Yevgeni Berzak is an Assistant Professor at the Technion and a Research Affiliate at Mit BCS . He directs the Technion Language, Computation and Cognition (LaCC) Lab and leads the Cognitive Science Track in the Data Science and Engineering degree at the Technion. His academic background includes: PhD in Computer Science at Infolab, MIT CSAIL Postdoctoral research with Roger Levy at MIT CPL Lab Masters in Computational Linguistics at Universities of Saarland and Nancy Bachelors in Cognitive Science and Amirim Honors Program at Hebrew University of Jerusalem His research focuses on the intersection of Cognitive Science and Natural Language Processing (NLP) , studying human language acquisition and processing through computational modeling, linguistic theory, and neuroimaging. He develops datasets like OneStopQA and CELER , and explores how human gaze patterns can improve machine language understanding. Recent publications address topics such as: Eyetracking for language proficiency assessment Repetition effects in reading behavior Readability prediction via scrolling interactions Structured annotation schemes for reading comprehension The LaCC Lab under his leadership combines theoretical linguistics with machine learning to bridge human and artificial language processing.
Elizabeth Phelps is the Pershing Square Professor of Human Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She directs the Phelps Lab, which investigates how emotions influence learning, memory, and decision-making using multidisciplinary approaches including behavioral studies, neuroimaging (fMRI), physiological measurements, and computational modeling. The lab collaborates widely across psychology, neuroscience, economics, and clinical disciplines. Her research examines: Human neuroscience of affect and cognition interactions Emotional modulation of learning and memory systems Neural mechanisms of decision-making under uncertainty Impact of emotion on social cognition and behavior Translational applications for psychological disorders Contact information: Email: phelps@fas.harvard.edu Lab email: phelpslab@fas.harvard.edu Address: Northwest Lab Building, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 The lab welcomes study participants and research assistant applicants, emphasizing diversity and inclusion in research.
Jan Borchers is a full professor of computer science and head of the Media Computing Group, an endowed Chair in the Computer Science Department at RWTH Aachen University. He serves as deputy member of the Faculty Council for Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences (2024-2026) and previously headed the Computer Science Department's Examination Board from 2015 until February 2025. Borchers established his research group in 2003, pioneering modern HCI academic research and teaching in Germany, and opened Germany's first Fab Lab in 2009. Borchers received his PhD 'summa cum laude' in computer science from Darmstadt University of Technology in 2000. Before joining RWTH Aachen, he held faculty positions at Stanford University and ETH Zurich. His PhD thesis, 'A Pattern Approach to Interaction Design,' became the first book to bring design patterns to HCI. His research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction with particular interest in new user interfaces for soft robotics, textile user interfaces, 3D printing and personal fabrication, augmented reality, wearable and tangible computing, interfaces for software development, deceptive patterns, and interactive guides and exhibits. He is a member of ACM, SIGCHI, SIGCHI Germany, and GI, and introduced the Interactivity format to the CHI conference in 2005. Recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on deceptive patterns/dark patterns in UI design, textile interfaces, and the impact of generative AI on creative teamwork. His work spans from fundamental research in interaction techniques to practical applications in smart homes, accessibility, and children's interfaces, with a consistent focus on usability and user-centered design. IDC 2025 Best Work in Progress: 'If They Have No Choice, They'll Accept!' CHI'25 Student Games Competition Winner: 'The Deceptive Dungeon' RWTH-Wissenschaftsnacht 2024 Best Science Slam: 'Usability: 4 Prinzipien guter User Interfaces' Multiple CHI/UIST Honorable Mentions and Best Paper awards spanning two decades Author of influential books including 'A Pattern Approach to Interaction Design' and 'Arduino In A Nutshell' Borchers has provided extensive consulting, training, and user interface design services to major clients including AirBus, Apple, ARD, Bayer, Children's Museum Boston, Daimler, Handelsblatt, OTIS, Scout24, TEDx, and Deutsche Telekom. He actively organizes the Computer Science Department's weekly Faculty Lunch since 2003 and coordinates the department's public relations and web presence since 2010. He leads the Media Computing Group, which has become a leading German lab in terms of archival publications at CHI, the top international conference in HCI. Since March 2025, he serves as faculty patron for TechLabs Aachen, a student initiative providing practical digital skills training.
Yael Feldman Maggor is a Postdoctoral Fellow at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, affiliated with the Media Technology & Interaction Design Division and the Digital Futures research center. Her work bridges educational technologies, artificial intelligence, and science education, with a focus on enhancing pedagogy through innovative tools. Research Themes: Generative AI in education, self-regulated learning, learning analytics, chemistry education, and ethical considerations in AI integration. Key Projects: Contributions to the International Journal of Science Education, development of AI-driven evaluation frameworks, and pandemic-era online teaching analysis. Methodologies: Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, educational data mining, and design of interactive learning platforms. Recent publications emphasize cross-cultural trust in AI, generative AI applications in chemistry education, and explainable AI for teacher professional development. She co-authored studies on nanotechnology courses for educators and self-regulation strategies in online learning environments.
Yiming Yang is a Professor at the Language Technologies Institute and Machine Learning Department within the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University , where he has held faculty positions since 2003. His research spans foundational and applied aspects of machine learning , artificial intelligence , and scientific computing . Professor, Carnegie Mellon University (2003–Present) Associate Professor, Carnegie Mellon University (1996–2003) Yang's research focuses on LLM-based problem-solving agents , combinatorial optimization , and scalable oversight frameworks . His work explores diffusion models, Langevin dynamics, and Fourier neural operators for NP-hard problems, while advancing reinforcement learning techniques for self-play supervision and principle-driven fine-tuning of large language models. Recent publications highlight his contributions to code synthesis , PDE solving , and multi-agent reinforcement learning . Key methodologies include demonstration-guided control, retrieval-augmented reasoning, and test-time scaling laws. His team has developed frameworks like FEEDER for efficient in-context learning and μTransfer-FNO for zero-shot hyperparameter transfer in PDE solvers. Notable scientific achievements include: Best Student Paper Runner Up (2013) Best Theoretical Paper Award (1994) Best Theoretical Paper Award (1993) Yang has mentored over 20 PhD students and postdocs, including Shengyu Feng , Zhiqing Sun , and Aman Madaan , across domains like graph learning , extreme multi-label classification , and language model alignment .
Priyank Chandra is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information and Director of the STREET Lab (SocioTechnical Resistance and Ethical Technologies Lab). His interdisciplinary research focuses on sociotechnical practices of marginalized communities, leveraging HCI, CSCW, STS, and development studies to design inclusive technologies. He holds a PhD in Information from the University of Michigan, along with MS in Economics and BE in Electronics Engineering. Chandra has received awards at ACM CHI and CSCW for his work on labor movements, digital resistance, and accessibility. Education: PhD in Information, University of Michigan (2019) MS in Economics BE in Electronics Engineering Research Interests: Chandra explores how marginalized communities reconfigure technologies to foster self-organization and resistance. His work bridges HCI/CSCW with theories from development studies and institutional analysis, emphasizing ethical, socially just systems. Recent projects include studying farmer movements in India, gig economy platforms, and weather risk communication for visually impaired Ontarians. Grants & Awards: SSHRC Grant: Repertoires of Contention in Digital Labour Platforms (2023-2024) NSERC Grant: Designing Inclusive Platforms for the Gig Economy (2022-2027) Connaught New Researcher Award (2023) ACM CHI/CSCW Awards for contributions to labor studies and accessibility Advising & Labs: Supervises students in ICTs, design, and marginality. Directs the STREET Lab at KMDI, focusing on ethical tech for vulnerable communities. Teaches courses on inclusive design and marginalized communities' ICT practices.
Dr. Koustuv Saha is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), leading the OnCARE lab. He holds a PhD from Georgia Tech and a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur. His research focuses on computational social science, social computing, and ethical AI applications in mental health and wellbeing. His work bridges computer science with psychology, sociology, and public policy to address societal challenges. Education: PhD in Computer Science (Georgia Tech, 2021), B.Tech in CSE (IIT Kharagpur, 2012). Previous roles include Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research Montreal (FATE group) and industry research experience in Silicon Valley. Research interests include wellbeing sensing technologies, algorithmic fairness, and large language models’ societal impacts. Recent work examines caregiver mental health, deceptive wellness apps, and AI ethics in content moderation. His studies combine causal inference, NLP, and multimodal data analysis. Publications span top venues like CHI, CSCW, ICWSM, and JMIR. Notable awards include Georgia Tech’s Outstanding Dissertation Award (2022) and Snap Research Fellowship (2020). He advises on AI governance and collaborates with policymakers, clinicians, and industry. OnCARE lab explores human-centered AI for societal good, with projects on mental health support systems, ethical tech design, and algorithmic transparency in health contexts. Current focus includes caregiver AI tools, LLM-based empathetic systems, and workplace wellbeing interventions.
Ji Hwan Park is an Assistant Professor in the School of Interactive Games and Media at RIT's Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS). He holds a PhD from Stony Brook University under Prof. Arie Kaufman. His research focuses on accessible data visualization, digital twins, human-AI collaboration, and VR/AR applications. Notable contributions include developing tools for ADHD-friendly visualizations and interactive protein motif identification. He has received funding from the Department of Defense for biomedical research and earned an Honorable Mention at CHI 2024. Current teaching includes courses on game design and advanced algorithms. Research activities span medical imaging analytics (e.g., CMed framework for crowd-sourced diagnostics), climate modeling through Bayesian deep learning, and creative visualization techniques like Graphoto. His work bridges technical innovation with human-centered design principles, particularly in healthcare and neurodivergent accessibility contexts.
Claudia Plant is a Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science , leading the Research Group Data Mining and Machine Learning . Her research focuses on clustering algorithms, data mining, and machine learning applications in areas like biomedical data, wind energy, and causality inference. She has contributed to projects such as Knowledge-infused Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing (2020–2028) and Hybrid Computational Sciences (2021–2021). Plant has authored over 160 publications, with recent work emphasizing deep learning, anomaly detection, and GPU-optimized algorithms. She actively engages in academic activities, including talks on clustering methods and interdisciplinary projects like Governing Algorithms: The Politics of Data and Decision-Making . Her research interests span clustering algorithms , graph neural networks , causality discovery , and ethical digital transformation . Notable projects include causal analysis of wind farm dynamics and AI-enhanced education tools. Plant’s work bridges computational methods with societal challenges, such as empowering marginalized communities through ethical technology adoption.
Gamze Z. Dane is a tenured Assistant Professor at the Department of Built Environment of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), affiliated with EAISI Mobility and EAISI Health. She leads the Digital City Program (2020-2024) and specializes in decision-support systems, GIS, urban informatics, and data analytics for sustainable urban development. Her research integrates citizens into urban decision-making using digital tools like VR twins and data-driven approaches. Education: PhD in Urban Planning, MSc in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Decision Making. Research Interests: Focuses on human-environment interaction, transdisciplinary urban projects, and the impact of digitalization on cities. She develops tools for public participation and uses big data to analyze citizen behavior and urban experiences. Projects: Principal Investigator for EU/national projects involving cities like Eindhoven, Bologna, and Lisbon. Notable projects include UBeX Urban Behavior eXtended reality lab (2024-2026) and ROCK (2017-2020). Awards: Cuperusprijs 2020 (2nd place for student thesis) Drivers of Change Exhibition 2021 ISPRS International Journal Cover Story (2020) Teaching & Innovation: Coordinates courses like Smart Cities and Urban Redevelopment. Developed online teaching materials using VR, drones, and mobile apps. Guest lectures at Istanbul Technical University and visiting scholar at National University of Singapore. Labs & Networks: Leads the UBeX lab exploring immersive technologies for urban analysis. Active in academic networks including Urban Planning journals and international conferences.
Tara Boroushaki is an incoming Assistant Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering at Yale University. She completed her Ph.D. at MIT (expected May 2025), advised by Prof. Fadel Adib, with a focus on sensing and mobile technologies. Her research spans wireless networking, robotics, and human-computer interaction, emphasizing multi-modal sensing for environmental perception. Key achievements include the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship (2022–2024) and the IEEE RFID '23 Best Paper Award. Her work on RF-based 'X-ray vision' has been featured in TEDxMIT and media outlets like the BBC and World Economic Forum. She co-founded Cartesian Systems, deploying sensing technologies in retail and supply chain. Research interests include non-line-of-sight perception, RFID localization, and robotic grasping. She has developed systems like FuseBot and RFusion, highlighted as transformative in MIT's '103 Ways to Make the World Better' initiative.
Jian Peng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on computational biology, machine learning, and their applications to protein structure prediction, drug design, and molecular modeling. He has contributed to advancements in antibody engineering, protein-ligand docking, and generative models for biological systems. Key research areas include: Machine Learning for Molecular Modeling Protein Structure Prediction Antibody and Peptide Design Genomics and Single-Cell Analysis Structure-Based Drug Discovery His work emphasizes integrating deep learning techniques with biological datasets to address challenges in precision medicine, drug development, and systems biology. Notable achievements include developing the FastFold system to accelerate AlphaFold training and pioneering flow-based methods for antibody design. Awards include the Overton Prize (2020), recognizing contributions to computational biology. His research has been published in top journals and conferences, spanning topics from protein mutation prediction to geodesic-based immune complex modeling.
Fethiye Irmak Dogan is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Cambridge's Department of Computer Science and Technology, working in the Affective Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (2023), an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU). Her research focuses on human-robot interaction, continual learning, and socially appropriate robot behaviors leveraging explainability. She has conducted robotics research at KTH's Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning and collaborated internationally, including a visiting scholar stint at Georgia Institute of Technology. Education highlights include: B.Sc., Computer Engineering, METU (2015) M.Sc., Computer Engineering, METU (2018), with research at Kovan Robotics Lab Ph.D., Computer Science, KTH (2023), with visiting research at Georgia Tech Research interests emphasize deploying autonomous robots in human environments, resolving ambiguous user instructions through explainability, and enabling socially intelligent robot behaviors. Recent work explores continual learning for context adaptation, multimodal frameworks for human-robot collaboration, and vision-language models for wellbeing assessment in children. Key projects include BT-ACTION (modular instruction understanding), GRACE (LLM-driven socially appropriate actions), and STREAK (continual learning for household tasks). Her contributions span robotics, AI ethics, and human-centered design, with a focus on real-world applications in healthcare and education.
Liu Lili is a Lecturer (Educator Track) in the Department of Computer Science at the School of Computing, National University of Singapore. She holds a Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University and a Master's in Computer Science from Shanghai University. Prior to NUS, she served as a Senior Research Scientist at Singapore Polytechnic and a Scientist at A*STAR's Institute of High-Performance Computing. Her research focuses on Machine Learning, Computer Vision, and Multi-modal Learning, with applications in FinTech, Social Media Analysis, and Algorithms & Theory. Notable projects include AI-driven coating inspection systems for marine assets and behavioral competency assessment tools for navigational safety. She has contributed to robotics for construction quality assessment and interactive virtual environments for rehabilitation. Liu's publications span AI applications in finance, robotics, and material science, reflecting her expertise in bridging theoretical computer science with practical industrial solutions. Her work emphasizes automation, anomaly detection, and multi-modal data integration.
Suranga Chandima Nanayakkara is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS), leading the Centre for Holistic Inquiry into Lifelong Learning (CHILL) and the Smart Systems Institute (SSI). He holds roles such as AI+HCI Theme Lead at NUS+CNRS IPAL Lab and Residential Fellow at NUS College. His research focuses on assistive human-computer interfaces, emphasizing technologies that enhance perceptual and cognitive capabilities for individuals with sensory deficits. He earned his PhD and BEng from NUS, followed by postdoctoral work at MIT Media Lab. Notable projects include the Augmented Human Lab, iTILES for rehabilitation, and the FingerReader device for visually impaired shoppers. His work has garnered awards like the MIT TR35, TOYP, and INK Fellowship. Research interests include Intelligent Systems, Human Augmentation, and Design Science. He explores applications in assistive technologies, healthcare informatics, and educational tools. Over 15 publications highlight innovations in wearables, stress management, and multimodal interaction. Awards: 40+ accolades, including MIT TR35, TOYP, and multiple design awards for projects like Kiwrious and FingerReader. Grants: Led projects funded by institutions like NUS and Singapore’s innovation initiatives. Labs: Augmented Human Lab (founded 2011), focusing on humanizing technology through natural interfaces.
