Kathrin Karsay is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Journalism and Communication Studies, focusing on the psychological and social impacts of digital media. Her research spans topics like social media's influence on adolescent well-being, self-objectification, and health communication through influencers. Current Employment: Assistant Professor (2021-2023), Faculty of Social Sciences Previous Role: Postdoctoral Researcher at Catholic University of Leuven (2020-2031) Projects: Co-PI for PROMISE (2025-2028), sole PI for Mental Health in Social Media project (2024-2027) Her research emphasizes adolescent psychology , media objectification , and digital disconnection strategies . Recent publications analyze fitspiration , sexualized self-presentation , and privacy concerns . Scientific recognition includes the Reviewer Award (2023) . She engages with public discourse through media contributions, including analyses of TikTok's cultural impact and smartphone use during the pandemic.
Chao Peng is a Principal Research Scientist at ByteDance where he leads the Software Engineering Lab, focusing on AI agents for software engineering. He holds a part-time position as a Postgraduate Student Mentor at Fudan University's School of Computer Science. His research bridges industry and academia, with significant contributions to software testing, program repair, and LLM applications in software development. Education: PhD in Informatics, 2021, University of Edinburgh, UK MSc in High Performance Computing and Data Science, 2017, University of Edinburgh, UK BEng in Computer Science and Technology, 2016, Xuzhou University of Technology, China Dr. Peng's research interests center on the intersection of artificial intelligence and software engineering. He explores how large language models can transform traditional software development practices, particularly in code generation, testing, and bug fixing. His work on LLM4Code has led to innovative frameworks like CodeVisionary for evaluating code generation capabilities and Trae Agent for software engineering tasks with test-time scaling. He investigates the synergy between machine learning techniques and compiler optimizations to enhance software reliability and developer productivity. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on practical evaluation frameworks for LLMs in real-world software engineering contexts. Rather than theoretical benchmarks, his work emphasizes real-world applicability, as seen in RepoMasterEval which evaluates code completion in actual repository settings. He examines multi-faceted challenges including code generation, bug reproduction, issue resolution, and repository-level question answering, consistently addressing the gap between laboratory evaluations and practical development environments. Scientific Awards: Distinguished Reviewer for FSE'25 Invited to program committees for FSE'26, SANER 2026, ASE 2025, and others School of Informatics Scholarship (fully-funded PhD) Multiple national scholarships during undergraduate studies Honours Spot Bonus at ByteDance Dr. Peng actively mentors postgraduate students at Fudan University while leading research initiatives at ByteDance that foster university collaborations. His laboratory work translates academic research into practical tools for software development, with several frameworks deployed in industrial settings. He serves on multiple conference program committees, contributing to the advancement of software engineering research through rigorous peer review and community building. His Software Engineering Lab at ByteDance operates at the forefront of AI-assisted development, exploring how agent-based systems can automate complex software engineering tasks. The team's work on frameworks like AEGIS for bug reproduction and DialogAgent for code question answering demonstrates their commitment to solving practical challenges faced by developers in real-world settings.
Dr. Sue Ahn serves as a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she leads research in traffic flow theory, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications, and traffic operational impacts on environment and safety. Her work bridges theoretical traffic dynamics with practical transportation solutions through quantitative analysis and ITS implementation. Her academic foundation includes: PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (2005) MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (2001) BS in Civil Engineering, Ohio State University (2000) Dr. Ahn's research program focuses on three interconnected pillars: fundamental traffic flow understanding through observation and statistical methods; environmental and safety impact analysis of traffic phenomena; and development of traffic control strategies using ITS. Her expertise spans traffic flow modeling , adaptive traffic control systems , emissions quantification , and connected/automated vehicle integration , with recent work emphasizing machine learning applications in mixed-traffic environments. She translates theoretical insights into practical transportation management tools while maintaining rigorous scientific methodology. Analysis of her 2023-2024 publications reveals dominant themes in connected/automated vehicle control (70% of output), traffic flow theory advancements (20%), and environmental impact assessment (10%). Key methodological trends include deep learning integration (LSTM networks, graph neural networks), stochastic behavioral modeling, and multi-dimensional trajectory optimization – reflecting the field's shift toward data-driven solutions for heterogeneous traffic systems. Dr. Ahn's scientific recognition includes: 2023 Transportation Research Board Greenshields Prize (Best Paper Award) 2020 University of Wisconsin-Madison Vilas Associate award 2019 Transportation Research Board Best Paper in Traffic Flow Theory 2016 Transportation Research Board Cunard Award 2012 NSF CAREER Award 2008 Annual ITS Arizona Conference Best ITS Planning Project She actively mentors graduate researchers through CIV ENGR 890 (Pre-Dissertator's Research) and CIV ENGR 990 (Thesis) courses, with her NSF CAREER grant providing foundational support for traffic flow theory investigations. Current advising focuses on automated vehicle behavior modeling and environmental impact quantification, while future work appears directed toward heterogeneous traffic management frameworks and real-world ITS deployment validation.
Ulrik Dam Nielsen is an Associate Professor in the Section for Fluid Mechanics, Coastal and Maritime Engineering at the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU). He also held an external position as Associate Professor II at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) from 2014 to 2023, reflecting strong international collaboration. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable maritime operations and clean energy. His research focuses on naval architecture and ship motion dynamics , particularly in the context of sea state estimation , added resistance in waves , and real-time prediction of vessel responses . He integrates data analytics , estimation theory , and machine learning to develop methods for monitoring hydrodynamic performance and enhancing maritime safety and energy efficiency. A central theme of his work is using ships as mobile wave sensors—transforming operational vessels into 'sailing wave buoys' for environmental monitoring. His recent publications show a clear shift toward data-driven methodologies, especially machine learning applications in sea state estimation, added resistance modeling, and performance monitoring. These works span journals like Ship Technology Research and Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering , and conferences such as IEEE MetroSea, highlighting interdisciplinary innovation at the intersection of classical marine engineering and modern AI. Best Paper Presented by a Young Researcher Award (First Classified), 2024 (jointly awarded) He actively supervises PhD students—such as R. E. G. Mounet, M. Mittendorf, J. P. Tomy, and A. Oikonomakis—on projects funded by DTU and collaborative initiatives. His leadership in projects like WEFOSWAB (Wave Estimation and Forecasting Using Ships as Buoys) and data-driven added resistance modeling underscores his role in advancing smart maritime technologies. He also contributes to open science through the public release of datasets such as NetSSE . He teaches core courses including Introduction to Ships and Floating Structures , Marine and Ocean Engineering , and Ship Operations , shaping the next generation of maritime engineers.
Siiri Silm is an Associate Professor in Human Geography at the University of Tartu's Department of Geography, part of the Faculty of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on spatial mobility patterns, ethnic segregation, and the application of mobile positioning data in analyzing urban and social phenomena. She has explored topics such as bike-sharing usage, transnational mobility, and the impact of digital technologies on social behavior. Silm's work integrates advanced data analytics with geographic methodologies, contributing to urban planning, crisis management, and cross-border studies. Her research has been applied in contexts ranging from tourism analysis to pandemic-related mobility tracking. Education: PhD in Human Geography (2009), supervised by Rein Ahas at the University of Tartu, with earlier research on Tallinn's urban functions and seasonal social phenomena. Her academic contributions include over 30 peer-reviewed articles and methodological frameworks for mobile data analysis. She has collaborated on projects addressing transnational migration, urban segregation dynamics, and the role of ICT in maintaining diasporic connections. Silm's work bridges social and technical sciences, emphasizing data-driven insights into human spatial behavior. Key Projects: Mobile positioning-based tourism statistics, cross-border mobility analysis, and digital tools for urban policy. Methodological Expertise: Mobile phone data integration, spatial-temporal modeling, and GIS applications. Teaching: Focuses on human geography, urban studies, and quantitative spatial analysis methodologies. Her research highlights include pioneering studies on Estonia's seasonal population shifts and the use of smartphone data to map ethnic interaction patterns. Silm's work is characterized by interdisciplinary approaches, often combining geographic, sociological, and technological perspectives to address complex urban and transnational challenges.
Martina Lindorfer serves as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at TU Wien since 2018 and is a key researcher at SBA Research, Austria's largest dedicated information security research center. Her academic foundation includes a PhD from TU Wien (2016) followed by a two-year postdoctoral position at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research centers on applied systems security and privacy, specializing in automated static and dynamic analysis techniques for large-scale application evaluation targeting malicious behavior, security flaws, and privacy violations. Building on extensive malware analysis expertise, she currently pioneers mobile app analysis frameworks to enforce transparency in private data handling and sharing practices, uncovering novel privacy breaches through innovative tooling. Her exceptional contributions have earned recognition through: ERCIM Cor Baayen Young Researcher Award ACM CyberW Early Career Award for Women in Cybersecurity Research Hedy Lamarr Award from the City of Vienna Through her dual role at TU Wien and SBA Research, she drives critical advancements in security transparency while mentoring emerging researchers in the field.
Dr. Stefanie Boyer is a Professor of Marketing at Bryant University, where she serves as Sales Program Director and leads the Bryant University Sales Institute. She is the Executive Director of the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition and co-founder of RNMKRS, an AI platform for training and assessing sales talent. Recognized as a Poets & Quants Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor (2024) and recipient of the American Marketing Association Sales Educator of the Year Award, Boyer has significantly shaped sales education at Bryant since 2002. Boyer's research focuses on the intersection of sales, artificial intelligence, and learning methodologies. Her work explores adaptability in sales, AI applications for sales training, growth mindset development, team success strategies, sales performance metrics, boundary-spanning roles, and self-directed learning approaches. She has pioneered the integration of AI in sales education through RNMKRS, creating a 'flight simulator' for sales training that provides students with psychological safety to practice and refine their skills. Her publications reveal a consistent trend toward leveraging technology to enhance sales training effectiveness, with increasing focus on generative AI applications in recent years. Boyer's research bridges academic theory with practical application, examining how sales professionals can develop critical skills through innovative training methods. Her work spans traditional sales education topics while increasingly incorporating AI and data analytics perspectives. Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor (Poets & Quants, 2024) American Marketing Association Sales Educator of the Year Award Marketplace Simulations Teaching Innovation Award 1st place (2024) Runner-up James M. Comer Award for Best Contribution to Selling and Sales Management Theory (2023) Forbes Next 1,000 Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Sales Stars (2021) As Sales Program Director, Boyer mentors numerous students and has built a comprehensive sales education program at Bryant. She established the Hauck Sales Performance Lab, a 5,000 sqft facility for engaged learning, and developed a sales minor that combines theory with practical experience. Her approach to advising emphasizes psychological safety, adaptability, and the development of communication skills that extend beyond sales into personal and professional relationships. Boyer has secured multiple teaching innovation grants to develop and implement cutting-edge sales education techniques. Boyer leads the Bryant Sales Team and oversees the Frank '81 and Marion '81 Hauck Sales Performance Lab, which features state-of-the-art technology including gamified leaderboards and sophisticated recording systems. Through the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition, she connects students with leading employers for networking, competition, and recruitment opportunities. Her RNMKRS platform serves as both a research tool and practical application for sales training, demonstrating her commitment to bridging academic research with real-world sales challenges.
Prof. Tegawendé F. Bissyandé is a Chief Scientist in the Professor category at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg. He holds the prestigious position of ERC Fellow and serves as Principal Investigator of the NATURAL project focused on Artificial Intelligence for Program Repair. His research spans software engineering, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on applying machine learning techniques to software development and security challenges. Dr. Bissyandé's research interests include: Software Debugging (especially bug localization and program repair) Software Security (especially malware detection and analysis) Code Search (both free-form and semantic code-to-code) Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing for software engineering Cyber-security applications in mobile and cloud environments His recent work demonstrates a strong focus on leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) for various software engineering tasks. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals several key trends: extensive application of LLMs to program repair and code generation; innovative approaches to Android security and malware detection; development of novel techniques for code search and understanding; and exploration of the intersection between natural language processing and software engineering. His research increasingly bridges theoretical software engineering with practical applications in mobile security and developer productivity tools, with a significant portion of his work focusing on Android ecosystem security and program repair technologies. Dr. Bissyandé has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career: APSEC Best ERA Paper Award (2018) for 'LSRepair: Live Search of Fix Ingredients for Automated Program Repair' IPSJ SIG SE Excellent Research Award (2018) for 'FaCOY: a Code-to-Code Search Engine' FOSS Impact Paper Award (2018) for 'Characterizing Deprecated Android APIs' SANER Best ERA Paper Award (2016) for 'Parameter Values of Android APIs: A Preliminary Study on 100,000 Apps' ASE Best Paper Award (2012) for 'Diagnosys: automatic generation of a debugging interface to the Linux kernel' As an active member of the software engineering research community, Dr. Bissyandé serves on program committees for major conferences including ICSE, ASE, and ISSTA, and has been an Area Chair for ICSE 2024. His industry partnerships include significant collaborations with BGL BNP Paribas (since January 2019), Luxembourg Stock Exchange (since January 2018), and Paul Wurth (January 2015 to 2018), demonstrating the practical impact of his research. He leads the SerVAL lab at SnT, which focuses on software validation and analysis, with particular expertise in mobile security and program repair technologies, and actively mentors PhD candidates through FNR research grants.
Haipeng Cai serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. His academic work spans software engineering, program analysis, and software security with particular emphasis on adaptive analysis techniques for mobile and distributed systems. His research interests center on adaptive/data-driven static and dynamic analysis for security applications targeting mobile apps, distributed systems, and multilingual software. Current work focuses on enhancing vulnerability detection, cross-language bug analysis, and automated security tooling through machine learning approaches. His lab produces tools like VinJ for vulnerability data generation and PolyFax for multilingual software characterization. Recent publications reveal strong trends in multilingual system security and AI-enhanced analysis , with 15+ papers since 2022 addressing cross-language vulnerabilities, Android security, and learning-based vulnerability detection. His work bridges theoretical program analysis with practical security applications in real-world software ecosystems. As an active academic contributor, he serves on program committees for major conferences including ASE, ICSE, and FSE, and will deliver a keynote at PROMISE 2025. His leadership includes journal-first paper chair roles and session chair positions at top software engineering venues. Dr. Cai maintains an active research presence through his personal website , GitHub repository ( github.com/chapering ), and academic social media profiles, with consistent contributions to the software engineering research community since 2018.
Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs is an active Visiting Researcher at Uppsala University's Department of Peace and Conflict Research, with verified contact details at Gamla Torget 3, Uppsala. Her institutional affiliation demonstrates ongoing engagement with one of Europe's leading peace research centers. Her research focuses on critical dimensions of peacebuilding and conflict resolution, particularly examining rebel group transformations into political entities, spoiler dynamics in peace processes, and post-war democratization challenges. Key thematic concentrations include: Civil war termination mechanisms through negotiated settlements Election violence prevention in fragile states Military reform following civil conflicts (notably Sierra Leone and Liberia) Religious dimensions in conflict mediation (e.g., Boko Haram negotiations) Long-term sustainability of peace agreements beyond initial implementation Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent methodological rigor in comparative case studies, with significant emphasis on African conflict contexts. Her work demonstrates evolving expertise from foundational doctoral research on rebel-to-party transitions toward contemporary applications in green workplace innovation and climate-conscious conflict resolution frameworks. Professional recognition includes policy references across 15+ governmental and international organizational documents, with substantial academic impact evidenced by 300+ Mendeley readers and citations in Wikipedia pages covering Sierra Leone elections and peace processes. Her advisory capacity manifests through collaborative projects with senior scholars like Isak Svensson and Desirée Nilsson, particularly in developing practical frameworks like the Brain Train sustainable commuting guide. Current research trajectories indicate growing focus on environmental dimensions of conflict resolution and innovative mediation techniques for contemporary insurgencies.
Rebecca Sear is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Life Sciences at Brunel University London's College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences. She concurrently heads the Evolutionary Demography Group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), where she held a Reader position since 2012. An interdisciplinary scholar trained in zoology, statistics, and biological anthropology, she directs the Centre for Culture and Evolution and serves as President of the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association. Her research integrates evolutionary theory with demographic methods to investigate: Evolutionary demography of kinship networks and fertility Cross-cultural family structures and reproductive health Eugenics history in contemporary academia Methodological innovations in multi-sited data collection Current projects include the ERC-funded 'Family matters: intergenerational influences on fertility' and the 'Beyond the Mother' infant feeding study using real-time app data. Recent publications demonstrate consistent focus on fertility determinants across ecological settings, with emerging critical work on eugenics in population science. Her 2024-2025 output spans high-impact journals including PNAS and Proceedings of the Royal Society B, emphasizing cross-cultural reproductive strategies and pandemic fertility disruptions. Key honors include leadership of the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association. Her collaborative work involves extensive co-author networks across global institutions, particularly in Africa and Europe. Research funding includes the Brunel Research Initiative and Enterprise Fund (BRIEF) for the 'Beyond the Mother' project, examining real-time infant feeding support through the Baby Buddy app. She supervises interdisciplinary teams within the Centre for Culture and Evolution, focusing on evolutionary approaches to health disparities. Her laboratory infrastructure leverages digital health tools for real-time behavioral data collection, with recent work developing mobile app-based methodologies to overcome recall bias in maternal health research.
Associate Professor Michelle Duffy is a cultural geographer at the University of Newcastle's School of Environmental and Life Sciences, affiliated with the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS). Her research explores how emotions, sound, and movement shape human-environment relationships, focusing on festivals, community resilience, and regional development. She holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and has held academic positions at Monash University and Federation University Australia. Education: PhD (Cultural Geography, University of Melbourne), Bachelor of Applied Science (RMIT), Bachelor of Music (Honours, University of Melbourne), Bachelor of Arts (Honours, University of Melbourne). Research Interests: Emotion and affect in place-making, sound-based methodologies, festival studies, community wellbeing post-disasters, and regional resilience. She pioneered projects like the Hazelwood Health Study's Community Wellbeing Stream, investigating the impact of the 2014 coal mine fire on Morwell, Victoria. Her work emphasizes participatory methods, including sound art exhibitions and creative practices to amplify community voices. Grants and Funding: Over $515,000 in grants, including the Hazelwood Long-Term Health Study ($335,500) and projects on regional resilience and festival networks. She has led evaluations of mental health initiatives like the Suicide Safer Schools program. Labs/Teams: Collaborations with the Hazelwood Health Study team, Federation University’s research networks, and interdisciplinary projects on climate anxiety and mobility justice. Current focus includes speculative listening practices and reimagining festivals as social infrastructure.
Giorgio Malet is a Lecturer at ETH Zurich's Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, affiliated with the European Politics Research Group and an SNSF Ambizione Fellow. He holds a doctorate from the European University Institute, with visiting positions at UC Berkeley and the London School of Economics during his PhD. His research focuses on public opinion dynamics, democratic representation in multilevel governance, and the domestic politics of European integration. Notable projects include investigating EU policy impacts on transnational authority support, funded by the SNSF Ambizione Grant. Education: PhD in European Politics (European University Institute), followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich on an ERC-funded project. Teaching includes courses on European politics at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich. Research Awards: Recipient of the SNSF Ambizione Grant and the 2022 EUSA Best Conference Paper Award. His work appears in journals such as Comparative Political Studies and Journal of European Public Policy . Academic Contributions: Leads the European Politics Research Group at ETH Zurich. Active in teaching, mentoring, and collaborative projects on multilevel governance and EU integration challenges.
Elena Simona Lohan is a Professor at Tampere University's Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences , leading the Signal Processing for Wireless Positioning research group. She also holds a Visiting Professor position at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona's SPCOMNAV group. Education : MSc in Electrical Engineering (Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1997), DEA in Econometrics (École Polytechnique, Paris, 1998), PhD in Telecommunications (Tampere University of Technology, 2003) Research Focus : GNSS algorithms, interference detection, wearable computing, and 5G positioning convergence. Her work spans signal processing for GNSS (Galileo, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou), indoor/outdoor localization, and IoT communication. She coordinates the H2020 MSCA European Joint Doctorate A-WEAR and serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Navigation and IET Radar, Sonar & Navigation . Notable projects include GRAMMAR (Galileo receivers), UJI IndoorLoc Platform , and SP4TE collaborations. She has authored over 250 publications and 6 patents.
Dries Daems serves as Assistant Professor in Spatial Digital Humanities at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam's Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities within the Art and Culture, History, Antiquity department, while also holding a Visiting Professor position at Helsinki University. His archaeological expertise spans the Iron Age to Hellenistic Mediterranean with methodological specialization in computational approaches. His research integrates digital humanities with classical archaeology, focusing on social complexity through agent-based modeling, network science, and spatial analysis of material culture. Key interests include urbanism dynamics, artisanal production networks, and human-environment interactions, particularly through pottery studies and socio-ecological simulations. This interdisciplinary approach bridges traditional archaeological methods with advanced computational techniques. Recent publications demonstrate a clear trend toward methodological innovation in archaeological science, with emphasis on quantifying connectivity through ceramic networks, validating archaeological datasets via simulation frameworks, and developing open computational platforms for modeling past societies. These works consistently apply network theory and spatial analysis to Mediterranean material culture. SSH Open Competition XS Grant (2025) Daems leads significant research initiatives including the 3D-CERA-ML project for machine learning analysis of archaeological ceramics and the ModelPlaza platform for socio-ecological simulations. His collaborative projects involve international teams across Europe and Turkey, with funding supporting computational infrastructure development and methodological standardization in digital archaeology. Current courses include Mobility and Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean and Digital Practice in Archaeology. As core faculty at VU Amsterdam's Network Institute, he contributes to interdisciplinary research infrastructure while organizing academic events like the CAA2025 workshop. His work emphasizes open science through platforms like ModelPlaza that provide shared simulation environments for archaeological research communities.
