentors graduate students and secures major research funding through competitive grants, with current openings for January/September 2025 intakes. His program involves close industry collaboration indicating strong translational focus, though specific lab names aren't mentioned. The interdisciplinary nature of his work suggests teams spanning engineering, computer science, and medical disciplines working on next-generation imaging systems for healthcare and marine exploration.
Sarita V Adve is the Richard T. Cheng Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she conducts research spanning hardware, programming languages, operating systems, and applications with a focus on domain-specific systems. Her work bridges theoretical foundations and practical implementations, particularly in extended reality and heterogeneous computing. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1993, 1989) and a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (1987). Prior to joining Illinois, she served on the faculty at Rice University from 1993 to 1999. Adve's research centers on generalizable and scalable specialization for domain-specific systems, with current emphasis on extended reality (XR) systems including virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. She chairs the ILLIXR consortium to democratize XR research and developed the first fully open-source XR system (ILLIXR). Her foundational contributions include memory consistency models for C++ and Java programming languages, the Spandex coherence framework for heterogeneous systems, and software-driven approaches for hardware reliability. Her work spans hardware reliability (SWAT and RAMP projects), power management (GRACE system), and instruction-level parallelism. Recent publications reveal a strong focus on energy-efficient XR systems, hardware-software co-design for AI workloads, and resilience analysis. Her team explores rendering offload, visual-inertial odometry optimization, and compositional error injection frameworks, often targeting tradeoffs between energy, latency, and accuracy in mobile and edge environments. Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow of the ACM and IEEE ACM/IEEE-CS Ken Kennedy Award Anita Borg Institute Woman of Vision in Innovation Award ACM SIGARCH Maurice Wilkes Award Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship UIUC University Scholar University of Illinois Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Adve actively mentors students and has received multiple teaching awards. She co-founded the CARES movement to address discrimination in CS research events and chairs CS@Illinois CARES. Her service includes leadership roles in ACM SIGARCH (2015-2019), DARPA/ISAT study group, ACM Council, and Computing Research Association. She has secured significant funding including DARPA initiatives and Google Faculty Research Awards. She leads the ILLIXR consortium and has established collaborative research programs such as the $8.3M DARPA Joint University Microelectronics Program. Her lab focuses on open-source XR development, heterogeneous system architectures, and reliability-aware designs, with strong industry and government partnerships.
David Trend is a Professor and former Chair of the Department of Art at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, University of California, Irvine. He previously served as Dean of Creative Arts at De Anza College and Graduate Program Coordinator at San Francisco State University's Inter-Arts Center. Trend specializes in visual culture, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy, teaching courses like Language and Vision in Everyday Life and Media, Art, and Technology . His research bridges media analysis, education policy, and radical democracy. He has authored over 200 articles and 16 books, including Elsewhere in America and Reading Digital Culture . As a Getty Scholar, his work explores cultural belonging, digital media impacts, and educational innovation. He advises on state arts councils and the National Endowment for the Arts. His academic contributions span visual arts education, media literacy, and the sociopolitical role of art. Education: - MFA in Photography, Visual Studies Workshop Program, SUNY Buffalo - PhD in Curriculum Theory, Miami University Research Interests: Trend's work examines cultural crises of meaning, digital media's societal impact, and the intersection of art with education and activism. He critiques gentrification's artistic drivers, explores identity formation in digital spaces, and advocates for culturally democratic pedagogical frameworks. Publications Trends: Recent works focus on gentrification's artistic dimensions ( 2022 ), creativity crises ( 2020 ), and belonging in fragmented cultures ( 2016 ). Earlier work addressed media violence myths ( 2007 ), digital literacy ( 2001 ), and radical democracy ( 1996 ). His writing spans academic critiques to practical pedagogical solutions. Awards: Getty Scholar Grants & Consulting: Extensive NEA collaborations, foundation advising, and state arts council consultations. His work emphasizes bridging educational institutions with Silicon Valley corporations through multimedia partnerships. Labs/Teams: Affiliated with UCI's University Art Galleries, Institute and Museum of California Art, and Electronic Art + Design programs.
Dr. Andrew Owusu is a Professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) within the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), serving as graduate program director for public health. His academic appointments include teaching Foundations in Health Education, Community and Public Health, Epidemiology, and Data Management in Public Health since joining MTSU. His educational credentials include: Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University (2004) M.S. in Sports Administration and Management, Wayne State College (1998) B.S. in Biology, University of Alabama (1996) Dr. Owusu's research centers on adolescent health risk behaviors including bullying, sexual risk-taking, and substance use, with specialized expertise in school health policy implementation. His 15-year leadership (2007-2020) of Ghana's Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and Global School Health Policies and Practices Survey (G-SHPPS) established critical surveillance systems for adolescent health behaviors through collaborations with WHO and CDC. His methodological innovations include classroom response systems for health education and childhood lead poisoning research. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on Ghanaian adolescent health through school-based surveillance, examining sexting, skin-lightening practices, violence victimization, and condom use barriers. His work demonstrates interdisciplinary integration of public health surveillance, policy analysis, and behavioral science to address global adolescent health challenges. Scientific recognition includes: MTSU President Recognition (2008) for significant international research/partnership Feature in 2006-2008 MTSU President’s Biennial Report (pg.11) Dr. Owusu has secured major international collaborations as Ghana's country coordinator for WHO/CDC school health initiatives (2007-2020), directing multi-institutional teams across MTSU, Ghana Education Service, WHO, and CDC. His mentorship extends through graduate program leadership and track coaching, developing 16 NCAA All-American athletes at MTSU while serving as Ghana's Olympic track coach for three consecutive games (2012-2020). The Ghana School-based Student Health Surveillance System (GSSHSS), established under his coordination, represents a sustained partnership model integrating academic research with national public health infrastructure, producing actionable data for school health policy development across Ghanaian educational institutions.
Roles & Affiliations: Manolis Savva is an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University's School of Computing Science and holds a Canada Research Chair in Computer Graphics. He leads research in 3D scene understanding, with applications in graphics, vision, and robotics. Previously, he was a researcher at Facebook AI and Princeton University. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2016), Stanford University, advised by Pat Hanrahan B.A. in Physics and Computer Science (2009), Cornell University Research Interests: His work focuses on analyzing, organizing, and generating 3D content, particularly for holistic scene understanding. Key areas include articulated objects, embodied AI, and datasets like ScanNet , Matterport3D , and Habitat . His methods drive applications in robotics, autonomous agents, and virtual environments. Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes generative models (e.g., SINGAPO for articulated object parts), embodied AI benchmarks (Habitat), and multimodal scene analysis. His papers often address challenges in scalability, realism, and cross-modal fusion for 3D environments. Awards: CHCCS Early Career Researcher Award (2022) ICLR 2023 Outstanding Paper Award ICCV 2019 Best Paper Nomination (Habitat) Advising & Grants: Supervised over 15 graduate students, many advancing to top PhD programs and tech companies. Active in grants for embodied AI, scene understanding, and robotics. Labs/Teams: Leads the 3DLG (3D Learning Group) and GrUVi (Graphics and Vision) groups at SFU. Collaborates extensively with industry (e.g., Meta, NVIDIA) on AI-driven 3D research.
Deian Stefan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). His research focuses on building secure systems through interdisciplinary approaches spanning security , programming languages , and systems . Key areas include WebAssembly security , JavaScript JITs , constant-time programming , memory safety , information flow control , and program analysis tools. He co-founded Intrinsic , a web-security startup later acquired by VMWare, and contributed to standards like W3C WebAppSec and Node.js Security Working Groups. Education: PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University (2015), advised by David Mazières, John C. Mitchell, and Alejandro Russo BE and ME in Electrical Engineering from Cooper Union (2011) Research Trends: His work targets secure systems (Web frameworks, sandboxing, runtime systems), language-based security (constant-time programming, memory safety), and verification for security . Recent publications focus on mitigating speculative execution attacks, hardware-assisted sandboxing, and WebAssembly security. Awards & Recognition: Distinguished Paper Award at POPL 2021 and IEEE MICRO Top Picks 2024 Best Paper Award at CollaborateCom 2010 2010.01 Prize by Daniel J. Bernstein (DJB) Most Influential Paper Award at ICFP 2022 Teaching: He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses including Graduate Computer Security (CSE 227) , Building Secure Systems with Rust , and Programming Languages: Principles and Paradigms at UCSD since 2018. Prior teaching experience includes Stanford and Cooper Union.
