David M Williams is a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University's School of Public Health , where he also serves as Associate Dean . His work bridges affective science and health behavior, focusing on exercise promotion and smoking cessation.
Laura K. Nelson is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia , where she also directs the Centre for Computational Social Science . Her work bridges computational methods with sociological inquiry, focusing on gender inequality, social movements, and organizational dynamics. She previously held faculty roles at Northeastern University and affiliated with institutions like the NULab for Texts, Maps, and Networks and the Network Science Institute . Education: PhD in Sociology (2014), University of California, Berkeley MA in Sociology (2009), University of California, Berkeley BA in Sociology (2006), University of Wisconsin-Madison (Phi Beta Kappa) Research Interests span computational sociology, social movement strategy, intersectionality, and STEM equity. She pioneered frameworks like computational grounded theory and radical objectivity , integrating machine learning with qualitative paradigms. Recent publications analyze gender dynamics in emergency medicine, feminist movement histories, and the NSF ADVANCE program’s impact on equity. Her 2024 Social Science Quarterly paper quantifies ADVANCE’s interdisciplinary reach. Awards include the 2020 Best Meta-Reviewer at SocInfo20 and Outstanding Faculty of the Year at Northeastern University. She serves on editorial boards for American Journal of Sociology , Poetics , and Acta Sociologica . She co-PIs a National Science Foundation grant studying gender-equity dissemination in higher education networks and supervises graduate student Jinyang Yu . Her lab, Centre for Computational Social Science , drives open-source methodological innovation.
Josh Pasek is a Professor of Communication & Media and Political Science at the University of Michigan, with additional affiliations as a Research Professor at the Center for Political Studies (Institute for Social Research) and Core Faculty at the Michigan Institute for Data Science. His research focuses on the intersection of political communication, survey methodology, and data science, particularly examining how new media and psychological processes shape political attitudes, public opinion, and measurement accuracy. Co-author of Words That Matter and Democracy Amid Crises Maintainer of R packages anesrake and weights Key research areas include: Political Communication Survey Methodology Media Psychology Social Media Data Electoral Behavior Ballot Design His recent publications address topics such as: Vaccine hesitancy and information environments Phubbing and trust dynamics Supreme Court legitimacy post-Dobbs Partisan polarization during the pandemic Climate change perception and partisanship Measurement error in surveys He has collaborated with institutions like the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Georgetown University, and the Pew Research Center, and serves on the AAPOR Task Force for 2024 Pre-Election Polls.
Dr. Lauren Emberson (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts. She directs the Baby Learning Lab, which is part of UBC's Early Development Research Group, a consortium focused on infant and child development. Prior to her position at UBC, Dr. Emberson was an Assistant Professor at Princeton University where she co-founded and co-directed the Princeton Baby and Princeton Kid Labs. Education: Postdoctoral Associate, University of Rochester (PI Aslin) Ph.D, Cornell University (PIs Amso, Goldstein, Spivey) B.Sc, University of British Columbia Dr. Emberson's research focuses on learning, perception (audition, vision, crossmodal or multisensory), language development, face/object perception, and attention in infants. She investigates these capacities using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, particularly fNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy), working primarily with very young infants (birth through 1 year) and preterm/premature infants. Her work examines how infants' learning capacities contribute to rapid development of perception in ecological contexts, with implications for understanding how early life experiences affect later outcomes. Analysis of Dr. Emberson's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on infant perception, learning mechanisms, and neuroimaging methodology. Her work increasingly incorporates advanced fNIRS techniques while maintaining focus on fundamental questions about how infants learn from their environment. There's a growing emphasis on individual differences, cross-cultural comparisons, and applications to infants facing developmental challenges. Dr. Emberson serves on the editorial board of Infancy (journal of the International Congress of Infancy Studies) and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience . Her research has been published in top journals including PNAS, Current Biology, Psychological Science, Cognition, Developmental Science, and the Journal of Neuroscience. Dr. Emberson has secured significant research funding from prestigious organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, James S. McDonnell Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She collaborates with clinicians at BC Women's and Children's Hospitals to understand how different early life experiences impact learning and brain development. Dr. Emberson is currently accepting graduate students into her research program. The Baby Learning Lab, under Dr. Emberson's direction, is part of UBC's Early Developmental Research Group and collaborates with multiple institutions. The lab strives to provide interactive research experiences for infants and families while advancing scientific understanding of early cognitive development. The lab acknowledges that it operates on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.
Tor Söderström is a Professor at the Department of Education at Umeå University. His research focuses on learning and development in sports, computer simulation training, and professional knowledge development in police education. He has contributed extensively to understanding talent identification in sports, particularly in Swedish football, and the efficacy of simulation-based training methodologies in law enforcement education. His research spans topics including athlete development trajectories, the impact of physiological testing on elite athlete performance, and the role of childhood athletic ability in long-term sports participation. Notable projects include a study on dropout processes in Swedish football talent systems and analyses of Swedish gym-goers' training patterns over two decades. Publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches, combining sports science, sociology, and educational technology. Recent work explores children’s rights in sports through scoping reviews and examines athlete retention strategies from adolescence into adulthood. His research often emphasizes practical applications in training design and policy development for both sport and professional education sectors. No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned in the provided texts. His work has involved collaborations with institutions like the Swedish Football Association and police education programs, focusing on scenario-based training methodologies and competency development in high-stakes professions.
Dr. Jay Yoon is an Associate Professor at Department of Human Centered Design , College of Human Ecology , Cornell University . He leads the Meta Design & Technology Lab which focuses on creating products that enhance both momentary and long-term user experiences through human-centered design , human-computer interaction , and positive psychology principles. Education : BA & BE in Industrial Design & Computer Science, Handong University (South Korea) MSc in Design for Interaction, Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) PhD in Emotion-driven Design, Delft University of Technology His research demonstrates how emotional granularity and positive emodiversity in technology interactions can significantly improve user well-being. He has developed multiple design tools like the EmotionPrism and Positive Emotional Granularity Cards. Industry collaborations include smart home services , airport crew centers , museum tours , and brand loyalty programs . Notable publications span International Journal of Design , She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation , and International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction . Scientific Awards : Sloan Recent Alumni Achievement Award His design projects have been exhibited at international conferences including Design & Emotion and Dutch Design Week . Current research explores technology-mediated well-being through hedonic and eudaimonic experience design.
Dcn. Stephen Frezza is a Professor of Software Engineering and current Director of the Software Engineering Program at Franiscan University of Steubenville . Prior to this, he served as a professor and three-time chair of the Computer and Information Science Department at Gannon University for 26 years. His expertise spans requirements engineering, project management, software testing, and embedded systems . Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh Professional Software Engineering Master (PSEM) Active in industry-university partnerships His research bridges engineering with theology , focusing on philosophy of engineering, affective-domain assessment, competency modeling, and software engineering education . He has authored numerous scholarly works on virtue formation, educational frameworks, and the philosophical foundations of computing. Recent publications highlight his contributions to computing curricula (CC2020), virtue-based educational models , and Lonergan’s epistemology applied to engineering . His work integrates faith and reason in pedagogical contexts, emphasizing the ethical dimensions of engineering education . Senior Member of the IEEE Computer Society Volunteer for IEEE-CS Special Technical Committee on Education Professional member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Dcn. Frezza’s leadership in curriculum design and industry collaboration has shaped software engineering programs globally. His teaching and research underscore the interplay between technical rigor and moral development , advocating for holistic engineering education.
Johannes Zimmermann is Professor of Differential and Personality Psychology at the Institute of Psychology, University of Kassel, Germany. His work integrates personality science, psychopathology research, and advanced assessment methods, with particular expertise in dimensional models of personality disorders and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). Education and Career Diploma in Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau (2007) Doctorate, University of Heidelberg (2011) Post-doctoral fellow, German-Chilean Graduate School, Heidelberg University (2007–2010) Research Associate, University of Kassel (2010–2015) Professor for Methodology and Psychological Diagnostics, Berlin School of Psychology (2015–2018) Professor of Differential and Personality Psychology, University of Kassel (since 2018) Research Interests Prof. Zimmermann's research centers on personality assessment , psychopathology , and psychotherapy outcomes . He develops and validates instruments for measuring personality functioning and maladaptive traits, advances the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) framework, and employs ambulatory assessment to capture dynamic processes in daily life. Key themes include: Dimensional classification of personality disorders and psychopathology Ecological momentary assessment of affect and behavior Validation of German-language assessment tools (e.g., LPFS-BF, PID-5, HiTOP-SR) Long-term effectiveness of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies Digital mental health and smartphone-based data collection Scientific Awards ISSPD Young Investigator Award (2019) – International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders SITAR Jerry Wiggins Student Award (2010) – Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research Advising & Collaborative Networks Prof. Zimmermann mentors doctoral and post-doctoral researchers through his roles in the German-speaking psychological community. He collaborates with international consortia including the HiTOP consortium, the PsyChange Network, and the London Personality and Mood Disorder Research Consortium, serving as principal investigator or co-investigator on projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and other bodies. Labs & Teams He leads the Differential Psychology Research Group at the University of Kassel, which focuses on measurement development, ambulatory assessment, and applied psychopathology research. The group maintains active collaborations with clinical centers across Germany and Europe for data collection and intervention studies.
Max Pellert is a computational social scientist and cognitive scientist with faculty appointments at multiple institutions. Since 2022, he has served as an Assistant Professor at the Chair for Data Science in the Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim . He previously held an interim Professor position at the University of Konstanz and an Assistant Researcher role at Sony Computer Science Laboratories Rome. His work bridges computational methods with social science theory. Education M.Sc., University of Vienna (2017) in Middle European interdisciplinary Master's program in Cognitive Science (with distinction) Ph.D., Medical University of Vienna (2022) in Medical Informatics, Biostatistics & Complex Systems Research interests center on Computational Social Science , Digital Traces , and Natural Language Processing for emotion and sentiment analysis. He develops Temporal Adapters for tracking longitudinal emotional patterns and FAULTANA pipeline for polarization studies. His AI Psychometrics framework assesses personality-like traits in large language models. Recent publications include: (1) 2025 ACL work on political bias in LLMs; (2) 2025 ICWSM study of temporal emotion analysis; (3) 2024 Perspectives on Psychological Science paper on LLM psychometrics; (4) 2024 PNAS Nexus polarization analysis; (5) 2023 Emotion cross-cultural study of pandemic emotions. Scientific Awards Habilitation candidate status at University of Mannheim Teaching includes IS 616: Large Scale Data Analysis , IS 809: Advanced Text Mining Lab , and IS 723: Data Science Seminar at master’s and PhD levels. His Barcelona Supercomputing Center role focuses on principal investigator duties for computational social science projects.
Dr. Jan Keller serves as a Visiting Professor and Head of the AMBER Junior Research Group 'Active Mobility to Promote Health and Environmental Protection' at the Department of Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin. With extensive experience in health psychology research and teaching, Dr. Keller leads innovative projects at the intersection of behavioral science, environmental sustainability, and digital health interventions. Dr. Keller earned both Bachelor of Science (2007-2010) and Master of Science (2010-2013) degrees in Psychology from Freie Universität Berlin, followed by doctoral studies in the same institution from 2013-2018. Research interests center on social exchange processes in health promotion, particularly dyadic planning approaches, self-regulatory strategies for health behavior change, habit formation processes, and the critical intersection between environmental sustainability and health. Recent work explores digital interventions for smartphone usage, active commuting behaviors, and climate change education. Dr. Keller's research demonstrates how environmental health psychology can address both individual well-being and planetary health challenges through innovative behavioral approaches. Analysis of recent publications reveals strong thematic trends in digital health interventions, climate-health connections, and dyadic approaches to behavior change. The work spans methodological approaches from randomized controlled trials to longitudinal studies and systematic reviews, with increasing emphasis on environmental health psychology as a critical domain for intervention development. Herman Schaalma Award (2019) from European Health Psychology Society for dissertation Graduate Student Achievement Award (2018) from International Association of Applied Psychology FUB Climate Challenge funding (2022) through FUturist Program Joint doctoral program funding (2021) between University of Melbourne and Berlin University Alliance Quinn Exchange Fellowship (2017) from University of British Columbia CREATE Tandem Stipendium (2016) from European Health Psychology Society Dr. Keller leads the AMBER Junior Research Group (2023-2028) focused on active mobility, and has secured multiple research grants including the FUB Climate Challenge project. As Consulting Editorial Board member for Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being since 2020, Dr. Keller contributes to advancing the field through scholarly review and mentorship. The research program integrates theoretical frameworks with practical interventions addressing contemporary health challenges. The AMBER Junior Research Group serves as the primary research laboratory, focusing on 'Active Mobility to Promote Health and Environmental Protection.' This initiative operates within the broader context of the Department of Health Psychology's research ecosystem, collaborating with international partners including University of British Columbia and Columbia University. Dr. Keller also participates in the Open Digital Health Initiative and the Special Interest Group 'Equity, Global Health and Sustainability' of the European Health Psychology Society.
Dan Sheldon is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, holding a Five College joint faculty position with Mount Holyoke College. His research focuses on developing algorithms to address environmental challenges using large datasets, emphasizing computational sustainability. Key areas include spatial optimization for endangered species conservation, continent-scale bird migration modeling, and interpreting weather radar data for ecological insights. Methodologically, his work leverages probabilistic inference, network modeling, and machine learning. Sheldon earned a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University and an AB in Mathematics from Dartmouth College. His postdoctoral training at Oregon State University was supported by an NSF Bioinformatics Fellowship. He co-leads the BirdCast project, an NSF-funded initiative applying novel machine learning to avian migration studies. His research affiliations include the Center for Data Science and the Computational Social Science Institute. Research interests span computational biology, machine learning, and data privacy. Notable contributions include algorithms for ecological decision-making, differentially private synthetic data techniques, and Gaussian process applications in environmental forecasting. Awards include an NSF Fellowship in Bioinformatics. Current projects integrate radar data analysis, biodiversity tracking, and privacy-preserving statistical methods. Grants include the BirdCast NSF grant and collaborations in computational sustainability. His work bridges theoretical computer science with applied ecological challenges, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to global-scale environmental problems.
Matthew Price is the George W. Albee Green & Gold Professor of Psychological Science and Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program at the University of Vermont's College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a B.A. from SUNY Binghamton (2004), an M.A. (2006), and Ph.D. (2011) from Georgia State University. His research focuses on expanding clinical care access for trauma survivors and anxiety disorder patients via technology-driven interventions. Key areas include mobile health applications, wearable sensors, and acute trauma care in Emergency Departments. His interdisciplinary approach involves collaborations with computer science, bioinformatics, and medicine. Current projects explore digital biomarkers (e.g., heart rate variability), technology adoption barriers, and culturally adapted therapies. He leads the Center for Research on Emotion, Stress, and Technology, emphasizing translational frameworks bridging basic research and clinical practice. Recent work includes randomized controlled trials evaluating mobile apps like 'Bounce Back Now' for disaster-related PTSD, and sleep-monitoring studies using wearable devices. Over 150 peer-reviewed articles highlight his focus on trauma mechanisms, symptom networks in veterans, and tech-enabled mental health innovations. His lab actively addresses global mental health disparities through mHealth solutions.
Peter Newman, Ph.D., serves as Dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont since July 1, 2024, and holds the Suzie and Allen Martin Professor title. With a career spanning decades, he has conducted extensive research on visitor management in protected areas, soundscape management, and transportation planning, partnering with the National Park Service's Natural Sounds and Night Sky Division since 2012. Education Ph.D. in Natural Resources, University of Vermont M.S. in Forest Resource Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry B.A. in Political Science, University of Rochester His research focuses on social carrying capacity decision-making in protected area management, with fieldwork across major U.S. parks including Denali, Grand Canyon, and Great Smokies. He has developed frameworks for acoustic management and Leave No Trace efficacy, contributing to sustainable outdoor recreation practices. Scientific Awards: Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit National Award (2012) George Wright Society National Award for Achievement in Social Sciences (2013) Throughout his career, Newman has led high-quality teaching at Penn State's Graduate Degree Program in Acoustics and mentored numerous students through research projects on wildlife approach norms, pandemic recreation shifts, and waste management strategies in national parks. He previously served as a Park Ranger in Yosemite and Backcountry Patrol member in Idaho.
Jacqui Webster is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), leading the WHO Collaborating Centre on Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development. She serves as the Secretariat for the South Pacific Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers Alliance (SPCNMOA) and continues collaborating with The George Institute for Global Health on salt reduction research. Key Grants: NHMRC Investigator Grant (Leadership 2), NHMRC IDEAS Grant, Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases grants Collaborations: Fiji National University, Deakin University, University of Sydney, UNSW, Northwestern University Her research focuses on reducing cardio-metabolic diseases through food/water security programs and salt reduction policies. Recent articles analyze potassium-enriched salt adoption barriers, global water sodium standards, ultra-processed food impacts in Fiji, and pandemic-related dietary shifts in Australia. She authored the public health-themed book Two Bugs on Bikes (Hembury Books 2025) based on her cycling journey across Europe and Africa. At UTS, she mentors early-career researchers and supports strategic operations for the WHO Collaborating Centre.
Louis Collins is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, with associate membership at the Center for Intelligent Machines. His work focuses on advanced medical imaging techniques for neurological applications. Key Expertise: Non-linear image registration, model-based segmentation, neuroimaging, MRI analysis Applications: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, schizophrenia Methodology: Development of computer vision algorithms for image-guided neurosurgery (IGNS), automated atlasing, and biomarker quantification Collins' research combines computational neuroanatomy with clinical translation, particularly in: Quantifying brain atrophy and anatomical variability across populations Optimizing MRI templates for improved diagnostic accuracy Developing tools like SEEGAtlas for surgical electrode classification Exploring neurophysiological fingerprints of neurodegenerative diseases His lab (NIST-Lab) actively pursues CIHR-funded projects on ultrasound-based image-guided neurosurgery and machine learning applications in clinical trials.