Markus Jokela is a Professor at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychology and Logopedics. His research spans psychology, public health, and behavioral epidemiology, with a focus on personality traits, mental health, and their interplay with physical health and societal factors. Field of Science: Psychology, Public health care science, Environmental and occupational health Projects: Social networks and demographic resilience, Teacher wellbeing, Fertility behavior, Genetic and environmental influences Research interests include mental health epidemiology , personality-health associations , fertility determinants , and psychosocial interventions . Recent work examines proteomic ageing signatures, depression-anxiety dynamics in digital therapy, and obesity-depression causality. Key article trends show cross-disciplinary engagement with depression subtyping , fertility intentions , entrepreneurial stress , and neighborhood effects . Subfields span from psychotherapy outcomes to metabolically healthy obesity . Scientific recognition includes: Young Researcher Award (PsykoNet, 2010) University of Helsinki Ph.D. thesis awards (2007) Honorary Research Associate, UCL (2008-) As a supervisor, he has guided doctoral candidates Venla Berg, Heini Väisänen, and Tom Rosenström, among others. His projects like NetResilience (2024-2027) and FTProWell (2016-2019) demonstrate sustained funding from the Strategic Research Council and other bodies.
Núria Pelechano Gómez is a Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (BarcelonaTech) , affiliated with the Faculty of Informatics of Barcelona (FIB) and the Department of Computer Science (CS) . Her work focuses on Virtual Reality , Crowd Simulation , and Character Animation , with a particular emphasis on immersive environments and user interaction. Education: Master's Degree in Innovation and Research in Computer Science (2012) Degree in Computer Engineering (2010) Master's Degree in Computing (2006) Her research explores the integration of Virtual Reality with Artificial Intelligence to enhance user experiences through dynamic crowd modeling, realistic animations, and adaptive navigation techniques. Recent projects highlight her expertise in Motion Matching , Immersive Simulation , and Physics-Based Animation . Key trends in her publications include: Advancements in Virtual Environments and 3D Modeling . Applications of Machine Learning in Navigation Interfaces . Development of Realistic Crowd Behavior and Social Interaction Systems in VR. Focus on User-Centric Design and Embodiment Techniques . Núria has supervised numerous students on topics ranging from Emergency Scenario Modeling to MR Application Development for immersive systems, contributing to the evolution of Immersive Simulation and Game Development methodologies.
Assoc Prof Geraldine Torrisi is the Deputy Head of School (Learning & Teaching) at the School of Information and Communication Technology at Griffith University. With a PhD in Educational Studies and degrees in Science (Physics/Mathematics) and Education, she focuses on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) , User Experience , and Learning Theory . She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Griffith Learning and Teaching Academy . Education: PhD in Educational Studies (Griffith University) Masters of Educational Studies (James Cook University) Bachelor of Education (Secondary Science and Maths) (James Cook University) Bachelor of Science (Physics/Mathematics) (James Cook University) Research Interests include Interactive Digital Media , Educational Technology , and Data Literacy . Her 2025 book chapters explore AI's role in education, while 2024-2023 articles address data literacy frameworks and hybrid teaching models. Scientific Awards include Griffith Award for Excellence in Teaching (2011) , Excellence in Teaching Award (2015) , and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2018) . She also received multiple Group Learning and Teaching Commendations (2009, 2017, 2019). Grants include The Dignity Project (2024-2025), Promoting Renewable Energy Adoption (2022-2025), and Smart Environmental Sensing (2022-2023). She supervises PhD students on topics like Human-Machine Teaming and Instructional AR Design .
Anthony Masure is an Associate Professor at Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève) , part of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO) . His work bridges Artificial Intelligence , Blockchain , and Digital Humanities through critical design lenses. He explores tensions between creative automation and human agency , questioning how machine learning and smart technologies reshape authorship, value systems, and ecological practices in design. Key research areas: AI ethics , NFT implications , post-digital design , and technological accountability Projects like "Design et machine learning : l'automatisation au pouvoir?" (2021-2023) and "Post digital Graphic Design" (2019-2022) demonstrate his focus on critical technological engagements Advocates for open access and non-traditional research formats through initiatives like HEAD-Publishing His recent articles analyze generative AI in design, NFT governance , and circular design frameworks. Collaborations with researchers like Guillaume Helleu and Yves Citton emphasize socio-technical implications. Current projects include "L'organisation autonome automatisée (OAA)" (2024), exploring future enterprise models under climate constraints.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Farrenkopf is a full-time Professor in the Department of Business Informatics at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen , serving as Dean of Studies . He leads the Business Informatics Bachelor program and specializes in digitalization, multi-agent systems, and AI-driven decision support. Expertise Areas : Industry 4.0, Smart Factory, Semantic Web, full-stack software development Contact : thomas.farrenkopf@mnd.thm.de Research Focus : His work bridges knowledge-based methods with practical applications in artificial intelligence, particularly through multi-agent systems for traffic modeling and business simulations. He developed AGADE Traffic (a knowledge-based traffic simulator) and ATHOS (a domain-specific language for multi-agent simulations), focusing on scalability and complexity reduction. Recent studies explore individual preferences' impact on traffic policies and agent-based feedback mechanisms in business contexts. Academic Contributions : With over 15 publications since 2013, his research spans agent-based modeling, semantic web applications, and smart manufacturing - notably improving throughput times in toolmaking by 90% through Industry 4.0 implementations. Teaching & Supervision : Actively supervises Bachelor's Practical Projects (BPP), providing guidance for internship-related academic work through structured evaluation processes and electronic reporting systems. Collaborations : Works with international researchers like Johannes Nguyen, Simon T. Powers, and Michael Guckert, publishing in venues such as SN Computer Science , Lecture Notes in Computer Science , and Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation .
Dr. Qiuyu (Luca) Lu is an Assistant Professor (Presidential Young Scholar) at the School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Director of the Interbeing Lab , which focuses on designing intelligence for mutualism between humans, nature, and machines. He holds a Ph.D. in Design and a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua University. Ph.D. in Design, Tsinghua University B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University His research bridges Ecological HCI, Computational Design , and Bio-inspired Engineering , creating sustainable interactive systems that leverage natural processes. Recent projects include: RoboMoRe (2025): LLM-driven robotic morphology optimization Degrade to Function (2024): Programmable eco-degradable interfaces Sustainflatable (2023): Ambient energy harvesting for morphing devices His work has been exhibited internationally at Ars Electronica and the Milan Triennale . Scientific recognition includes a Best Paper Honorable Mention at UIST 2023. Dr. Lu is actively recruiting PhD students and postdocs across disciplines, including design, computer science, mechanical engineering, and materials science, with research tracks in: Experimental Track: Interactive hardware prototyping Computational Track: AI-aided design tools Design Track: User experience frameworks
Chris Harper is a Senior Research Fellow at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, affiliated with the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at the University of the West of England. His work focuses on safety assurance in robotics and autonomous systems, with expertise spanning civil aerospace, rail, defense systems, and nuclear energy. AAIP Assistive Robotics in Healthcare CAV Forth ROBOPILOT SafeMRX Research Expertise: With over 25 years in system safety assurance, Harper specializes in safety case development, hazard identification, fault tree analysis (FTA), failure modes & effects analysis (FMEA), and simulation-based safety validation techniques. Key Contributions: He contributed to ISO 13482, the first international safety standard for mobile service robots, and developed the Environmental Survey Hazard Analysis (ESHA) method for autonomous systems. Publications: His work spans safety verification methodologies, swarm intelligence applications, and formal methods integration in autonomous vehicles. Recent articles highlight simulation-based assertion checking and ISO standardization efforts. 15+ years in robotics safety research ISO technical committee participation ESHA method development PhD in robotics safety methodology
Olga Ilieva Georgieva is a Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics (FMI) , Sofia University , specializing in Software Technologies . She has held academic positions at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Technical University of Sofia , and is actively involved in research, teaching, and national/EU-funded projects. Education: 1986 – Faculty of Automatics, TU-Sofia 1995 – PhD, Institute of Control and System Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2000 – Associate Professor, Institute of Control and System Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2008 – Associate Professor, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University Research Interests: Her work spans Artificial Intelligence , Machine Learning , Data Mining , and Soft Computing Methods . She applies these to domains such as emotion recognition from EEG , QoS in web services , educational data mining , and industrial energy modeling . Scientific Awards: Best Paper Award, IEEE 8th International Conference on Intelligent Systems (2016) Teaching & Projects: She teaches courses including Requirements Engineering , Models of Software Systems , Fuzzy Sets and Applications , and Professional Ethics at Sofia University, and previously taught at TU-Sofia. She leads or co-leads multiple national and EU projects such as GATE: Big Data for Smart Society , ITDGate , and Modelling of Voluntary Saccadic Eye Movements .
Carlo Alberto Avizzano serves as Associate Professor in Robotics and Automation at the University of Pisa's School of Engineering, Department of Information Engineering. He coordinates the Department of Excellence in Robotics & Artificial Intelligence (MUR) and leads the Intelligent Automation System Research Group. Research spans robotics, human-robot interaction, computer vision, and control systems Specializes in creating intelligent automation systems with cognitive capabilities Integrates AI, machine learning, and mechatronics for robust autonomous systems His research focuses on developing robots that learn from human examples, adapt to changing environments, and interact through advanced perception systems. Current work emphasizes wearable robotics, UAVs, and industrial automation solutions with applications in medical rehabilitation, firefighting, and manufacturing. He employs distributed computing architectures integrating sensors, real-time control, and knowledge transfer algorithms. Publications reveal strong emphasis on practical implementations: 15 recent works cover exoskeleton design (2024), UAV firefighting systems (2024), industrial bin-picking datasets (2024), and haptic interfaces (2012-2023). Key trends show progression from virtual reality systems (2006-2008) toward modern AI-integrated robotics with industrial and medical applications. Teaching responsibilities include PhD courses in Sensors for Construction, Python Programming for HealthScience, and Digital Perception; plus undergraduate Mechatronics and Computer Vision labs. He serves on PhD boards for Emerging Digital Technologies and Health Science Technology. Extensive patent portfolio including haptic interfaces (2012), sailing simulators (2006), and UAV systems (2024) Research directly translated to commercial products and spin-off companies
Nikos Giatrakos is an Assistant Professor at the School of Electronic & Computer Engineering, Technical University of Crete, and a core member of the Software Technology and Network Applications Lab (SoftNet) . His work bridges Big Data systems, IoT, and advanced analytics, with a focus on real-time processing and scalable architectures. Previously, he served as a postdoctoral researcher at the same laboratory. Education PhD in Computer Science, University of Piraeus (2012) Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems, Athens University of Economics and Business (2008) BSc in Computer Science, University of Piraeus (2006) Research Focus : Nikos specializes in software architectures for Big Data streaming, including Distributed Big Data Processing , Federated Machine Learning , Cloud-to-Edge Data Management , and Approximate Query Processing . His work has also advanced Complex Event Processing and Outlier Detection in decentralized environments. Scientific Contributions : His research has led to the DAG* workflow optimizer for IoT, the SuBiTO framework for real-time neural learning, and the INFORE approach for cross-platform analytics. He received the Best System Demonstration Award at ACM CIKM 2020 for INforE. Academic Leadership : Nikos teaches Object-Oriented Programming, Data Science, and Distributed Systems. He has supervised numerous European and national grants as Principal Investigator and served on program committees for top-tier conferences like SIGMOD, VLDB, and DEBS.
Dr. James N. Gilmore is an Associate Professor of Media and Technology Studies and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Communication at Clemson University's College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. He joined Clemson in 2018 after completing his PhD at Indiana University and has established himself as a leading scholar in media technology studies, with expertise in wearable technologies, datafication, and media infrastructure. Dr. Gilmore's educational background includes: Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Indiana University (2018) M.A. in Film and Television from University of California, Los Angeles (2013) B.A. in Film and Media Studies from University of South Carolina (2011) His research focuses on the cultural politics of media and communication technologies, particularly how computational technologies convert human behavior to data (datafication). Dr. Gilmore examines how everyday devices like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and body cameras reinforce systems of normalcy, surveillance, and solutionism across health, labor, accessibility, law enforcement, and other domains. His work bridges theoretical frameworks from media studies, cultural studies, and science and technology studies to analyze the social implications of emerging technologies. Dr. Gilmore's publications demonstrate consistent engagement with emerging technologies across multiple domains. His recent work spans wearable technologies, virtual reality, AI platforms like ChatGPT, streaming services, and smart home devices, revealing patterns in how technologies mediate everyday life while raising critical questions about privacy, surveillance, accessibility, and corporate power. His scholarship consistently connects technological developments to broader social, political, and cultural contexts. Dr. Gilmore has received numerous honors and awards for his research and teaching: Top Paper Award, Popular Communication Division, Southern States Communication Association (2024) Outstanding Teaching of the Year (Junior Tenure-Track), College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences (2022-2023) Outstanding research publication award for 'Securing the kids' (2022) Research Faculty Spotlight (Spring 2021) Ray Camp Award for Most Outstanding Research Paper (2018) As Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Gilmore actively mentors students, with numerous co-authored publications featuring graduate and undergraduate researchers. His students have contributed to research on AI adoption, virtual reality, wearable technologies, and platform politics. Dr. Gilmore has secured internal research funding at Clemson University, including recognition through the university's research reporting system. His book projects, including the forthcoming DeGruyter Handbook of Wearable Technologies and Society, represent significant scholarly contributions that bring together international researchers. Dr. Gilmore leads research initiatives focused on wearable technologies and media infrastructure, with his recent book 'Bringers of Order' establishing him as a leading voice in wearable technology studies. He is currently editing a comprehensive handbook that will expand this research area significantly.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Detlef Zühlke leads research at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Kaiserslautern, Germany. His work focuses on Industrie 4.0 , Smart Manufacturing , and Business Model Innovation , particularly through the development of the SmartFactoryKL demonstrator. Research interests include: Networked production systems Human-robot collaboration Flexible manufacturing architectures Mobile industrial device interfaces Current projects involve: Generic device identification systems Task-based communication for multi-user environments Business model transformations in production technology
Vitaveska Lanfranchi is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield , School of Computer Science, focusing on Human-Computer Interaction , Social Media , and Visual Analytics . Her work addresses real-time data analysis for emergency response and knowledge management, with projects funded by EPSRC, UK/SBRI, and EU Framework 6. Research Interests : Human-Computer Interaction Social Media for Emergency Response Visual Analytics Knowledge Management Mobile Interaction Recent publications (2008–2012) explore semantic user networks, knowledge dashboards, hybrid search techniques, and AI usability, particularly in aerospace engineering and emergency response. Projects like Randms and WeKnowIt emphasize collective intelligence and web-scale data analysis. Contact : v.lanfranchi@dcs.shef.ac.uk
Larry P. Heck is a Professor with a joint appointment in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds the Rhesa S. Farmer Advanced Computing Concepts Chair and is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar . Education: BSEE, Texas Tech University (1986) MSEE, Georgia Institute of Technology (1989) PhD EE, Georgia Institute of Technology (1991) His research focuses on conversational AI , dialogue systems , and machine learning applied to natural language processing and speech recognition . He pioneered early industrial applications of deep learning in speech processing and has contributed to advancements in multimodal interaction, knowledge distillation, and real-time question answering systems. Recent publications emphasize moral reasoning in AI , multimodal dialogue , and large-scale dataset creation for conversational systems. His work bridges language modeling , sensor fusion , and ethical AI through innovations in contextual reasoning and interface masking. Scientific Distinctions: IEEE Fellow (2020) IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni, Georgia Tech (2017) Distinguished Engineer Award, Texas Tech University (2017) Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (2025) He has secured significant funding from DARPA and NSA for speaker recognition systems and has led cutting-edge research at institutions including Microsoft, Google, and Samsung. His lab focuses on conversational systems and deep learning for speech and multimodal data.
Artem Vilenskiy is a researcher in the Antenna Systems group at Chalmers University of Technology since 2019. His work focuses on developing active integrated array antenna concepts, 100+ GHz beam-steerable antennas and circuits, MMIC design, computational electromagnetics methods for radiation and scattering problems, and collaboration with Chalmers industrial partners. His educational background includes: MSc Degree (Specialist) in Electrical Engineering from Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU) in 2011 PhD Degree (Eng.) in "Antennas, Microwave Devices and Its Technology" from BMSTU in 2014 Dr. Vilenskiy's research spans multiple cutting-edge areas in microwave and antenna engineering, with particular emphasis on millimeter-wave and sub-THz frequency ranges. He specializes in reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), beam-steering technologies, and integrated antenna solutions for next-generation wireless communication systems. His work bridges theoretical electromagnetics with practical implementation challenges, often involving close collaboration with industry to address real-world telecommunications and radar applications. His expertise encompasses both novel antenna architecture design and associated microwave integrated circuits, with significant contributions to mmWave phased arrays and wireless power transfer systems. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong and consistent focus on millimeter-wave antenna systems, particularly in developing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for 5G/6G applications, advanced beamforming techniques, and innovative antenna array architectures. His research spans frequencies from W-band (75-110 GHz) into the sub-THz range, addressing critical challenges in high-frequency wireless communication systems. The publications demonstrate a consistent emphasis on practical implementation, with many papers detailing circuit models, measurement techniques, and experimental validation of theoretical concepts across multiple application domains including satellite communications, wireless backhaul, and quantum computing interfaces. Dr. Vilenskiy has been actively involved in multiple significant research projects: Low-Thermal-Conductance and High-Density Microwave Interconnects for Cryogenic Quantum Computers (2024-2025) Energy Efficient, Beamforming Antenna-IC Integration Solutions for Future 100+GHz Telecommunication Systems (2021-2023) Antenna technologies for beyond 5G Wireless Communication (2020-2025) MyWave - Efficient Millimetre-Wave Communications for mobile users (2019-2023) Integrated Antenna Arrays (2016-2023) Prior to joining Chalmers, Dr. Vilenskiy worked at Samsung Research Institute Russia from 2011-2019 in various engineering roles including research engineer, expert engineer, and project leader. During 2015-2019, he also held a part-time Associate Professor position at BMSTU where he coordinated the MSc course "Applied Electrodynamics of Composite Media". His industry experience in mobile communication, automotive radar, robotics, and wireless power transfer provides valuable practical insights that complement his academic research in antenna systems.
