Dr. Mukesh Prasad is an Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science , University of Technology Sydney (UTS). With expertise in Machine Learning , Artificial Intelligence , and Computer Vision , his research addresses applications in healthcare, biomedical science, and smart infrastructure. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, and an M.S. in Computer and Systems Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Key research areas: Machine Learning, AI, Brain-Computer Interfaces, IoT, and Evolutionary Computation Industry experience: Principal Engineer at TSMC (2016-2017), Postdoctoral Researcher at National Chiao Tung University Dr. Prasad has secured competitive grants for AI applications in disaster response, conversational agents, and medical diagnostics. His work has been published in high-impact venues like IEEE , ACM Transactions , and Springer Nature , with over 200 peer-reviewed papers. He serves on editorial boards for journals including Frontiers in Neurorobotics and ACM Computing Surveys . Scientific Awards: Vice Chancellor Teaching and Learning Citation Award (2019) Alumni Fellowship for Ph.D. (2014) Golden Bamboo NCTU Fellowship (2010) Professional Members: IEEE (2011), ACM (2019)
Professor J. Joshua Thomas is a distinguished academic at University of Wollongong Malaysia, specializing in intelligent systems and advanced computational techniques. He holds a PhD in Intelligent Systems Techniques from Universiti Sains Malaysia (2015) and a Master's degree in Computer Science from Madurai Kamaraj University, India (1999). Professor Thomas has demonstrated strong leadership in academic administration, having served as Head and Deputy Head of the Department of Computing between 2012 and 2017. His research focuses on intelligent systems and interdisciplinary computational algorithms, with recent work emphasizing Deep Learning, Graph Convolutional Neural Networks (GCNN), Graph Recurrent Neural Networks (GRNN), Hyper-Graph Attention Networks, and Quantum Machine Learning. Professor Thomas's projects span diverse applications including end-to-end steering learning systems, algorithm design in drug discovery, and advanced data analytics for electricity consumption and carbon price forecasting. Professor Thomas maintains an impressive publication record with over 50 peer-reviewed publications and 12 books with publishers including Wiley, Elsevier, and IGI Global. His research is supported by multiple active grants at institutional, national, and international levels, including projects on cancer survivor well-being and AI bias in smart cities. Best Paper Award at SCI 2025 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2024 Generative AI Certified Professional 2022 Global Staff Awards (UOWGE) - Excellence In Research Winner V-MIIEX2021: COVIDNet - GOLD AWARD Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) recipient (2019) As an active researcher and educator, Professor Thomas serves as Principal Investigator on multiple grants, supervises PhD and Master's students, and regularly delivers keynote addresses at international conferences. His collaborative spirit is evident through partnerships with institutions in India, USA, China, and Germany, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation across disciplines.
Nick Haslam is a Professor of Psychology at The University of Melbourne, where he has been on faculty since at least the early 2000s. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and has established himself as a prominent researcher in social and clinical psychology over a career spanning more than three decades. Professor Haslam's research focuses on several interconnected areas within social psychology. His primary interests include dehumanization, stigma, psychiatric classification, and mental health. He has made significant contributions to understanding how personality traits influence health behaviors and susceptibility to wellness misinformation, particularly examining the roles of openness and agreeableness. His work on suicide prevention in high-risk industries like construction has highlighted effective peer support approaches. Additionally, he has conducted important research on how diagnostic labels affect perceptions of mental distress and the reconstructive nature of human memory. Professor Haslam has authored several influential books including 'Troubled Minds: Understanding and Treating Mental Illness,' 'Psychology in the Bathroom,' 'Introduction to Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence,' 'Yearning to Breathe Free: Seeking Asylum in Australia,' and 'Introduction to the Taxometric Method.' His writing bridges academic psychology with public understanding, as evidenced by his frequent contributions to The Conversation on topics ranging from mental health trends to memory science and social psychological phenomena. His recent publication record shows active research funding, including support from the Australian Research Council. Professor Haslam's work often addresses pressing contemporary issues while maintaining scientific rigor, making significant contributions to both academic scholarship and public discourse on psychological matters.
Dr. Lee Sue Han serves as Senior Lecturer and Head of Department for Information and Communication Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak's Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science. She joined Swinburne in April 2020 following post-doctoral research with Pl@ntNet (CIRAD and INRIA) in France. Her academic credentials include a BEng (Hons) in Electronic Engineering from Multimedia University (2011), MSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Shinshu University, Japan (2014), and PhD in Computer Science from University of Malaya (2018). Dr. Lee's research bridges artificial intelligence and plant biology, focusing on computer vision, machine learning, and deep learning applications for plant disease identification, cross-domain classification, and environmental monitoring. Her work explores how deep learning models interpret botanical features and align with human perception in disease diagnosis, with significant contributions to automated plant health systems. Recent publications (2021-2022) demonstrate advanced work in multi-task learning for disease identification, global-scale plant recognition, and interpretable AI models. Her research consistently appears in top venues including Frontiers in Plant Science, IEEE Transactions, and Pattern Recognition. Her accolades include the 2022 Outstanding Student Feedback on Teaching award, 2022 Swinburne Research Success Award, and Best Paper Awards in 2020 and 2018. She actively secures research funding as PI for FRGS 2021 and co-PI for FRGS 2022 and SDEC 2021 projects. Dr. Lee supervises research in generative models, sign language production, drug discovery, animal re-identification, and plant disease modeling. She maintains international collaborations initiated during her France-based post-doctoral work and participates in global challenges like PlantCLEF.
Dr. Almon Chai Wei-Yen serves as Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Robotics & Mechatronics Program at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus's Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science. Holding a PhD from Malaysia (2007) and prior industrial experience in ceramics manufacturing, he bridges academic research with practical engineering solutions. His professional affiliations include the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Education BEng (Hons) from United Kingdom MSc from United Kingdom PhD from Malaysia (2007) Dr. Chai's research centers on computational simulations for drying technologies and renewable energy systems, with expanding work in human factors engineering and mechatronics applications. Recent publications demonstrate significant interdisciplinary innovation, particularly in biomedical signal processing for movement classification and computer vision for text interpretation in natural scenes. His work consistently applies simulation-based optimization to solve real-world engineering challenges. Analysis of his 2020-2022 publications reveals two dominant research thrusts: biomedical engineering (focusing on EMG signal classification for prosthetic control) and computer vision (specializing in vertical text detection). These areas reflect his core expertise in simulation and optimization now applied to human-centric technologies, showing strong collaboration patterns and targeting high-impact venues like IEEE Access. Scientific Awards Silver Medal Award for 'Window Cleaning and Climbing Robot' at Malaysia Invention & Innovation Awards 2010 (MTE2010) Research Leadership Dr. Chai actively supervises research higher degree candidates and currently leads two Sarawak Research and Development Council (SRDC) Grant 2020 projects: 'Instant Count on Tuberculosis' (Project Member) 'Tidal Stream Power Assessment and Design of Tidal Current Turbine for Pulau Triso' in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Project Member) Research Environment As Robotics & Mechatronics Program Coordinator, Dr. Chai directs academic initiatives while pursuing cross-disciplinary projects in simulation-based optimization, renewable energy conversion, and human-robot interaction. His research group leverages university facilities and industry partnerships to develop practical engineering solutions, particularly in energy conservation and assistive technologies.
Marian-Andrei Rizoiu is an Associate Professor leading the Behavioral Data Science lab at the University of Technology Sydney's Data Science Institute, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. He holds concurrent appointments as an Honorary Lecturer at Australian National University and Honorary Research Scientist at Data61. Previously, he has held visiting professor positions at Imperial College London, Jean Monnet University, and Max Planck Institute for Software Systems. Associate Professor in Behavioral Data Science, UTS Data Science Institute (Jan 2024 - present) Senior Lecturer in Behavioral Data Science, UTS Data Science Institute (Jul 2021 - Jan 2024) Lecturer in Computer Science, UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (Feb 2019 - Jul 2021) Dr. Rizoiu's research focuses on interdisciplinary work crossing computer and social sciences, blending psycholinguistics, digital communication, and stochastic modeling to understand human attention dynamics online, the emergence of influence, and opinion polarization. His key contributions include developing theoretical models for online information diffusion that can account for complex social phenomena, and building skill-based real-time occupation transition recommender systems that link social media-predicted personality profiles with occupation skill requirements. His research outputs reveal strong trends in misinformation detection, social influence measurement, and online radicalization pathways. Recent publications demonstrate sophisticated modeling approaches including state space models for early misinformation prediction, multivariate Hawkes processes for analyzing partially interval-censored data, and ideology detection pipelines. His work spans computational social science, machine learning, and practical applications for countering harmful online content. Excellence Award and Academic of the Year at the 2023 Australian Defence Industry Awards ADMA'22 Best Application Paper Dr. Rizoiu has successfully secured over $2.9 million in research funding from selective funders including Meta Research, Defence Science and Technology Group, Department of Home Affairs, and Defence Innovation Network. He has supervised 3 PhD students to completion and more than 10 Honours students, most achieving High Distinction. His research has been applied in real-world contexts including serving as an expert for NSW government's Defamation Law Reform and providing evidence for Australian Federal Senate inquiry into media diversity. He leads the Behavioral Data Science lab which focuses on modeling human behavior in online environments, with particular emphasis on mis- and disinformation detection and labor market analysis. The lab has developed tools like TRACK, UTS OPEN's software for recommending personalized learning pathways, used by over 750 students and professionals.
Professor Gemma Sharp is an Adjunct Professor at Western Sydney University's School of Psychology and the founder and leader of the Body Image, Eating & Weight Disorders Research Program since 2018. She is currently an NHMRC Emerging Leadership 2 Fellow (2023-2028) and was previously an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow (2018-2022). Her work spans academic research, clinical practice, and digital health innovation in the field of body image and eating disorders. Professor Sharp holds an impressive educational background including a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Flinders University, a Masters in Oncology from the University of Cambridge, and multiple undergraduate degrees from the University of Adelaide in Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Immunology, Psychology, and Japanese language. Her research career has taken her across Australia, Japan, and the UK. Her research program investigates factors leading to body image concerns and eating disorders across the age and gender spectrum, with a particular focus on innovative therapeutic interventions. She has pioneered digital mental health solutions including the JEM® chatbot for eating disorder prevention and ED ESSI® for early intervention. She also has a strong interest in the intersection of eating disorders and women's health, particularly during pregnancy and menopause, where she led the development of a world-first online educational resource addressing eating disorders during the menopause transition. Professor Sharp has been recognized with over 65 awards throughout her career, including the prestigious Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award (2025) and being named a national finalist for the Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science (2025). She was also named one of ABC Radio National's Top 5 Under 40 Scientists and has delivered a TED talk on body image issues. As the Founding Director of the Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders (CoRe-ED), she has created a global network connecting nearly 1,000 researchers from 35 countries across 5 continents. Her work has significantly influenced national policy, playing key roles in both the National and Victorian State Eating Disorder strategies (2023/2024). She maintains an active clinical practice as a registered clinical psychologist and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician.
