THOMAS DUFFELL is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Management at the Sport & Physical Activity Health Research Institute. His research focuses on the intersection of sport policy, public health, and education. He is affiliated with the Sport, Work and Health Research Group and contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being. Research Interests: Sport Policy Design, Mental Health Policy, Physical Activity Promotion, Student Attendance Patterns in Higher Education. Education: PhD in Sport Management (2019, thesis: 'Enacting community sport policy for health: a case study of Active Blues'). His work analyzes policy interdependencies between sport and health sectors, evaluates academic performance metrics in sport programs, and reviews mental health policy frameworks. He has collaborated on studies involving health policy integration and student engagement strategies. Key contributions include exploring community sport's role in public health systems and assessing academic outcomes tied to student attendance in sport degree programs.
Talayeh Razzaghi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma's School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Her research focuses on developing data-driven machine learning and AI models for healthcare, cyber-physical systems, and smart manufacturing. She addresses challenges in imperfect datasets, including high-dimensionality, class imbalance, and missing values. Her work emphasizes healthcare disparities, particularly cancer outcomes in women and under-resourced communities. Education: Ph.D., Industrial Engineering, University of Central Florida M.S., Industrial and Systems Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Iran B.S., Applied Mathematics, University of Tehran, Iran Research Interests: Machine learning with imperfect data, health disparities, disease risk stratification, AI-based community health monitoring, predictive analytics in cyber-physical systems. Her lab explores applications in personalized medical diagnosis, patient-centered outcomes prediction, and smart biomanufacturing. Key Articles Trends: Recent work bridges machine learning with healthcare challenges (e.g., cesarean delivery prediction in obese patients, cardiovascular risk in cancer survivors) and industrial systems (e.g., protein titer optimization, federated learning frameworks). Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2024) OU VPRP Excellence in Research Award (2022, 2023) INFORMS Senior Membership (2024–present) Advising & Grants: Active in mentoring graduate students (applications encouraged via email). Secured NSF funding through her CAREER Award and institutional grants. Serves as Associate Editor for Energy Systems and holds leadership roles in IISE and INFORMS. Labs & Teams: Leads a research group advancing AI in precision health and industrial optimization. Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on federal grants and industry partnerships.
Dr. Arif Mohaimin Sadri is an Associate Professor at the School of Civil Engineering & Environmental Sciences (CEES), University of Oklahoma. Previously, he held faculty positions at Florida International University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Valparaiso University. He earned his Ph.D. from Purdue University with expertise in Civil Engineering, Network Science, and Social Science. His research focuses on enhancing resilience in interdependent systems through data-driven and network-based solutions, particularly in transportation, disaster management, and social-physical systems. Education: Doctor of Philosophy (2016), Purdue University Master of Science in Civil Engineering (2012), Purdue University Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (2011), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Research Interests: Risk-Sharing Commons and Interdependent Networks Infrastructure & Information Equity Social-Physical Coupling in Crisis Response Social Influence Modeling and Network Interventions His work examines how social networks and data analytics can improve community resilience during compound disasters, with a focus on transportation systems, flood management, and crisis communication. Awards: NSF CAREER Award (2024) Excellence in Research Grants (2024) Early Career Awardee (2024) Research Fellow, Extreme Events Institute (2019) Advising & Grants: Funded by NSF, USDOT, OKDOT, FDOT, and USAID Focus on projects like 'CAREER: Risk-Sharing Communication Networks for Compound Disasters' Labs & Teams: TRICS Lab @ OU (TRAnsportation, Risk, and Information Commons) Collaborations with Extreme Events Institute (FIU)
Dr. Musharraf Zaman is the David Ross Boyd Professor and Aaron Alexander Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma, where he has served since 1982. He holds additional roles as Alumni Chair Professor of Petroleum and Geological Engineering and Director of the Southern Plains Transportation Center. His academic rank is Professor, and he leads the School of Civil Engineering within the College of Engineering. He specializes in geotechnical engineering, geomechanics, and pavement materials/systems. Over his career, he has secured over $22.5 million in research funding and published over 390 papers. His honors include the David Ross Boyd Professorship (OU’s highest teaching award) and the Chandra Desai Medal. He advises numerous graduate students, with over 100 listed in his CV. Key research focuses on pavement performance, recycled materials in construction, and intelligent compaction technologies. His work spans lab-to-field studies on asphalt mixes, subgrade stabilization, and pavement preservation strategies. He also contributed to innovations like a patented method for predicting asphalt density and development of non-proprietary UHPC mixes. Recent articles emphasize sustainability (e.g., recycled concrete aggregates, biocemented soils) and infrastructure resilience (e.g., autonomous vehicle disruptions, flood vulnerability). He has led major projects like the Southern Plains Transportation Center (since 2013) and serves as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology.
Nick van de Giesen is a Professor in the Department of Water Management at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). He holds the Van Kuffeler Chair of Water Resources Management and has been a key figure in advancing hydrological science and sustainable water solutions since 2004. He is also the chairman of the Delft Global Initiative since 2015, promoting global development through engineering and science. His research focuses on the measurement and modeling of complex water systems, with an emphasis on developing science-based decision support systems. Key research themes include distributed temperature sensing (DTS), high-performance computing, satellite remote sensing, and the development of low-cost, innovative sensors for hydro-meteorological monitoring, especially in data-scarce regions like sub-Saharan Africa. His recent publications reflect a strong trend toward uncertainty quantification, risk-informed water management, climate resilience, and the integration of ground observations with satellite data. Projects such as TAHMO (Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory) and eWaterCycle demonstrate his leadership in creating open, scalable, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) hydrological modeling platforms and dense observation networks across Africa. AGU Ambassador Award (2023) Henry Darcy Medal (2015) Special Prize, European Satellite Navigation Competition (2015) Leermeester Prijs, TU Delft (2014) IBM Faculty Award (2010) He actively advises and collaborates on major research initiatives, leads international consortia, and contributes to policy-relevant science. His work integrates strong technical innovation with real-world impact, particularly in Africa, where he promotes education, data access, and capacity building through sensor deployment in schools and open data platforms. He teaches courses in Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Management at TU Delft. He leads the Water Systems Monitoring & Modelling research group and is deeply involved in major projects including TAHMO, eWaterCycle, and TEMBO Africa, which focus on building resilient, data-driven water management systems. These initiatives often involve partnerships with institutions such as Utrecht University, the Netherlands eScience Center, Oregon State University, and various African universities and agencies.
Peter Eden is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at the University of South Wales (USW), affiliated with the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science and the Computing, Cybersecurity, Mathematics and Informatics Research and Innovation Group. His research focuses on SCADA systems, IoT security, critical infrastructure protection, and cyber resilience. He has contributed to peer-reviewed journals and conferences, including works on forensic analysis of industrial systems and risk assessment methodologies. Eden is a member of the British Computing Society (since 2019) and has engaged in consultancy with the Centre of Protection of National Infrastructure (2014–2015). He has delivered invited talks on SCADA forensic taxonomies and cyber incident response at events such as the 10th International Conference on Critical Information Infrastructures Security (2015). His work has been recognized with the 2017 USW Staff Recognition Awards - Team Achievement Award. Key research themes include enhancing dependability in cyber-physical systems, mitigating risks in distributed networks, and advancing forensic techniques for industrial control systems. His publications span journals like Computer and Computers and Security , with a focus on bridging theoretical frameworks and practical cybersecurity challenges in critical infrastructure.
Nives Dolšak serves as the Stan and Alta Barer Professor in Sustainability Science and Director of the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle . Her academic career spans climate governance research, public policy analysis, and sustainability education. Her research examines institutional challenges in managing common pool resources and evaluates public opinion on climate policies across jurisdictions. She has published extensively in top-tier journals while maintaining active public scholarship through Forbes , The Washington Post , and other media platforms. Key publication areas: climate justice, renewable energy conflicts, international adaptation assistance Notable awards: UW College of the Environment Outstanding Community Impact (2018), Outstanding Teaching Faculty (2013) Policy engagement: Appointed to Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council and Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel
Joshua Sperling serves as Researcher III in Decision Support Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) within the Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences. His work focuses on integrated sustainable infrastructure systems spanning mobility, energy, water, food, and digital networks, with particular emphasis on equity-centered solutions for underserved urban communities and resilient infrastructure design. His research interests bridge transportation engineering, urban planning, and behavioral science to develop cost-effective, time-efficient solutions leveraging emerging technologies. Current thrusts include smart city mobility systems, disaster-resilient infrastructure, public health integration, and community-led innovation frameworks. His approach uniquely combines technology-policy-planning-behavioral-finance analysis to address complex infrastructure challenges in metropolitan contexts. Recent publications reveal strong methodological trends toward real-world case studies (including New Rochelle, Accra, and Delhi) examining integrated infrastructure transitions. Key thematic patterns include on-demand electric mobility services, network interdependence during disasters, and equity-focused energy transitions in global urban contexts. His work consistently emphasizes practical implementation pathways rather than theoretical exploration. Sperling actively contributes to NREL's Center for Integrated Mobility Sciences through multidisciplinary project leadership, early-career mentoring, and cross-sector partnership development. His research footprint demonstrates significant engagement with transportation network analysis (100%), U.S. infrastructure contexts (51%), smart city implementations (41%), and public transit innovation (31%).
Brian Sergi is a Researcher IV in Systems Engineering at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), working within the Grid Planning and Analysis Center's Capacity Expansion & Electricity Markets Group. He concurrently serves as a Course Instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder since 2021, contributing to academic education while advancing energy systems research. His expertise spans integrated energy modeling and policy analysis for low-carbon transitions and grid modernization. Education: PhD in Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University Bachelor of Science, Technology, and International Affairs, Georgetown University His research focuses on integrated electric grid and gas pipeline network modeling, capacity expansion methodologies, low-carbon resource integration challenges, and power sector policy analysis. Work emphasizes spatial resolution in energy models and natural gas engineering systems, with significant contributions to understanding energy transition dynamics through computational modeling and spatial analysis techniques. Recent publications (2024-2025) reveal consistent focus on spatial resolution in planning models, seasonal energy storage integration strategies, and renewable energy siting impacts. These works demonstrate methodological innovations in capacity expansion modeling while addressing real-world grid modernization challenges through technical reports, peer-reviewed articles, and presentations that bridge academic research and industry applications. Brian serves as a Course Instructor at the University of Colorado Boulder, transferring specialized knowledge to students. He maintains active professional engagement through membership in the United States Association for Energy Economics and contributes to major NREL initiatives including the annual Standard Scenarios Report, which shapes U.S. electricity sector planning and policy development. At NREL, Brian operates within the Capacity Expansion & Electricity Markets Group, a specialized team advancing grid modernization through sophisticated analytical frameworks. The group's work integrates engineering and economic perspectives to address complex challenges in energy system transformation, with particular emphasis on spatial dynamics and infrastructure planning for decarbonized power systems.
William Paul Bell is an energy economist affiliated with the School of Economics at the University of Queensland (50% appointment) and the Griffith Business School at Griffith University (50% appointment). His research focuses on electricity market dynamics, climate change adaptation in energy systems, and renewable energy economics, with particular attention to wind and solar integration, carbon pricing effects, and grid reliability. Research Interests: Quantifying renewable energy impacts on electricity markets Climate change adaptation in power generation/transmission Carbon pricing mechanisms and market behavior Feed-in tariffs and energy storage economics Grid vulnerability assessment Publication Trends: His work (2005-2018) shows increasing focus on renewable integration (2008), carbon pricing (2011), and institutional adaptability (2013), culminating in comprehensive analyses of wind generation interdependencies (2015) and solar policy frameworks (2017). Key collaborations include Phillip Wild, John Foster, and Michael Hewson.
Dr. Dawei Qiu is a Lecturer in Smart Energy Systems within the Department of Engineering at the University of Exeter, joining in September 2024. Prior to this, he was a Research Fellow and Research Associate at Imperial College London, where he contributed to major energy system research projects. Education: B.Eng. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Northumbria University (2010–2014) M.Sc. in Power System Engineering, University College London (2014–2015) Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Imperial College London (2016–2020) His research focuses on advanced modeling of low-carbon energy systems, integrating electricity, heat, gas, and transportation. He specializes in market-driven methodologies to assess energy cost, carbon emissions, and ancillary services. A key innovation in his work is the application of AI-driven reinforcement learning to energy system problems, particularly in smart grids, microgrids, and demand response. His expertise extends to energy storage, electric vehicles, and hydrogen systems. The 15 most recent publications reflect a strong trend toward integrating artificial intelligence with energy system optimization, particularly using reinforcement learning for dynamic pricing, multi-agent trading, and autonomous control. The research spans multiple subfields including market design, resilience analysis, and decarbonisation, with a strong emphasis on real-world applicability in future energy systems. Dr. Qiu has contributed to several high-impact research projects, including EU Horizon 2020’s TradeRES and R2D2, and EPSRC’s IDLES and NetworkPlus. He is currently the Principal Investigator (PI) on the ARIA-funded project Trustworthy and Safe AI for Energy Systems , highlighting his leadership in cutting-edge energy-AI integration. He actively supervises research and welcomes PhD applications. His work is supported by strong publication output in top journals such as IEEE Transactions and Applied Energy, as well as top AI conferences like IJCAI. He is affiliated with Google Scholar and ResearchGate, and his research is shaping the future of intelligent, resilient, and sustainable energy infrastructures.
Mohamad Darayi is an Associate Professor of Systems Engineering at the Engineering Division of Penn State Great Valley. His research focuses on risk-based data-driven decision-making for large-scale, interconnected systems. Risk Management for Critical Infrastructure Analytics of Freight System Resilience System Simulation Modeling (Supply Chains, Logistics, Healthcare) His recent publications emphasize applying machine learning to power network vulnerability analysis, developing disruptive scenarios for infrastructure resilience, optimizing absorptive capacity in interdependent sectors, and modeling multi-industry economic impacts of freight disruptions. Key themes include interdependency models, network component analysis, and simulation optimization.
Dhananjay Anand is an associate research scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He also serves as the lead research scientist for the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Smart Grid and Cyber-Physical Systems Program, focusing on the integration of physical and information systems in power grid applications. His educational background includes: Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University (2004) Master's from the University of Michigan (2008) Doctorate from the University of Michigan (2013), where he helped design their manufacturing testbed for information-driven reconfiguration Anand's research interests center around metrology, control systems, and dynamics in electrical power grid applications. He investigates system integration, diagnosis, and reasoning challenges in networks of interdependent information technology and physical components. His work bridges theoretical control systems with practical power grid applications, with particular focus on smart grid technologies, cyber-physical systems, and precise timing solutions for grid operations. His research has significant implications for electric vehicle integration, grid stability, and next-generation power infrastructure. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on electric vehicle charging infrastructure, quantum network synchronization, smart grid standards, and control systems for distributed energy resources. The research spans from theoretical control frameworks to practical grid applications, with particular emphasis on timing precision, system stability, and grid-edge integration of new technologies. His work shows a clear progression toward more complex cyber-physical integration challenges, with increasing attention to quantum technologies and advanced control methodologies for modern power systems. His notable scientific achievement includes: NIST Distinguished Associate Award (2018) As a reviewer for IEEE and ASME publications, Anand contributes to the academic community through peer review. His work with NIST involves developing critical testbeds and validation capabilities for smart grid technologies, representing significant grant-funded research activity in power systems and cyber-physical integration. He has also contributed to manufacturing testbed design during his doctoral work at the University of Michigan. Anand is associated with multiple advanced research testbeds including the NIST Campus Power System and the Assistive Clock Fusion Testbed, focusing on precision timing solutions for power grid applications. His work bridges the gap between theoretical control systems and practical implementation in real-world power systems, with particular expertise in time synchronization challenges within cyber-physical power systems.
Dr. Matthias Brachert serves as an Economist at the Centre for Evidence-based Policy Advice (IWH-CEP) within the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), a Leibniz Association member institution. He has been affiliated with IWH since November 2007 and currently holds his position since May 2020, focusing on evidence-based policy research in economic geography, urban economics, and regional development. His educational background includes: Diploma from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and University of Reunion Island (France) PhD from Utrecht University Brachert's research investigates structural dynamics in urban economies through occupational networks, rural-urban disparities in job attractiveness for high-skilled workers, and causal evaluation of place-based policies. His work employs rigorous econometric methods including regression discontinuity designs and discrete choice experiments to analyze how regional characteristics influence economic outcomes, with particular attention to spatial sorting mechanisms and policy effectiveness in reducing regional inequalities. His publication record reveals consistent thematic focus on urban-rural economic interactions, methodological innovation in causal inference, and policy-relevant analysis of regional development. Key contributions examine superlinear scaling in occupational networks, demographic determinants of location preferences, and precise measurement of sports franchises' economic impacts using quasi-experimental designs. As a core member of IWH-CEP, Brachert contributes to Germany's evidence-based policy framework through rigorous empirical research on regional disparities. His work directly informs policy debates regarding investment allocation in structurally weak regions and labor market interventions to address spatial imbalances.
Soumya Sen is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, specializing in Internet economics , data analytics , and cybersecurity . His interdisciplinary research bridges computer networks, economics, and human-computer interaction. Education : PhD (2011), MS (2008) in Electrical & Systems Engineering from University of Pennsylvania; B.E. (Hons.) from BITS Pilani (2005); Postdoc at Princeton University (2013) His research focuses on digital transformation , data pricing , and network security , with publications in IEEE, ACM journals, and conferences. Key themes include smart data pricing , mobile network economics , and social media analytics . Recent media coverage includes MIT Technology Review , The Wall Street Journal , and Politico . He founded the Smart Data Pricing Forum and co-founded startup DataMi for global telecom pricing solutions. Scientific Awards : 2022 UMN Community-Engaged Scholar Award, 2021 INFORMS ISS Design Science Award, IEEE INFOCOM Best Paper Award (2012), and multiple teaching/fellowship honors
