Mark Gales is Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and an Official Fellow at Emmanuel College. He is currently on sabbatical leave for the 2024/25 academic year. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a consultant at Roke Manor Research Ltd, developing radar systems, before transitioning to speech and language processing. PhD in 'Model-Based Techniques for Robust Speech Recognition' (University of Cambridge, 1995) BA in Electrical and Information Sciences (University of Cambridge, 1988) His research focuses on speech and language processing , particularly in automated language assessment and low-resource speech technology . He leads the Automated Language Teaching and Assessment (ALTA) Institute , which collaborates with Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUP&A) to develop commercial tools like Linguaskill and Speak & Improve . These platforms provide automated spoken/written assessment for millions of users globally. Recent publications highlight his work in LLM-driven speech processing , including adversarial attacks on foundation models, end-to-end spoken error correction, and uncertainty estimation frameworks. His team's research spans multilingual capabilities, with deployments in languages ranging from Dholuo to Tok Pisin . Awards : IEEE Fellow, ISCA Fellow Leadership : Fellows' Steward at Emmanuel College Mark has contributed extensively to Hidden Markov Model (HMM) applications in speech recognition, which underpinned early automatic speech systems. His work now bridges LLM-based language assessment with cross-lingual transfer learning and robustness testing for real-world deployments.
Elaine J. Francis is a Professor of English and Linguistics at Purdue University, where she also serves as the Associate Head of the Department of English. She holds affiliate appointments in the Department of Linguistics and the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. At Purdue, she directs the Experimental Linguistics Lab and teaches linguistics courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Francis completed her B.A. in Linguistics at the College of William and Mary in 1993, followed by her M.A. (1995) and Ph.D. (1999) in Linguistics at the University of Chicago under the direction of Salikoko Mufwene. Her dissertation examined variation among members of the same lexical category in English using Sadock's Autolexical Grammar framework. Prior to joining Purdue in 2003, she served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong from 1999 to 2002, where she collaborated with Stephen Matthews on research concerning syntactic categories and relative clauses in Cantonese. Her research focuses on syntax and its interfaces with semantics, discourse information structure, and language processing in production and comprehension. Francis employs experimental methods to investigate syntactic, semantic, discourse-pragmatic, and cognitive factors underlying the grammar and usage of complex sentence structures. Her specific interests include word order alternations, filler-gap dependencies, resumptive pronouns, relative clauses, grammatical categories, and syntactic alternations. She has published extensively in top linguistics journals including Language and Cognition, Glossa Psycholinguistics, Linguistics, Lingua, Cognitive Linguistics, and the Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. Analyzing her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on experimental approaches to syntactic phenomena. Her work demonstrates a strong interest in gradient acceptability, syntactic priming, cross-linguistic comparison (particularly involving English and Cantonese), and the relationship between grammatical theory and language processing. Her 2022 book Gradient Acceptability and Linguistic Theory represents a major contribution that synthesizes experimental findings with theoretical linguistics frameworks. Francis plays an active role in the broader linguistics community. She regularly teaches short courses at the Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Institutes, serves on the LSA Ethics Committee, and is on the editorial board of Glossa Psycholinguistics. She has also edited several books and special journal issues, including Mismatch: Form-Function Incongruity and the Architecture of Grammar (2003) and Polymorphous Linguistics: Jim McCawley's Legacy (2005). As an educator and administrator, Francis has supervised numerous graduate students and currently serves as Associate Head of the Department of English at Purdue. Her Experimental Linguistics Lab provides research opportunities for students interested in the intersection of theoretical syntax and experimental methodology. While she recently announced she will not be accepting new graduate students for the 2025-2026 cycle, her established mentorship record demonstrates her commitment to training the next generation of linguists. The Experimental Linguistics Lab, which she directs, serves as a hub for research combining theoretical linguistics with experimental methods. Her collaborative work extends across disciplines, including collaborations with researchers in speech-language pathology, cognitive science, and computational linguistics, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of modern linguistic research.
John Kingston is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Phonetics Lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he has been since 1990. He holds a BA and MA from the University of Chicago (1976–1977) and a PhD from UC Berkeley (1985). His research focuses on the interplay between phonetics and phonology, particularly speech perception and its influence on phonological representations. He co-founded the Laboratory Phonology Conference series in 1987 and has conducted fieldwork on Otomanguean languages. His work emphasizes experimental methods to study phonological questions, including studies on vowel perception, tone systems, and cross-linguistic phonetic patterns. Kingston’s academic journey includes roles at the University of Texas, Austin (1984–1986) and Cornell University (1986–1990). His research explores how auditory processing and linguistic knowledge shape speech perception, with notable contributions to understanding tonogenesis, perceptual contrast effects, and vowel category learning in second languages. He collaborates on grants examining Ganong effects and phonological inventories, advocating for theories that bridge perceptual and structural aspects of language. His lab, the Phonetics Lab, supports experimental work on speech perception and production. Kingston is also the Honors Program Coordinator, mentoring students in linguistics and related fields. Despite no explicit awards listed, his extensive publications and conference leadership reflect his scholarly impact.
Antonio González is a full Professor at the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), where he is affiliated with the Department of Computer Architecture. He leads the Microarchitecture and Compilers (ARCO) research group, focusing on robust and energy-efficient computing systems, including general-purpose processors, GPUs, and cognitive computing architectures. His research spans computer architecture, microarchitecture, compilers, GPU design, and deep learning acceleration, with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and memory optimization. His work integrates hardware and compiler techniques to enhance performance in modern computing systems. The recent publications highlight a strong trend in energy-efficient DNN acceleration, GPU microarchitecture, memory systems, and near-data processing. His team explores novel quantization methods, adaptive caching, and architectural extensions for vision and AI workloads, published in top-tier venues such as MICRO, ISCA, and IEEE/ACM journals. ACM Fellow (2020) ICREA Academia Award (2014, 2019, 2024) UPC Duran Farell Award (2008) HiPEAC 2024 Paper Award (twice) González has supervised several PhD students and leads competitive R&D+i projects, including those funded by ICREA and the European Research Council. His research group collaborates extensively within UPC and with international institutions. He is actively involved in advancing computer architecture through innovation in simulation, hardware design, and AI acceleration. He is a member of IEEE and ACM, and his work continues to influence both academic and industrial developments in high-performance and energy-efficient computing.
Alison J. Mackey is Professor and Chair of the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University, College of Arts and Sciences. She is a leading scholar in second language acquisition (SLA), with a focus on interaction, feedback, research methodology, and language learning across the lifespan. Her research interests include second language acquisition , task-based language teaching , research methodology , interaction and corrective feedback , and language learning in children and adults . She has published extensively in top-tier journals and book series, shaping methodological standards in the field. Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in methodological rigor , interactionist approaches , and practical applications of SLA research. Themes include data elicitation , stimulated recall , task design , and pragmatic development , spanning both theoretical and classroom-based inquiry. Mildenberg Prize (2012) for The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award International Association of Task-based Language Learning and Teaching Distinguished Achievement Award CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (2012) Alison Mackey has advised numerous scholars through co-authorship and editorial leadership. She is Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge University Press Annual Review of Applied Linguistics and Editor of the Routledge Second Language Research series, guiding the publication of cutting-edge research. While specific grants are not listed, her editorial work and high citation count (>35,000) reflect significant research impact and funding support. She leads and contributes to major research initiatives such as the IRIS Repository , promoting open-access research instruments in SLA. Her work fosters collaboration across institutions and supports methodological transparency and replication in the field.
Georgia Zellou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Davis, where she co-directs the Phonetics Lab and conducts award-winning research at the intersection of phonetics, speech perception, and human-AI interaction. Her work investigates how phonetic detail is cognitively represented through variations in speech production, with significant contributions to understanding speech alignment with voice assistants, face-masked speech intelligibility, and cross-linguistic perception of synthetic voices. Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder (2012), an M.A. in Linguistics from Stony Brook University (2007), and a B.A. in Linguistics & Anthropology from the University of Florida (2005, Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). Ph.D., Linguistics, University of Colorado at Boulder (2012) M.A., Linguistics, Stony Brook University (2007) B.A., Linguistics & Anthropology, University of Florida (2005) Professor Zellou's research program centers on laboratory phonology approaches to real-world communication challenges, examining how acoustic-phonetic details influence speech perception across contexts. Her studies span speech alignment with voice-AI systems (e.g., Amazon Alexa), sociophonetic variation in bilingual speech, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying perceptual compensation for coarticulation. She employs experimental methods including eye-tracking, acoustic analysis, and perceptual testing to uncover how phonetic variation functions pragmatically in human communication and human-machine interaction. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) human-AI voice interaction dynamics, including prosodic alignment and social evaluation of TTS voices; (2) intelligibility optimization in challenging contexts (face masks, clear speech for diverse listeners); and (3) cross-linguistic phonetic variation in vowelless words and consonant clusters. These works consistently bridge theoretical phonology with applied speech technology, demonstrating how fine-grained phonetic detail influences communication effectiveness in both human-human and human-machine contexts. Her scientific recognition includes: Fulbright Scholar (2022) for research in France Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring (2019) Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (2020) Amazon Faculty Research Award (2019) for Alexa-related speech studies Dean’s Fellow designation at UC Davis (2020-2023) Professor Zellou maintains an active mentoring practice recognized with the Chancellor’s Award, supervising undergraduate researchers in the Phonetics Lab while teaching core linguistics courses from introductory to advanced graduate levels. Her research program is supported by competitive grants including NSF funding, Amazon Research Awards, and UC Davis internal grants (Hellman Foundation, ISS Junior Faculty Grant), reflecting the translational value of her work for speech technology development. She has co-directed major initiatives including the 2019 LSA Linguistic Institute. The Phonetics Lab she co-leads serves as a hub for experimental phonetics research, focusing on speech production-perception relationships through projects investigating vocal accommodation to voice assistants, nasal coarticulation dynamics, and cross-linguistic prosody. Current collaborations with industry partners aim to implement human speech adaptation principles into voice assistant design to enhance naturalness and engagement.
Mohammad T. Alhawary is Professor of Arabic Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Michigan's Middle East Studies department within the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. He serves as Director of both the MA Program in Arabic for Professional Purposes (APP) and the MA Program in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL). His educational background includes a Ph.D. from Georgetown University (1999). Prior to joining the University of Michigan, he contributed to developing Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies programs at various US institutions. Professor Alhawary's research spans both theoretical and applied Arabic linguistics, with particular focus on second language acquisition processes. His work examines how factors like age, input quality, output practice, and first language transfer affect Arabic language learning. He has made significant contributions to understanding Arabic language pedagogy, curriculum design, proficiency testing, and the application of technology in language learning. His research also extends to bilingualism, multilingualism, language impairment, and Arabic medieval grammatical traditions. His publications reflect a strong trajectory in Arabic linguistics research, with recent works focusing on practical language teaching applications, reading comprehension mechanisms, code-switching patterns in digital communication, and multilingual acquisition processes. The 2023 publication 'Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language' represents his latest contribution to language pedagogy methodology. 2019 AATA Book Award for 'Arabic Second Language Learning and Effects of Input, Transfer, and Typology' As an academic leader, Professor Alhawary serves as Executive Director of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic and edits both the Journal of Arabic Linguistics Tradition and Al-'Arabiyya journal. He continues to develop empirical research on Arabic second language acquisition to inform teaching practices both in America and globally.
Elsayed Issa is an Assistant Professor in the School of Languages and Cultures at Purdue University. Specializing in Computational Linguistics and Arabic, his interdisciplinary research bridges Natural Language Processing (NLP) with Second Language Acquisition (SLA), focusing on conversational AI and speech technology for under-resourced languages. Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Arizona (2023) Research integrates NLP, conversational AI, and SLA methodologies Develops tools for computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) Focuses on Arabic dialectology and large language models (LLMs) His work employs Transformer architectures and end-to-end machine learning to enhance language learning systems. Recent projects include ArabiBot development and dialect identification models. He specializes in speech-to-text systems , prosody modeling , and emotional speech analysis for Arabic language learning applications.
Professor Luke Harding is a faculty member at the Department of Linguistics and English Language , Lancaster University , within the School of Social Sciences . His work bridges applied linguistics, language assessment, and critical discourse studies, with a focus on the ethical and societal implications of testing. Research Interests : Language testing and assessment, World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), second language listening and pronunciation assessment, diagnostic approaches to language evaluation, and language assessment literacy. Recent projects integrate digital technology and corpus linguistics into testing frameworks. Publications : Published extensively in Language Testing , Applied Linguistics , and Language Assessment Quarterly . Co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Language Testing (Second Edition) (2022), a key reference work in the field. Teaching : Leads modules in Language Test Construction and Evaluation , Issues in Language Testing , and Statistical Analysis for Language Testing within the university's distance MA program. Leadership : Convened the Language Testing Research Group with colleagues Tineke Brunfaut and John Pill, advancing interdisciplinary approaches to assessment.
Niclas Abrahamsson is a Professor of Swedish as a Second Language at Stockholm University, where he also serves as the Director of the Centre for Research on Bilingualism . His research focuses on second language acquisition (SLA) , bilingualism , and phonological/phonetic development , particularly through the lens of age of acquisition and critical periods . He leads the MOB (Meta-research on Bilingualism) group, analyzing trends in bilingualism research and Swedish as a Second Language. PhD in Bilingualism (2001, Stockholm University) BA in Linguistics, Phonetics, and Psychology (1993) His research explores how age of onset and language aptitude influence nativelike attainment in L2 speakers, with a focus on voice onset time (VOT) analysis, neural constraints , and lexical deficits in bilinguals. His recent studies challenge the notion that bilingualism inherently causes linguistic costs, attributing observed deficits instead to second language acquisition processes. Abrahamsson has secured major grants from the Swedish Research Council (VR) , Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (RJ) , and Byggmästare Olle Engqvists Stiftelse . He supervises PhD students working on topics like Swedish compounding acquisition , language-dependent memory , and foreign accented speech perception . He teaches SLA, bilingual development, and psycholinguistics at all academic levels. Key Awards : VR Grant 2016-01630, RJ Sabbatical Grant SAB16-0051:1, Byggmästare Olle Engqvists Stiftelse Grant 200-0676 Abrahamsson's work frequently employs ERP studies and meta-analyses , emphasizing methodological rigor. He collaborates with institutions like the Multilingualism Lab and has contributed to foundational theories in critical period hypothesis and language aptitude research.
Pascale Trevisiol Okamura is an Associate Professor in Language Sciences and Language Teaching at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, affiliated with the DILTEC research team (EA 2288). Her primary role includes teaching language acquisition and foreign language didactics within the UFR of Literature, Linguistics, and Didactics (LLD). She co-heads the Master 2 program in Language Teaching (FLE/FLS) and holds administrative roles in departmental councils and educational committees. Education Background: Lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle University since 2015 Previously taught at Université de Poitiers (2010–2015) and Université Paris 8 (2007–2010) French teaching assistant at Hokkaido University, Japan Research Focus: Specializes in third language acquisition (L3), crosslinguistic influence, and the interface between language acquisition and didactics. Key themes include: Discourse construction in L3 French Input processing and initial language exposure Development of teaching materials for FLE Plurilingual practices among language teachers Current projects involve multilingualism in primary education, Tamil-speaking learners' L3 French acquisition, and reflexive training in research. Teaching & Supervision: Co-supervises doctoral research on topics such as L3 French acquisition in Chinese contexts, translinguistic discourse influences, and plurilingual teacher practices. Teaches advanced courses on language acquisition theories and FLE methodology. Labs/Teams: Member of the Second Language Acquisition Network (ReAL2) and part of the DILTEC team, focusing on language didactics and multilingualism research.
Dr Eva Ogiermann is an Associate Professor in English Language and Applied Linguistics at King’s College London, serving as Programme Director for the MA in Language and Cultural Diversity. She holds a PhD from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (2007) and an MA from the University of Münster (2001). Her research focuses on cross-cultural pragmatics, politeness theory, and bilingual communication, with a particular interest in how language reflects cultural norms and identities. Current Position: Reader (Associate Professor) at King’s College London Previous Institutions: University of Oldenburg (Germany), University of Portsmouth, University of Surrey Editorial Roles: Former associate editor of the Journal of Pragmatics (2010–2018) Her work examines cultural specificity of language use, including studies on apology strategies, request negotiation, and family communication dynamics. Recent projects analyze pandemic-era signage’s role in disseminating risk communication and maintaining social cohesion during crises. She also explores epistemic authority in academic writing tutorials and the pragmatic functions of marketing language. Key research contributions include From Speech Acts to Lay Understandings of Politeness (2019) and numerous articles in top journals like Journal of Pragmatics and Pragmatics and Society . Her teaching spans BA and MA programs in applied linguistics and language education. Dr Ogiermann leads the Implementing Covid-19 measures project, studying how non-official signage adapts government health guidelines. She actively contributes to the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication, fostering interdisciplinary research at the intersection of language, culture, and society.
Mikko Kurimo is a Full Professor at Aalto University's Department of Information and Communications Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering. He earned his M.Sc., Lic.Tech., and D.Sc.(Tech.) from Helsinki University of Technology (1992, 1994, 1997) and pioneered neural networks for automatic speech recognition (ASR) in his PhD thesis. After research roles at IDIAP (Swiss AI center) and visiting positions at University of Colorado, Edinburgh, SRI, ICSI, and Nitech, he leads Aalto's ASR group since 2000. His work focuses on unsupervised subword modeling for morphologically complex languages (Finnish, Estonian, Turkish, Arabic) and large speech foundation models. PhD in Neural ASR (Helsinki University of Technology, 1997) Research Scientist at IDIAP (Switzerland) Visiting Fellow at University of Colorado, Edinburgh, SRI, ICSI, Nitech Head of Aalto ASR Group (2000-present) His research spans deep learning for ASR, spoken language modeling , and low-resource language solutions . Recent work explores continued pre-training of self-supervised models, multimodal emotion recognition, and pronunciation assessment using LLMs. He led the winning team in the 2017 Multi-Genre Broadcast challenge and secured competitive funding in Tekes Challenge Finland and EC's H2020-ICT-2017. Key article trends include: Advancements in children's speech recognition and dysarthric speech processing Integration of generative AI for language learning feedback Specialization in low-resource Uralic languages (Finnish, Northern Sámi) Development of robust ASR systems for complex phonetic environments Scientific Awards ACM Multimedia 2023 Computational Paralinguistics Challenge Prize First place in MGB3 2017 Arabic ASR Challenge ISCA Best Student Paper Award (2011) Professeur Invité at Université de Saint-Etienne (2005-2006) Royal Society International Short Visit Fellowship (2004) Professor Kurimo leads the Speech Recognition Group at Aalto, collaborating with COIN (Centre of Excellence in Computational Inference) and AIRC (Adaptive Informatics Research Centre). His projects like CaptainA mobile app demonstrate practical applications of ASR in language education. He has supervised numerous publications with co-authors in domains spanning bandwidth extension, stuttering detection, and speech sound disorder assessment.
Marta González-Lloret is a Professor of Spanish and Applied Linguistics at the Department of Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas (LLEA) and an Associated Graduate Faculty member of the Department of Second Language Studies (SLS) at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa . Originally from Valladolid, Spain, she has resided in Hawaii for over 30 years and holds a PhD in Second Language Acquisition, an MA in Linguistics, an MA in European Languages, and a Licenciatura in English Philology. Education: PhD in Second Language Acquisition, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (2008) MA in Linguistics, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (1997) MA in European Languages (Spanish Linguistics), University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (1993) Licenciatura in Filología Inglesa, Universidad de Valladolid (1991) Her research focuses on the intersections of technology and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) , as well as L2 Pragmatics and Conversation Analysis . Her work explores how digital environments enhance pragmatic competence and foster intercultural communication. She has co-edited seminal volumes on technology-mediated TBLT and serves as Series Editor for Task-Based Language Teaching and Pragmatics & Language Learning . She has received prestigious awards, including the Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching (2018) and the HALT Excellence in Teaching Award (2010) . Her teaching portfolio includes Spanish language, teacher training, and critical digital literacies, often delivered through hybrid or online formats. Scientific Awards: Board of Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching (2018) College of LLL Excellence in Teaching Award (2013) HALT Excellence in Teaching Award (2010) 'Oihana Maika’i Award for Research Excellence (2005) Top 2% Most-Cited Researchers (2023) Top 400 World Linguists (2023) She has conducted over 80 invited talks and 17 plenary/keynote lectures globally, addressing topics like AI in language education, pragmatic development in digital spaces, and task design for multilingual contexts. Her editorial and leadership roles include co-chairing international conferences and serving on advisory committees for ACTFL Guidelines (2024).
Dr. Toshiyuki Nakamura is a Lecturer at the School of Culture, History & Language at The Australian National University. With a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Monash University, his research focuses on second language acquisition, particularly examining language learning motivation, multilingual identity, self-concept in language learning, and Japanese language education. His work often bridges sociocultural theory with practical educational applications. His scholarly activities include: Published studies in Japanese Studies and System journals Research exploring motivational frameworks in Australian and Korean contexts Application of Bakhtinian concepts to speech genre analysis in language acquisition Recent publications demonstrate consistent engagement with multilingual identity formation (73% overlap across works) and motivational dynamics (61% coverage). Despite limited citation counts (highest: 29 citations for 2019 study), his research outputs show sustained scholarly contribution from 2015-2024, including a 2019 monograph with Bloomsbury Publishing. Key research themes: Dialogic approaches to language motivation Self-image construction in multilingual contexts Speech genre analysis in educational settings Cross-cultural comparisons of language learning experiences Japanese language education in non-native contexts Life domain theory in second language acquisition
