Mary Margaret Frank is the Dean and Professor of Accounting at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. She holds a PhD, Master of Accounting, and BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler. Her research focuses on the integration of business principles with public policy, cross-sector collaboration, and sustainable investing. Notably, she developed the P3 Impact Award and the Tri-Sector Leadership Fellows program to foster global community improvement. Dr. Frank previously served as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and taught at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an award-winning educator and researcher, recognized with the Phoenix Award for enriching student learning. Her professional experience includes roles as a CPA, senior tax consultant at Arthur Andersen, and board director of The Female Health Company. Her academic leadership spans roles as a Triple Tar Heel, Tax Center fellow, and co-founder of the Institute for Business in Society. Her work emphasizes ethical corporate strategy, tax policy impacts, and empowering global health initiatives through medical innovation.
Holger Straßheim is Professor of Political Sociology at Bielefeld University, affiliated with the Faculty of Sociology, Department 4 – Politics and Society. He also holds leadership roles as co-director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of Science (ISOS) and the Institute for World Society Studies, and is an elected member of the university’s Senate. He coordinates the MA program in Political Communication and serves on multiple examination and ethics committees. University: Bielefeld University School: Faculty of Sociology Department: Department 4 – Politics and Society Research Institutes: ISOS, Institute for World Society Studies Administrative Roles: Program Coordinator MA Political Communication, Member of BA/MA Examination Boards, Habilitation Committee His research centers on the interplay between science and politics, particularly the role of expertise and evidence in public policy. Key areas include behavioral public policy, climate and consumer policy, Arctic geopolitics, and the temporal dimensions of governance. He investigates how knowledge is produced, legitimized, and used in policy-making across transnational contexts. The most recent publications reflect a strong focus on evidence cultures, ethical expertise in crises, and the global spread of behavioral governance. These works analyze how expert advice functions under uncertainty, the paradoxes of evidence-based policy, and the institutionalization of ethical guidance during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. The research often employs comparative and interdisciplinary methods, engaging with science and technology studies, political sociology, and policy analysis. Best Dissertation Award, University of Tübingen (2011) Visiting Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School (2014) Visiting Research Fellow, Collège d’études mondiales, Paris (2018) Visiting Research Fellow, University of Bologna (2022) Straßheim has supervised and advised in various research projects and PhD initiatives, particularly through his leadership in DFG and ESRC-funded programs. He has secured significant third-party funding, including projects on Arctic knowledge co-production and ethics in crisis governance. He is actively involved in academic service, reviewing for major journals and research councils, and shaping policy discourse through editorial roles in Critical Policy Studies and the Advances in Critical Policy Analysis book series. He leads the Straßheim Research Group, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration on science-policy interfaces. He is a key figure in research networks such as the Science and Democracy Network (Harvard) and the International Arctic Science Committee. His work bridges academic inquiry with real-world policy challenges, emphasizing democratic accountability, epistemic pluralism, and the ethical dimensions of expertise.
Michael Levine is the Anthony B. Evnin '62 Professor in Genomics and Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, where he also serves as Director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. He joined Princeton in 2015 after a distinguished career at UC Berkeley, where he was Professor of Genetics and held leadership roles in genetics and genomics programs. His research focuses on how noncoding regions of the genome regulate gene expression in space and time during development. His lab has pioneered studies in Drosophila and the protovertebrate Ciona intestinalis , uncovering fundamental mechanisms such as enhancer function, transcriptional bursting, short-range repression, and long-range enhancer-promoter interactions. His work has also revealed evolutionary insights into the origins of vertebrate innovations like the neural crest and neurogenic placodes. Levine's recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on quantitative and live-imaging approaches to dissect gene regulation dynamics. His work integrates experimental embryology with computational modeling, especially using deep learning to predict transcriptional outcomes. Themes across his recent articles include biomolecular condensates, chromatin architecture, and the physical principles underlying enhancer function. Elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1998) Molecular Biology Award, National Academy of Sciences (1996) Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale University (2009) EG Conklin Medal, Society of Development Biology (2015) Dr. Levine has trained numerous researchers and co-authored studies with emerging scientists, indicating active mentoring and grant-funded research. His leadership roles at major institutes and sustained publication record reflect a robust, well-supported research program. He has also contributed to national genomics initiatives, including service at the DOE Joint Genome Institute. His lab operates at the intersection of molecular biology, genomics, and quantitative developmental biology, utilizing model organisms and cutting-edge imaging and computational tools to unravel the logic of gene regulatory networks.
Abhinav Shrivastava is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Maryland, College Park, with a joint appointment in the Institute of Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor at the same institution from August 2018 to June 2024, and spent one year as a Visiting Research Scientist at Google Research from September 2017 to August 2018. His educational background includes: PhD in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University (2017), advised by Abhinav Gupta, with thesis titled 'Discovering and Leveraging Visual Structure for Large-scale Recognition' MS in Artificial Intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University (2011), supervised by Alyosha Efros and Martial Hebert BTech in Computer Science and Engineering from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (2010) Professor Shrivastava's research focuses on computer vision and machine learning, with particular expertise in object detection, image recognition, and neural representations. His work bridges theoretical advances with practical applications, exploring how visual systems can discover and leverage structure in large-scale recognition problems. He has made significant contributions to understanding the role of supervision in vision transformers, developing novel approaches for object-state composition recognition, and creating efficient neural representations for videos and 3D scenes. His research often addresses fundamental challenges in visual recognition, including handling novelty in open-world environments and improving the efficiency of visual systems. An analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on neural representations, particularly for dynamic content like videos and 3D scenes. His work demonstrates increasing sophistication in handling open-world vision problems, with research spanning object discovery, localization, and representation learning. The publications show a clear progression toward more efficient and scalable models, with recent work focusing on model compression, sparse representations, and addressing the challenges of working with limited annotations. His scientific contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards: Best Paper Award (Applications) at IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (2020) Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship (2014-2016) Best Student Paper Award at IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (2014) Outstanding Reviewer Award at IEEE CVPR (2015) Professor Shrivastava has successfully mentored numerous graduate students, many of whom have become prominent researchers in computer vision. His Amazon Research Awards (2020 and 2023) have supported innovative projects including 'The pursuit of knowledge: discovering and localizing new concepts using dual memory' and 'Audio-conditioned Diffusion Models for Generating Lip-synchronized Videos.' He has served as Area Chair for major conferences including ICCV, CVPR, and AAAI, demonstrating his leadership in the computer vision community. His research has attracted significant funding from both academic and industry sources, supporting his exploration of fundamental questions in visual recognition and representation learning.
Shuyan Zhou serves as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science at Duke University's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, a position she assumed in 2025. As a newly appointed faculty member, she represents the next generation of academic leadership in computational disciplines at this prestigious institution. Her academic foundation includes: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University (2024) Dr. Zhou's research program centers on core computer science domains with emphasis on artificial intelligence and machine learning methodologies. Her work intersects with data science applications and theoretical frameworks, addressing contemporary challenges in algorithmic design and computational systems. These research thrusts align with Duke's strategic focus on interdisciplinary technological innovation and position her to contribute significantly to both theoretical advancements and practical implementations in computing. As an early-career faculty member, Dr. Zhou is establishing her research trajectory and academic contributions. While specific advising relationships and grant funding details remain undeveloped in the current phase, her appointment signifies Duke's commitment to cultivating emerging talent in critical computational fields. Her presence strengthens the department's capacity in foundational computer science research and next-generation technology development.
Christopher G. Brinton is the Elmore Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, where he leads the ION research lab. He is affiliated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering at Purdue University's West Lafayette campus. Dr. Brinton received his PhD from Princeton University, where he was previously the Associate Director of the EDGE Lab and a Lecturer of Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on the intersection of networking, communications, and machine learning, with particular emphasis on Fog computing systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), NextG Wireless, and social learning networks. His research integrates foundational techniques including convex and non-convex optimization, machine learning, and signal processing to address challenges in networked intelligent systems. The ION lab under his leadership develops both theoretical frameworks and practical implementations for next-generation networking solutions, with strong industry collaborations including Qualcomm, Nokia, Intel, Cisco, Dell, and Ericsson. Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward federated learning, decentralized algorithms, and edge intelligence, with significant contributions to model partitioning, communication-efficient learning, and robust network architectures. His work increasingly bridges traditional communication theory with modern machine learning techniques to solve emerging challenges in distributed networked systems. NSF CAREER Award ONR Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) AFOSR Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award Intel Rising Star Faculty Award (RSA) Dr. Brinton teaches several courses including ECE 647: Performance Modeling of Computer Communication Networks, ECE 301: Signals and Systems, and ECE 547: Introduction to Computer Communication Networks. He has co-authored the book 'The Power of Networks: Six Principles That Connect Our Lives' and taught three Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with over 400,000 cumulative students. While not currently actively recruiting students, he remains open to connecting with highly motivated individuals. Dr. Brinton leads the ION (Intelligent Optimization and Networking) research lab, which focuses on creating theoretical foundations and practical implementations for next-generation networked systems. The lab has recently published significant work on 6G taxonomy in collaboration with major industry partners and continues to push boundaries in distributed learning and network optimization.
Matthew J. Mayhew serves as the William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Educational Administration within the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University's College of Education and Human Ecology. He received his BA from Wheaton College, Illinois; his master's degree from Brandeis University; and his PhD from the University of Michigan in 2004. Dr. Mayhew maintains an active research agenda examining how collegiate conditions, educational practices, and student experiences influence learning and democratic outcomes. Dr. Mayhew's research interests span higher education's impact on moral reasoning, pluralism, productive exchange across worldview differences, and innovation capacity. His work particularly focuses on religious, spiritual, and secular diversity in higher education settings, examining how these dimensions shape campus climate and student development. He has developed significant assessment tools such as the Interfaith, Spiritual, Religious, and Secular Campus Climate Index (INSPIRES) to measure institutional commitment to diverse worldview identities. His recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on innovation capacity development in students, religious pluralism in college settings, and the impact of campus environments on diverse student populations. The research demonstrates increasingly interdisciplinary approaches, with collaborations spanning engineering education, sustainability initiatives, and international comparisons of educational systems. American Educational Research Association Religion and Education SIG Emerging Scholar Award Diamond honoree by ACPA-College Student Educators International Dr. Mayhew has successfully secured over $20 million in research funding from prestigious sources including the National Science Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Andrew C. Mellon Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. His major research projects include EDiCTS (Enhancing Diversity in Career and Technical STEM), EDiCTS 2.0, EmPOWERment, and InFORM (Including Faculty on Religious, Spiritual, & Secular Mattering). He serves as editor of the Digest of Recent Research and has held editorial board positions for the Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, and the Journal of College Student Development.
Mitchell L. Stevens is a Professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Sociology. He co-directs the Stanford Center on Longevity and leads the Pathways Network and Futures Project on Education and Learning for Longer Lives . His research bridges organizational sociology and educational innovation, focusing on equity in academic pathways, data-driven institutional practices, and the sociology of higher education. Education: PhD in Sociology (Northwestern University, 1996); BA in Sociology (Macalester College, 1988). Stevens’ scholarly work examines alternative schooling , educational policy , gendered academic decision-making , and lifelong learning . His recent publications analyze the intersection of machine learning and enrollment trends , merit rituals in admissions , and the marketization of higher education . He employs mixed methods, including large-scale data analysis and comparative-historical frameworks. Stevens mentors doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, with advisees including Daniela Ganelin, Philip Hernandez, Hansol Lee, Léon Marbach, Melanie Shimano, Joao M. Souto-Maior, Bernardo Mackenna, and Katie Spoon. His lab, the Pathways Network , develops analytics tools to enhance educational equity and institutional practices. Current teaching includes courses on Higher Education , Stanford’s Historical Context , and Organizational Analysis .
Dr. Hannes Petrowsky is a Senior Research Associate at the Chair of Business Psychology, Social Psychology & Experimental Methods at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. He earned his M.Sc. in Management & Marketing (2017-2019) and completed his Ph.D. on first-offer effects in negotiations (2020-2023). Academic Affiliation: Institute for Management & Organization (IMO) Location: Universitätsallee 1, C6.419, Lüneburg Contact: hannes.petrowsky@leuphana.de | +49.4131.677-1437 His research spans negotiation psychology , consumer behavior , and the impact of digital technologies (e.g., big data, machine learning, AI, VR). He investigates anchoring effects, price-ending strategies, and socially innovative transformations through inclusive working environments. Key Trends in Recent Publications: Analysis of concession patterns in negotiations using behavioral economics principles Development of immersive VR frameworks for skill acquisition Behavioral science-driven interventions for climate change mitigation Meta-analyses of negotiation dynamics across 25-26 million real-world transactions Exploration of technology adoption in public health contexts Dr. Petrowsky contributes to projects like the Digital Transformation Lab and MEHRCE (circular economy initiatives). His work bridges experimental psychology with digital innovation and sustainable entrepreneurship .
Rafael Perera is a Professor of Medical Statistics at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences (NDPCHS), University of Oxford, where he has been since 2002. He holds leadership roles as Director of the Statistics Group and Director of Graduate Studies , overseeing academic leadership and methodological research. He is also a Statistical Editor of BMJ and BMJ Medicine , and a fellow at St Hugh’s College Oxford . Education : DPhil, MSc, MA Rafael’s research focuses on monitoring for managing long-term conditions (e.g., Type 2 diabetes, hypertension) and complex multimorbidity phenotypes . His work includes impact of extreme temperatures on health , meta-analysis methods , and methodology for infectious diseases . He leads large methodological groups and has been a PI on NIHR-funded infrastructure programs (BRC, ARC, MIC). Recent publications highlight his expertise in clinical prediction models , digital health interventions , and diagnostic test evaluation . His grants span applied research , global health transformation , and ageing research . Scientific Awards : National and international recognition for methodology development in clinical trials (NIHR Progress Report 2008/09) Rafael supervises DPhil and MSc students and leads a fully accredited Clinical Trials Unit . His editorial and policy influence extends to healthcare policy panels and the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine as Director of Research Methodologies.
Jason Goulah is a Professor at DePaul University’s College of Education, where he directs the Institute for Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education and the Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship Doctoral Program. His work bridges Ikeda/Soka studies, transformative learning, and socioecological approaches to language education. Education: Ph.D. in Education, State University of New York, Buffalo LL.M. in International Law, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan His research explores intersections of language, culture, identity, and sustainability, with a focus on Soka education, global citizenship, and eco-ethical consciousness. He has published extensively in journals and edited volumes, including works on climate change in TESOL and the role of dialogue in peacebuilding. Scientific Awards: 2018 DeGarmo Award for Exemplary Scholarship 2015 American Educational Studies Association Critics Choice Book Award 2013 DePaul University Excellence in Teaching Award 2009 Stephen A. Freeman Award for Best Language Education Article He has held visiting positions at the University of Guelph-Humber, Soka University of America, and the University of Evansville, and has developed curriculum for Chicago Public Schools and New York City Schools. His recent articles analyze Anthropocene-era education and East-West philosophical convergences.
Dr Bela Bonita Chatterjee is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Lancaster University School of Law , with a focus on teaching and scholarship since 2020. Her work bridges cyberlaw , artificial intelligence , robotics , and gender/sexuality in legal contexts. She has received multiple teaching accolades, including the 2023 Blue Plaque Award and the 2018 FASS Dean’s Senior Teaching Award . Dr Chatterjee’s research interrogates the interdisciplinary intersections of law and technology , particularly cybercrime , AI and criminal law , and widening participation in legal education . Her recent scholarship explores robotics in criminal law and business attire/fashion as legal subjects. 2025 : 'The Speakeasy' conference paper 2023 : Invited discussant on child sex dolls/robots 2022 : Workshops on assessment design and audio-visual feedback 2020 : Decolonizing the curriculum and digital teaching practices 2019 : Robotics in family law, child protection, and Lex Robotica 2018 : Robotics and sexual violence Scientific Awards: 2023 Blue Plaque Award 2022 Highly Commended Award 2018 FASS Dean’s Senior Teaching Award 2006 Sir Alistair Pilkington Prize Nominee/Shortlisted for HEA NTFS and OUP Law Teacher of the Year Awards Dr Chatterjee has supervised and examined numerous PhD and LLM dissertations , served on editorial boards of journals like Frontiers of Legal Research , and co-organized conferences such as the British Association for Canadian Studies Legal Studies Group Annual Conference . She contributes to committees including the CREST Security Research Ethics Committee and EPSRC Fellowship Advisory Board .
Johan Eriksson is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at Uppsala University's Department of Art History, serving as Head of Department and Program Manager for the Master's Program in Digital Art Studies. His work integrates traditional art historical scholarship with cutting-edge digital methodologies, focusing on cultural heritage reconstruction and virtual museum development. His research spans digital art history , visual communication , and Renaissance studies , with specialized expertise in Italian and Japanese art traditions. Eriksson pioneers digital pedagogy through projects like The Digital Seminar 2.0 , examining how virtual reconstructions of historical sites (e.g., Royal Palace Stockholm) transform art historical methodology and public engagement with cultural heritage. His scholarship reveals strong interdisciplinary connections between art history, computer science, and urban studies. Eriksson's publication trends demonstrate consistent focus on virtual museum development as both research tool and preservation strategy, with growing emphasis on cross-cultural exchange (particularly Sweden-Japan collaborations) and sustainable heritage tourism. His work bridges technical innovation with deep art historical analysis, notably in reconstructing historical display contexts and examining visual rhetoric in Renaissance courts. No scientific awards are documented in the provided materials. As Program Manager for the Master's Program in Digital Art Studies and Chair of JSPS SAC, Eriksson actively mentors graduate students while securing research funding for major projects including The Virtual Museum and Visual Communication in Early Modern Japan . His grant portfolio reflects strong institutional support for digital humanities initiatives at Uppsala University. Through leadership of JSPS SAC and project teams like Renaissance Rooms , Eriksson coordinates international research networks focused on digital reconstruction methodologies. His current initiatives emphasize collaborative development of virtual environments that integrate art historical research with immersive technologies for both scholarly and public applications.
Luigi De Russis is an Associate Professor at the Department of Control and Computer Engineering (DAUIN) within Politecnico di Torino . He serves as Deputy Director of DAUIN and is a member of the PIC4SeR (PoliTO Interdepartmental Centre for Service Robotics). His academic roles focus on Human-Computer Interaction , Digital Wellbeing , and Artificial Intelligence applications. Research interests: Accessibility, Conversational agents, Developers tools, Digital wellbeing, Intelligent user interfaces, Internet of Things Teaching: Courses in Human-AI Interaction, Web Applications, and Computer Vision at undergraduate and graduate levels Leadership: Vice-President of ACM SIGCHI (2024-), Executive Committee member (2021-2024) His research explores: Digital wellbeing education for teens through gamified systems AI-assisted UI design tools Smart home interaction via multimodal commands End-user development for self-control technologies Integration of accessibility guidelines in AI systems Recent article trends show a focus on generative AI for interface design, attention-capturing heuristics, and educational systems for step-by-step learning. He has received the Most Influential Paper Award (2024) and Best Late Breaking Results Award (2025) from ACM SIGCHI. Scientific awards: Award of Scientific Excellence, University of Salamanca (2011) Most Influential Paper Award, International Conference on Intelligent Environments (2024) Best Late Breaking Results Paper Award, ACM SIGCHI Symposium (2025) As advisor, he supervises PhD students in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Engineering , focusing on topics like user-centered AI, generative models, and digital self-control interfaces. He leads the ELITE research group and contributes to commercial projects including TEIA (AI tourism) and MAPP (interactive museums).
Christian Igel is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, and serves as director of the SCIENCE AI Centre . He is also a co-lead of the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Denmark. His academic journey includes a Doctoral degree from Bielefeld University (2002) and a Habilitation degree from Ruhr-University Bochum (2010). Igel is a Juniorprofessor (2002–2010) and has held editorial roles at journals like KI - Künstliche Intelligenz and Artificial Intelligence Journal . Doctoral degree: Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University, Germany (2002) Habilitation degree: Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Sciences, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany (2010) His research spans Machine Learning , focusing on Support Vector Machines , Evolution Strategies , Reinforcement Learning , Deep Neural Networks , and PAC-Bayesian Analysis . He applies these methods to Environmental Monitoring , Medical Diagnostics , and Climate Research . Recent publications highlight work on adversarial machine learning , environmentally sustainable AI , and tree resource mapping using deep learning. His scientific awards include being a ELLIS Fellow . Igel’s software tools like Shark , woody , and Multi-Planar UNet are widely used in research and industry. Notable grants and collaborations involve projects with European Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) , SCIENCE AI Centre , and international teams in Denmark , Germany , and France . His lab leadership emphasizes open-source frameworks and reproducible research. Editorial Roles: German Journal on Artificial Intelligence , Evolutionary Computation Journal , Artificial Intelligence Journal Software Projects: Shark , woody , Multi-Planar UNet , U-Time Collaborations: SCIENCE AI Centre , Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence , European Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems
