Vineeth N Balasubramanian is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, with affiliate faculty status in the Department of Artificial Intelligence. His research focuses on the intersection of deep learning, machine learning, and computer vision, emphasizing explainability, robustness, and real-world applications. He leads Lab 1055, which investigates problems such as Explainable and robust AI/ML systems Lifelong learning in evolving environments Multimodal vision-language models Applications in agriculture, autonomous navigation, and human behavior analysis His recent work includes causal reasoning in transformers, vision-language model capabilities, and drone-based object detection. Funded by organizations like Google, Microsoft, Intel, and DST, he has received multiple awards including the World's Top 2% Scientists (2022-23), INSA/INAE Fellowships, and Best Paper recognitions. Lab 1055 collaborates with institutions like CMU, UBC, and Monash University, contributing to cutting-edge advancements in AI.
Greg Durrett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Texas at Austin, leading the TAUR Lab (Text Analysis, Understanding, and Reasoning ). His research focuses on advancing Large Language Models (LLMs) for knowledge-intensive tasks in medical information processing scientific discovery legal reasoning . He received his B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics from MIT (2010) and Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley (2016). His work develops techniques to train LLMs with new capabilities augment models for reliability assess model outputs improve reasoning frameworks . His 15 most recent publications (2021-2025) span knowledge propagation in LLMs chain-of-thought reasoning code generation benchmarks multi-modal reasoning fact verification discourse analysis . Scientific honors include NSF CAREER Award (2024) NSF grants (2018, 2024) Bloomberg Data Science Grant (2017) Facebook Fellowship (2014) Best Paper Finalist (EMNLP 2013) . Teaching: CS388: Natural Language Processing (graduate) CS371N: NLP (undergraduate) High school NLP module .
Sebastian Thies is Professor and Chair for Ibero-American Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Tübingen, where he has been employed since October 2012. He serves as Vice Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Global South Studies (ICGSS) and coordinates the BMBF/DAAD thematic network 'Futures under construction in the Global South'. His academic journey began with a PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of Osnabrück in 2000, followed by positions at the University of Bielefeld where he progressed from Junior Professor for Hispanic Literary and Media Studies to Full Professor for Inter-American Studies. Thies' research focuses on Global South Studies, with particular emphasis on Latin American literature, film, and media. His work explores subjectivity formations, entangled temporalities, and political communication across borders. He has directed significant research initiatives including the doctoral studies program 'Entangled Temporalities in the Global South' and has co-edited major reference works such as The Routledge Handbook for Global South Studies on Subjectivities (2024). His extensive publication record demonstrates a consistent engagement with transnational cultural phenomena, particularly examining how Latin American cultural production intersects with global political and social dynamics. Thies frequently collaborates with international scholars, reflecting his commitment to transdisciplinary and transregional approaches to cultural analysis. Project Leader: Research Training Network 'Entangled Temporalities in the Global South' Vice Project Leader: Thematic network 'Literary Cultures of the Global South' Associated Investigator: BMBF-Area Studies Project 'The Americas as a Space of Entanglement' Project Leader: Research Group 'E Pluribus Unum? Ethnic Identies in Processes of Transnational Integration' Thies actively supervises doctoral students through the Interdisciplinary Centre for Global South Studies and has established collaborative networks across Latin America, particularly with institutions in Mexico and Colombia. His current research agenda focuses on 'Futures under construction in the Global South' and continues to explore the intersections of cultural production, political communication, and subjectivity formation in transnational contexts.
Mark Yatskar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the intersection of natural language processing, computer vision, and fairness in machine learning. He earned his PhD from the University of Washington under advisors Luke Zettlemoyer and Ali Farhadi, and previously worked as a Young Investigator at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Education: PhD in Computer Science, University of Washington (Advisor: Luke Zettlemoyer & Ali Farhadi) Research Interests: Yatskar's work explores how language can structure visual perception and mitigate human biases in machine learning systems. Key themes include: Natural language as a scaffold for visual intelligence Bias characterization and control in machine learning systems His lab currently investigates projects like language-guided bottlenecks, annotator cognitive heuristics, and gender bias amplification. Teaching: CIS 5300: Computational Linguistics (2021-2024) CIS 7000: Language and Vision (2020) CIS 6300: Efficient NLP (2023, 2025) Awards: Best Paper Award at EMNLP (Gender Bias Amplification Research) Advising & Grants: Yatskar advises a team of PhD/Master's students and actively seeks motivated researchers. His group has explored funding in areas like interpretable AI, multimodal reasoning, and dataset bias mitigation. Labs/Teams: Leads the Penn NLP & Vision Lab, focusing on projects like MolMo/PixMo open models, ViUniT visual unit tests, and bias mitigation frameworks.
John MacFarlane is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley , with affiliations to the Group in Logic and the Methodology of Science and co-organizer roles in the Meaning Sciences Club and Townsend Center Working Group . His research spans philosophy of language, philosophical logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mathematics, history of logic , and ancient philosophy , particularly Aristotle . He has held visiting positions at institutions like École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris . Education : Ph.D. in Philosophy (2000, University of Pittsburgh), M.A. in Classics (1997) and Philosophy (1994), A.B. summa cum laude in Philosophy (1991, Harvard). Research Interests focus on semantic relativism , particularly assessment sensitivity as explored in his book Assessment Sensitivity: Relative Truth and Its Applications (Oxford, 2014). He investigates how epistemic modals and vagueness interact with truth evaluation. His work in philosophical logic includes a textbook Philosophical Logic: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2021). Secondary interests include ancient philosophy (Aristotle, Plato), formal logic , and fiddlosophy . Article Trends reveal contributions to relativism , epistemic modals , vagueness , and logicism . His recent work (2025) examines Plato’s Protagoras and belief utility , while 2022–2020 articles address semantic indecision and probabilistic knowledge . Earlier works (2008–2000) include foundational studies on Frege, Kant, and Aristotle . Scientific Awards include a 2023 Residential Fellowship at Wissenschaftskolleg, Berlin (declined), 2016–17 Fellow at IEA Paris , and 2015 American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership . He has received multiple Humanities Research Fellowships at Berkeley (2016, 2008, 2003) and Research Enabling Grants (2000–2009). Advising includes supervising 15+ PhD students in areas like logic, epistemology, and philosophy of language . Notable advisees include Richard Lawrence (2017) and Sophie Dandelet (2021). He also guided honors theses at Berkeley, such as Benjamin Logan’s work on epistemic modals (2018). Labs and Teams involve co-organizing the Townsend Center Working Group in History and Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Science and contributing to the Group in Logic and Methodology of Science . His interdisciplinary approach integrates philosophy, logic, and computational tools , including creating Pandoc for document conversion.
Alison Landsberg is a Professor at George Mason University, affiliated with the Department of History and Art History and the Cultural Studies PhD program. Her research focuses on the politics of memory, affective engagements with the past, visual culture, and the intersections of race, aesthetics, and history. A leading scholar in memory studies, she explores how mass media and popular culture shape historical consciousness and political subjectivity. Her seminal works include *Prosthetic Memory* (2004) and *Engaging the Past* (2015), which analyze how mediated experiences of history foster empathy and progressive politics. Landsberg’s interdisciplinary work bridges film studies, cultural theory, and historiography. She examines how audiovisual media—from films to immersive digital exhibits—produce alternative historical narratives that challenge traditional academic historiography. Her current project, *Impossible Histories*, critiques conventional ‘historicism’ and explores counterhegemonic modes of historical representation. Her teaching spans courses on historical cinema, visual culture, and the politics of memory. She has advised over 20 doctoral students, many of whom explore topics like public history, digital memory, and cultural activism. Landsberg is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and has contributed to NPR’s *On the Media* and *The American Scholar* on topics ranging from racial representation to post-postracial America. Landsberg’s research emphasizes the urgency of rethinking historical engagement in an era of fragmented media and contested identities. Her work underscores the ethical and political stakes of how societies remember—and forget—the past.
Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson is a Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University, holding a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (2022-2024). She teaches on the Latin with Classics PGCE course in the School of Education and leads interdisciplinary research projects on oracy, Classics education, and policy engagement. Education: Studied Classics at Oxford, Harvard, and Cambridge. Qualified as a schoolteacher and taught for over a decade before returning to academia. Affiliations: Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Classical Studies (School of Advanced Study) and Affiliated Researcher at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge. Research Interests: Focuses on Classics education, oracy development, and the intersection of policy and the humanities. Key projects include Shy Bairns Get Nowt (oracy and employability) and Aristotle Beyond the Academy (reception of rhetoric in non-academic contexts). Co-directs the Advocating Classics Education project and chairs the Classics Development Group. Publications: Over 80 articles and books, including Expanding Classics (Routledge, 2023) and Forward with Classics (Bloomsbury, 2018). Recent work emphasizes policy engagement and levelling-up through oracy education. Awards: MBE (2023) for services to education Elected Member of Academia Europaea (2024) Grants and Roles: Chair of the Latin Expert Panel at the UK Department for Education Advisor to All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Classics, Oracy, and Political Literacy Member of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (Vice Chair) Labs and Collaborations: Directs Durham’s Centre for Classics Education Research and EngagementS (CERES). Collaborates with institutions like the AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, and Novus Education to bridge academia and policy.
Professor Roel Sterckx is the Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science, and Civilization at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with Clare College. He specializes in pre-imperial and early imperial Chinese thought, classical Chinese language, and natural history. His research bridges anthropology and the history of science, focusing on topics like ritual, economic thought, and animal studies. He has authored influential books including Food, Sacrifice, and Sagehood in Early China and Animals through Chinese History . Sterckx is a Fellow of the British Academy (since 2013) and holds leadership roles at the Needham Research Institute. He supervises PhD students on subjects ranging from Warring States rhetoric to Han Dynasty apocrypha. Education: BA/PGCE in Sinology and History, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Masters in Classical Chinese and Philosophy, National Taiwan University PhD in Chinese History, University of Cambridge Research Interests: Early Chinese cultural ecology, ritual economy, and the interplay of moral and material values. His work analyzes texts like the Rites of Zhou , Mozi , and Huainanzi , emphasizing agricultural thought and animal symbolism. Awards: British Academy Fellowship (2013) Grants and Labs: Directs the Cambridge-based Needham Research Institute, focusing on East Asian science and technology history. Current projects include studies on Han perceptions of southern regions and the economics of ritual in early China.
Kyle Bellucci Johanson serves as a Visiting Critic in Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Department of Art. Holding an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a BA in Art and Reconciliation Studies from Bethel University, he merges artistic practice with critical theory through performance architecture and collaborative media. Whitney Independent Study Program (2022–23) Founding fellow at land's edge free school (Los Angeles) Teaching experience at SAIC, UIC, CUNY, and Cooper Union His research investigates: Power structures through spatial interventions Critical theory applications in art practice Post-capitalist imaginaries Hauntology and historical materialism Transdisciplinary approaches to social critique Project trends reveal: Reinterpretation of Soviet design principles Investigation of worker identity in post-industrial contexts Temporal and spatial dislocation in artistic practice Monument critique through performative methods Quantum theory-inspired architectural concepts Reimagining of common spaces as political sites Scientific awards include: Creative Research Grant (2025) Whitney ISP participation (2022–23) Automata Studio Residency (2022) Artists Run Chicago Grant (2021) BOLT Residency (2020–21) Through projects like KLUB WRKR —a nomadic workers' club reimagined for the gig economy—and table (2018–2022), a Chicago-based experimental space for artistic practice, he interrogates institutional frameworks while fostering community through discursive meals and collaborative exhibitions.
Prof. dr. Nico Van de Weghe is a full Professor of GIScience at the University of Ghent (UGent), affiliated with the CartoGIS research unit. His work bridges computer science, social science, and natural science through geospatial information studies, focusing on enabling machines to reason spatially (GeoAI). Since 2004, he has specialized in knowledge-based AI, particularly spatiotemporal reasoning and moving object analysis, with applications in animal behavior, criminology, healthcare, mobility, and sports. Van de Weghe's research emphasizes hybrid GeoAI systems combining knowledge-driven and data-driven approaches. Keywords include GeoAI, GIScience, Spatiotemporal Analysis, Moving Objects, and Data Mining. Recent publications highlight urban road network analysis, hybrid trajectory modeling, BIM semantic enrichment, and cycling safety studies using virtual reality.
Lorraine (Xiang) Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Information (SCI). Her research focuses on the intersection of natural language processing, commonsense reasoning, knowledge representation, and machine learning, particularly in designing probabilistic models and evaluation methods for implicit commonsense knowledge in language. Li holds a PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and previously worked as a young investigator with the Mosaic team at AI2. She has an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Chicago, where she conducted research at TTIC. Her work emphasizes advancing AI’s ability to reason contextually and generate robust, human-like understanding through probabilistic frameworks. Key research themes include bias detection in reasoning models, iterative model editing, domain adaptation with LLMs, and evaluating commonsense through probabilistic measures. Her recent publications explore challenges like confirmation bias in chain-of-thought reasoning and geographical robustness in object recognition. Li actively contributes to the NLP community, serving on program committees for ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, and ARR. Though no formal awards are listed, her prolific publication record reflects her impact in AI research. She currently leads research in procedural knowledge models (e.g., Plasma) and long-tail knowledge generation, advancing foundational AI methodologies.
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.
Toby Jia-Jun Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where he leads the SaNDwich Lab. He also serves as the Director of the Human-Centered Responsible AI Lab in the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society and is a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI). Previously, he was affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and GroupLens Research. Dr. Li's research spans the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), End-User Software Engineering, Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP), with recent work focusing on addressing societal challenges in the future of work through human-AI collaborative approaches. His work has resulted in over 40 publications at premier venues including CHI, UIST, CSCW, ACL, and ICSE, with 8 papers winning Best Paper or Honorable Mention awards. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on human-AI collaboration across various domains, including code understanding, privacy, accessibility, and creative tools. The work shows a trajectory toward increasingly sophisticated integration of human-centered design with AI capabilities, particularly using large language models to enhance human productivity and address societal challenges. Google Research Scholar Award recipient Recipient of Yahoo! Fellowship ($100,000/year) Best Paper Award at UIST 2020 Best Paper Honorable Mention Award at CHI 2021 Best Paper Award at CSCW 2024 Best Paper Award at CHI 2025 Dr. Li actively mentors Ph.D. students and has established collaborations with Google, Microsoft Research, IBM Research, Adobe, Verizon, and J.P. Morgan. His research has been supported by NSF, Google Research Scholar Program, AnalytiXIN Initiative, Yahoo! InMind project, and J.P. Morgan. He is currently recruiting Ph.D. students and undergraduate researchers for his SaNDwich Lab, which focuses on developing interactive systems to empower individuals to create, configure, and extend AI-powered computing systems.
Susanne Prediger is a Professor at the Institute for Development and Research in Mathematics Education (IEEM) at Technische Universität Dortmund and Vice Director of the Department of Subject-Related Knowledge Transfer at the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN). She directs the DZLM research network (German Center for Mathematics Teacher Education) and holds leadership roles in mathematics education research. Her research focuses on: Design and Research on Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers and Facilitators Topic-Specific Design Research in Mathematics Education for Secondary Schools Diversity in Classrooms (especially Language Diversity) Empirical Studies on Students' Conceptions in Arithmetic, Algebra, and Stochastics Networking of Theories in Mathematics Education Research Recent work explores AI-driven formative assessment, educational innovation implementation, and inclusive pedagogical strategies for teaching percentages. She leads projects like ALwAI, Startchancen-Kompetenzzentrum Mathematik, and DigiProMIN. Current roles include: Vice Director (half-time), Department of Subject-Related Knowledge Transfer, IPN Director of DZLM Research Network, IPN (since 2021) Full Professor at IEEM, TU Dortmund University (since 2006) Her academic background spans Mathematics and History studies at Technical University of Darmstadt and Université Bordeaux I, a PhD in Mathematical Logic and Universal Algebra (1998), and a Habilitation in Mathematics Education (2004).
Prof. Dr. Pia Knoeferle is a leading academic at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , where she serves as a Professor in the Department of German Language and Linguistics . She is a principal investigator in the Collaborative Research Center (CRC 1412) focused on register phenomena and leads the Reaction Time, Eye-tracking, and EEG Laboratories . Her research spans psycholinguistics , cognitive neuroscience , and computational modeling of language , with a central interest in how real-time language comprehension interacts with social context , formality-register congruence , and morphosyntactic processing . Appointments: Professor at Humboldt-Universität (2024), CRC 1412 member Methodologies: Eye-tracking, EEG, Visual World Paradigm, ERP Her work investigates lifespan language processing (children, adults, older adults) through contextual cue integration , including emotional , spatial , and social context such as gender cues , eye gaze , and facial expressions . Key questions include: How do pragmatic and contextual factors modulate lexical and grammatical processing ? What representations underlie register sensitivity in spoken and written comprehension ? Recent articles (2022-2024) focus on register congruence effects in German sentence processing, age-related differences in formality-register anticipation , and interactions between register and morphosyntactic knowledge . Using eye-tracking and visual world paradigms , her team examines incremental integration of socially-situated context with verb-argument relations and grammatical constraints . Findings suggest subtle late-stage register effects and interference between pragmatic and syntactic processing . Her lab collaborates with researchers like Katja Maquate , Valentina Nicole Pescuma , and Camilo Ronderos , contributing to the Frame text of the Second Phase Proposal for CRC 1412 (2020) and subsequent reviews in Frontiers in Psychology (2023). The work emphasizes complementary methods to model register variability across languages , modalities , and cultural contexts .
