Roman Feiman is the Thomas J. and Alice M. Tisch Assistant Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences and an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Brown University. He directs the Brown Language and Thought Lab, focusing on how humans combine words into meaningful sentences and develop logical reasoning abilities. His research integrates methods from cognitive developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, and formal semantics. Feiman holds a PhD in Psychology from Harvard University (2015), followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard and UC San Diego. His work explores the cognitive systems underlying language and thought, including negation comprehension, quantifier scope, and the development of exact equality concepts. He teaches courses such as Language Processing in Humans and Machines and Logic in Language and Thought . His research interests span cognitive development, linguistic pragmatics, and the language of thought hypothesis. Notable findings include studies on children’s understanding of negation and how logical principles shape early language acquisition. Feiman has been recognized with the 2023 Henry Merritt Wriston Fellowship. His lab investigates topics like word referencing, semantic development, and the interplay between language and nonverbal reasoning. Recent work examines how neural networks might model human cognitive processes, bridging AI and psychological theory.
Suzanne Stevenson is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, affiliated with the Cognitive Science Research Community (CoRC). She holds a BS in Computer Science and Linguistics from William & Mary and MS/PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland. Before joining UofT in 2000, she was faculty at Rutgers University with joint appointments in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. Her research focuses on computational cognitive models of language acquisition and processing, integrating insights from linguistics, psycholinguistics, and machine learning. Key areas include semantic/syntactic learning from text, probabilistic computational models of word learning, and cross-situational learning. Notable awards include the NSERC University Faculty Award (2000) and NSF CAREER Award (1997). Her work bridges computational linguistics and cognitive science, emphasizing multidisciplinary approaches. Recent publications (2014–2018) explore topics like probabilistic perspective models in language production, bilingual word associations, and semantic search algorithms. She advises on computational linguistics and cognitive modeling, with grants supporting investigations into language acquisition dynamics and semantic networks. Active in teaching, she previously offered courses on computational linguistics and the computational lexicon. Her lab’s research themes include child language acquisition, ambiguity resolution, and computational modeling of linguistic phenomena.
Prof. Dr. Rudi Zagst is a Professor of Mathematical Finance at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), where he serves as Head of the Department of Mathematical Finance within the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology. He has held this position since 2001 and is actively involved in teaching, research, and academic leadership. In 2003, he was appointed as a second member of the Faculty of Economics, and since 2004, he has served as Deputy Chairman of the joint elite degree program 'Finance & Information Management' of the University of Augsburg and TUM. Prof. Zagst earned his doctorate in business mathematics from the University of Ulm, where he later completed his habilitation in 2000. His academic journey began with a professional career at HypoVereinsbank AG, where he served as Head of Product Development in Institutional Investment Management before becoming Managing Director of RiskLab GmbH in 1997. His research focuses primarily on financial engineering, risk management, and asset management, with particular emphasis on portfolio optimization, mathematical finance, and quantitative risk management. His work bridges theoretical finance with practical applications, often incorporating advanced mathematical techniques to solve complex financial problems. Recent publications demonstrate his continued interest in GARCH models, portfolio optimization under various constraints, and the application of machine learning techniques to financial problems. Analysis of his recent publications (2024-2025) reveals a strong focus on portfolio optimization under complex market conditions, particularly using GARCH models to capture volatility dynamics. His work increasingly incorporates machine learning techniques (as seen in the credit spread analysis paper) while maintaining rigorous mathematical foundations. Many papers explore the intersection of theoretical finance with practical investment strategies, reflecting his commitment to bridging academic research with real-world financial applications. Professor of the Year 2007 (awarded by Unicum Profession magazine) Prof. Zagst has supervised numerous bachelor's, master's, and doctoral theses through TUM's Finance and Actuarial Science research group. His collaborative work with industry partners through the TUM CAIR Labs and RiskFactory demonstrates strong connections between academic research and practical financial applications. He has received research funding through various industry partnerships with major financial institutions including Allianz, Munich Re, and ERGO Group AG. Prof. Zagst leads the Research Group Finance and Actuarial Science at TUM, which includes Professors Matthias Scherer, Aleksey Min, and Christoph Knochenhauer. The group maintains strong industry connections through the TUM CAIR Labs initiative, collaborating with over 25 financial institutions including Allianz, Munich Re, Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG. Their RiskFactory laboratory serves as a bridge between academic research and practical financial risk management applications in the industry.
Pavlo Blavatskyy is a Professor of Economics at Montpellier Business School (France). He has held previous academic positions, including Professor roles at Murdoch University (Australia), University of Innsbruck (Austria), and the University of Zurich (Switzerland). His research focuses on decision theory, experimental economics, and behavioral economics, with notable contributions to understanding loss aversion, ambiguity neutrality, and intertemporal choice. He has received the Ig Nobel Prize in Economics (2021) for his work. Blavatskyy holds a Ph.D. in Economics from CERGE-EI, Charles University (Czech Republic) and an M.Phil. in Economics from the University of Cambridge (UK). His teaching disciplines include Economy, and he has authored influential articles in journals like Experimental Economics and Economics Letters . His research themes emphasize decision-making under risk and uncertainty, with studies exploring the Allais paradox, common-ratio effects, and political corruption dynamics in post-Soviet countries. His work bridges theoretical economics with empirical validation through experimental methods. Awards: Ig Nobel Prize in Economics (2021) Advising/Grants: No specific advising or grant details provided in text. No lab affiliations or team collaborations explicitly mentioned in the provided information.
Gavan J. Fitzsimons is the Edward S. & Rose K. Donnell Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business , with a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. He is a Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences . His research bridges consumer psychology, behavioral decision-making, and social cognition, focusing on nonconscious influences on consumption patterns. Education: Ph.D., Columbia University (1995) Key research themes include subconscious consumer behavior , brand relationships , health-related consumption , and social dynamics in purchasing decisions . Recent work examines financial stress effects on purchase satisfaction, secret consumer behaviors in relationships, and pandemic-related decision-making. Notable trends in his 2023-2025 publications involve Marketing's subconscious influence (2025: Quality-Quantity Tradeoffs) Brand teasing as relationship-building (2025: Humor in Branding) Financial constraint effects on consumer happiness (2024: Opportunity Cost Analysis) Crisis behavior during pandemics (2024: Prosociality Across 39 Countries) Health behavior spillovers in families (2024: Parental Food Choices) Scientific Contributions include Foundational work on nonconscious consumer psychology (2008 JCP editorial) Methodological innovations in moderated regression analysis (2013 JMR ) Behavioral economics of brand sincerity effects (2015 JCR )
Maxwell (Max) Boykoff is a Professor in the Environmental Studies department at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). He holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2006) and an MBA from the University of Colorado Boulder (2023), complementing his BS in Psychology from The Ohio State University. His research focuses on two primary arenas: the cultural politics of science, climate change and environmental issues, examining how attitudes and behaviors shape action possibilities; and transformations of carbon-based economies, with emphasis on science-policy interfaces and decarbonization politics. His work explores how climate science finds meaning in everyday life and feeds back into policy decisions. Boykoff's publications demonstrate consistent focus on climate communication, media representations, policy conflicts, and societal transformations. His recent work emphasizes digital communication strategies, climate health connections, countermovement analysis, and creative engagement methods. Article trends show increasing attention to social media dynamics, global comparative studies, and interdisciplinary approaches spanning environmental studies, communication, and political science. Awards & Recognition: CU Excellence in Leadership Program (2022) Contributing Author to IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Deputy Editor at Climatic Change journal (over a decade) He leads significant research initiatives including the Media and Climate Change Observatory (MeCCO) monitoring global climate coverage across 82 sources in 40+ countries, Inside the Greenhouse (creative climate communication project), and the Colorado Local Science Engagement Network . He serves on the Independent Science Panel for New Zealand's Deep South Challenge. Boykoff teaches courses including Climate Change Politics & Policy, Creative Climate Communication, Political Economy and the Environment, and Science & Environmental Communication. He mentors through the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre Internship Program and integrates research with teaching and service commitments.
Jean-Pierre Fouque is a Professor in the Department of Statistics and Applied Probability (PSTAT) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on stochastic processes, financial mathematics, systemic risk, and reinforcement learning, with a particular emphasis on mean field games and multi-scale stochastic models. He explores applications in portfolio optimization, risk management, and algorithmic finance. His work combines theoretical advancements in stochastic analysis with practical applications in economics and finance. Notable contributions include developing models for systemic risk in financial networks, analyzing reinforcement learning algorithms in mean-field frameworks, and studying stochastic volatility effects in derivatives pricing. Recent research trends include integrating deep learning techniques for systemic risk quantification, advancing multi-scale asymptotic methods for portfolio optimization, and investigating strategic interactions in financial systems using game-theoretic approaches. His publications frequently address topics such as stochastic volatility calibration, optimal investment strategies under uncertainty, and the dynamics of financial markets under stress scenarios. Dr. Fouque has contributed to foundational textbooks and edited volumes on systemic risk and mean field games. His interdisciplinary work bridges probability theory, mathematical finance, and computational methods, impacting both academic research and practical risk management practices.
Professor Emma Moore is a leading sociolinguist at the School of English, University of Sheffield . Specializing in the social dimensions of language, her work integrates methodologies from anthropology and sociology to investigate how linguistic variation constructs identity and social affiliations. Research focus: Sociolinguistic style, dialect contact, youth language, identity negotiation, and community-based fieldwork Key projects: Adolescence and grammar (1999-), Isles of Scilly dialect (2008-), language and inequality (2014-), language perception software (2016-) Educational background : PhD in Sociolinguistics, University of Manchester Stanford University (USA) during PhD research Research trends across her 2021-2025 publications reveal interdisciplinary exploration of: Socio-syntactic variation Clinical linguistics (2025 MDS-UPDRS studies) Digital discourse post-pandemic Indexicality and cognitive representations Dialect contact in insular communities Educational policy implications Scientific recognition : British Academy Mid-Career Fellow (2019-2020) Elected Fellow, Royal Anthropological Institute (2014) AHRC/BA funded research projects (1999-2015) Research group leadership : Mentored 9 PhD students (2004-2024) and supervised 3 undergraduate SURE projects, including analyses of: Gender in rap performance Language style and workplace inequality Oral history digitization Professional contributions : Editorial Board: Language in Society (2015-), Gender and Language (2011-2017) External Examiner: Lancaster University MA in English Language (2013-2017) Collaborative software development for dialect perception testing
Antonio De Rosa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Decision Sciences at Bocconi University, Italy. Previously, he held positions at the University of Maryland, College Park (2020–2024), and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University (2017–2020). He earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Zurich in 2017 under Camillo De Lellis and Guido De Philippis. Education: Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Zurich (2017). His research spans Geometric Analysis , Partial Differential Equations , Calculus of Variations , Geometric Measure Theory , Optimal Transport , and Non-convex Optimization . Recent work focuses on anisotropic geometric variational problems, including existence, regularity, and uniqueness of anisotropic minimal surfaces and CMC (constant mean curvature) surfaces. He has also contributed to interdisciplinary applications in Explainable Risk Assessment and Data Analysis . The 15 most recent articles highlight advancements in anisotropic surfaces , min-max theory , optimal transport , and mathematical programming (e.g., K-means clustering, linear programming). Key trends include the intersection of geometric measure theory with nonlinear PDEs and applications in machine learning and transportation networks . Scientific Awards and Grants: 2023 Maryland Research Excellence Carlo Ciliberto Prize (2019) ERC Starting Grant ANGEVA (101076411, 2023–2028) Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) grant (FA9550-23-1-0123) NSF CAREER Award (DMS-2143124) NSF DMS Awards (DMS-1906451, DMS-2112311) AMS Simons Travel Grant Antonio actively supervises research and teaches courses such as Optimization and Introduction to Partial Differential Equations . His work is supported by significant funding totaling approximately €3 million.
George Yin is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Connecticut (since 2020). Previously, he held the position of Distinguished Professor at Wayne State University (2017–2020) and has been a faculty member there since 1988. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University in 1987, along with M.S. degrees in Applied Mathematics and Electrical Engineering, and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Delaware (1983). His research focuses on stochastic optimization, control theory, stochastic systems, and numerical methods, with applications to biology, finance, and engineering. He has held editorial roles at journals such as SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization and has received prestigious awards including SIAM Fellow (2015), IEEE Fellow (2002), and IFAC Fellow (2014–2017). Key funding includes continuous NSF support since 1989, grants from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and others. His work spans theoretical advancements in stochastic systems and practical applications in energy systems, control engineering, and data science. He has advised numerous students and maintains active collaborations internationally. Labs/Teams: Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research, Quantitative Learning Center. Grants: NSF, AFOSR, ARO, NSA, and multiple institutional grants.
Ahmed El Alaoui is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Cornell University, with a secondary affiliation in the Department of Computer Science. He joined Cornell in 2021 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University under Andrea Montanari. His research focuses on high-dimensional statistics, probability theory, algorithms on random structures, and statistical physics, with particular emphasis on spin glasses and algorithmic thresholds. El Alaoui holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley (2018), advised by Michael I. Jordan, and a Master's from Ecole Normale Supérieure/Ecole des Ponts Paristech. His work bridges theoretical and applied domains, addressing challenges in high-dimensional inference, computational trade-offs, and probabilistic models. He has contributed to foundational results in random matrix theory, detection limits in spiked models, and algorithmic approaches to complex systems. His teaching includes courses on high-dimensional statistics, probability models, and theoretical computer science. He has been recognized for his innovative approaches to sampling and optimization in disordered systems, with publications in top journals like Annals of Probability and venues such as NeurIPS and FOCS. El Alaoui's research explores the interplay between statistical physics principles and algorithm design, aiming to uncover computational barriers in high-dimensional problems. His lab develops methodologies for analyzing complex systems and improving the efficiency of statistical estimation in challenging scenarios.
Giorgia Ramponi is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in Artificial Intelligence for Cyber-Physical Systems at the University of Zurich (UZH), leading the Autonomous Learning and Predictive Intelligence Lab. She holds affiliations with ETH Zurich’s AI Center and Chalmers University of Technology. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at ETH AI Center, sponsored by Google Brain. Her research focuses on machine learning and mathematical modeling, particularly Reinforcement Learning (RL), Multi-Agent Learning, and Imitation Learning. Notable contributions include work on non-cooperative Markov Decision Processes, mean-field games, and batch IRL for multiple intentions. Publications highlight advancements in constrained MDPs, policy optimization, and applications of RL in cyber-physical systems. Awards include the IBM Best Student Award (2016) and a Hassler Research Grant (2024). She advises students on topics ranging from RL theory to social network analysis. Her academic journey includes a PhD (Politecnico di Milano, 2021) and MSc/BSc (La Sapienza, Rome) with honors. She has taught courses on AI, data science, and machine learning, and contributed to open-source projects like GAN_Time_Series.
Bryon Aragam is an Associate Professor of Econometrics and Statistics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on the intersection of causality, statistical machine learning, and probabilistic modeling, with particular emphasis on applications to artificial intelligence systems including large language models like ChatGPT and generative models like DALL-E. Dr. Aragam completed his PhD in Statistics and a Masters in Applied Mathematics at UCLA, where he was an NSF graduate research fellow. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, he was a project scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Research Focus: Causal structure learning in probabilistic generative models Key Areas: Causal machine learning, deep generative models, latent variable models, statistical learning theory Applications: AI interpretability, ethics, and fairness in artificial intelligence systems Teaching: Business Statistics, Econometrics and Statistics Colloquium His recent publications demonstrate a strong theoretical foundation combined with practical applications, particularly in understanding and improving AI systems. His work spans causal discovery, graphical models, deep learning, and latent variable modeling, with particular attention to the theoretical properties of these methods and their applications to real-world AI challenges. The research shows a progression toward increasingly complex problems in causal representation learning and AI interpretability. Scientific Awards: Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar NSF Graduate Research Fellow Dr. Aragam's work has been published in top statistics and machine learning venues including the Annals of Statistics, Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), and the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR). His research group publishes broadly across both statistical and machine learning communities, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of his work at the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and causal inference. As a data science consultant for technology and marketing firms, Dr. Aragam has applied his expertise to problems in survey design, customer retention, logistics, and ranking, bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical applications.
Gautam Kamath is an Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo's Cheriton School of Computer Science, a Faculty Member at the Vector Institute, and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair. He leads The Salon, a research group focused on statistics, algorithms, machine learning, and optimization. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in data privacy and robustness, contributing to both academic research and real-world deployments that impact millions of users. Dr. Kamath earned his PhD and SM degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, where he was advised by Costis Daskalakis. Prior to MIT, he graduated from Cornell University in May 2012 with a degree in Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he worked with Bobby Kleinberg. His academic journey reflects a strong foundation in both theoretical computer science and practical applications. His research focuses on developing solutions for trustworthy and reliable machine learning and statistics, with particular emphasis on data privacy and robustness. He addresses fundamental problems in these areas, revitalizing statistical toolkits for the modern data era where privacy preservation is paramount. His work spans theoretical foundations of differential privacy to practical applications that have been deployed at scale, including contributions to systems that protect the sensitive information of hundreds of millions of individuals. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward addressing the interplay between privacy, robustness, and machine learning performance. His work increasingly examines practical deployment challenges while maintaining theoretical rigor, with growing emphasis on diffusion models, generative AI, and the legal implications of AI systems. There's a clear trajectory from foundational privacy theory toward addressing real-world implementation challenges across diverse application domains. Canada CIFAR AI Chair Ontario Early Researcher Award 2024 Caspar Bowden Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies STOC Best Student Presentation Award ICML 2024 Best Paper Award Microsoft Research Fellow at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing Dr. Kamath actively mentors students, with notable successes including Valentio Iverson winning the Germain-Erdős Undergraduate Award and Chris Trevisan receiving the CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. His service to the research community is extensive, serving as Editor-in-Chief of TMLR, on the Executive Committee of the Learning Theory Alliance, and on steering committees for major conferences including ICML, COLT, and ALT. He has organized numerous workshops focused on privacy-preserving machine learning and differential privacy. Through The Salon research group, Dr. Kamath fosters a collaborative environment where postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates work together on cutting-edge problems at the intersection of statistics, algorithms, machine learning, and optimization. The group maintains strong connections with industry partners and participates in major research initiatives, including the Vector Institute's privacy and security research efforts. Looking forward, Dr. Kamath will be moving to the Computer Science department at NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in September 2026, where he plans to expand his research program.
Ali Lazrak is an Associate Professor at the Sauder School of Business , University of British Columbia , specializing in Finance . He holds the Peter Lusztig Professorship in Finance and teaches courses such as International Financial Markets and Institutions and Theory of Finance (2024-2025). His research bridges Political Economy , Asset Pricing , and Behavioral Finance , with a focus on ESG concerns , Voting Theory , and Time Inconsistency . Education: ENSAE (B.Sc.), Sorbonne (M.Sc.), Toulouse (Ph.D.) Contact: Henry Angus Building (HA 872), +1 604.822.9481, ali.lazrak@sauder.ubc.ca His work explores group decision-making in corporate investment, green finance (e.g., the green premium in ESG markets), and time-inconsistent preferences in continuous games. Recent publications highlight how responsible consumption and demand elasticity shape asset prices, and how institutional divestiture impacts harmful asset stranding through informational and economic channels. Scientific accolades include the Jacob Gold & Associates Best Paper Prize (2019), Best Paper Awards at HEC-McGill, UBC, Luxembourg, and Stanford conferences, and the Peter Lusztig Professorship . His methodological expertise spans stochastic control , recursive utility , and dynamic equilibrium analysis .
