Charless Fowlkes is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). His research focuses on computational vision, spanning human visual system understanding, machine vision systems, and applications in biomedical informatics and forensic science. He holds a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley (2005). His work integrates techniques from computer vision, AI, and applied mathematics to address challenges in automated biological data analysis, morphology, and spatial gene expression. Key research areas include forensic science (e.g., shoeprint matching via 3D reconstruction), biomedical applications (e.g., heart function mapping and pollen classification), and AI-driven systems for scene understanding. Recent projects include a $20M forensic science center funded by the National Institute of Justice. His publications emphasize geometric reasoning, 3D reconstruction, and adaptive learning algorithms. Notable contributions include developing algorithms for 3D human pose estimation with scene constraints, automated pollen identification via CNNs, and frameworks for cross-domain forensic analysis. His work bridges theoretical computer vision with real-world applications in forensics, healthcare, and environmental science.
Byron Boots is the Amazon Professor of Machine Learning in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, where he directs the UW Robot Learning Laboratory. He also serves as a Principal Research Scientist in the Seattle Robotics Lab at NVIDIA Research and co-chairs the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Technical Committee on Robot Learning. Dr. Boots received his Ph.D. from the Machine Learning Department in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was a member of the Sense, Learn, Act (SELECT) Lab co-directed by Carlos Guestrin and his advisor Geoff Gordon. Prior to joining the University of Washington faculty, he was an Assistant Professor in the School of Interactive Computing within the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, and before that, he completed a post-doc in the Robotics and State Estimation Lab directed by Dieter Fox at the University of Washington. Professor Boots' research focuses on the intersection of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics, with particular emphasis on developing theory and systems that tightly integrate perception, learning, and control. His work spans computer vision, state estimation, localization and mapping, high-speed navigation, motion planning, and robotic manipulation. His group develops algorithms drawing from deep learning and neural networks, nonparametric statistics, graphical models, nonconvex optimization, quantum physics, online learning, reinforcement learning, and optimal control. The research demonstrates a strong theoretical foundation while maintaining practical relevance to real-world robotic systems. His recent publications reveal a clear trend toward integrating advanced machine learning techniques with robotics, particularly in model predictive control, motion planning, and learning-based approaches to robot control. His work shows increasing focus on developing theoretically grounded methods that can handle the complex, nonlinear dynamics of real-world robotic systems while maintaining computational efficiency. The publications span top venues including ICRA, CoRL, IROS, and NeurIPS, demonstrating broad impact across multiple subfields of robotics and AI. Finalist for Best Systems Paper at Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL-2021) Multiple papers selected for oral presentations at top robotics conferences Work recognized for theoretical contributions and practical applications in robot learning As director of the UW Robot Learning Laboratory, Boots leads a vibrant research group focused on fundamental and applied research in robot learning. The lab maintains strong collaborations with NVIDIA Research and has produced numerous high-impact publications that bridge theory and practice. Professor Boots teaches courses in autonomous robotics, machine learning, and reinforcement learning, contributing to both undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Washington.
Steven Berry is the David Swensen Professor of Economics at Yale University and the inaugural Faculty Director of the Tobin Center for Economic Policy at Yale. He specializes in empirical analysis of markets in equilibrium, with a focus on industrial organization, product differentiation, and dynamic market structures. He holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1989) and a BA from Northwestern University (1980). His research explores competition policy, environmental economics, international trade, and labor market power. He has served as Economics Department Chair at Yale and Director of the Division of Social Sciences. Berry is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and has advised governments on antitrust, environmental, and trade policies. He is an elected Fellow of the Econometric Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, having won the Frisch Medal in 2017. His work integrates micro and macro data to analyze markets like automobiles, airlines, and media, emphasizing structural econometric methods. Key Research Themes: Empirical industrial organization, demand estimation, dynamic policy analysis. Awards: Frisch Medal, Distinguished Fellow of the Industrial Organization Society. Consulting: Government and private-sector antitrust policy, environmental regulation.
Xiaoxiao Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), affiliated with multiple centers including the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE), Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), and the Global Center for Craniofacial, Oral and Dental Disorders (GC-CODED). She holds a PhD in Statistics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2022) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University's Department of Statistical Science. Her research focuses on causal inference, Bayesian methods, longitudinal data analysis, and survival analysis, with applications in Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular conditions, and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Zhou’s work integrates advanced statistical techniques with medical and behavioral data, including neuroimaging and latent variable modeling. Key areas include handling intercurrent events in clinical trials, causal mediation analysis, and joint modeling of longitudinal and survival outcomes. She collaborates widely with clinicians and biostatisticians to address real-world challenges in healthcare and disease progression studies. Her scholarly contributions span over a dozen peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing methodological innovations in biostatistics and their practical applications. She advises students such as Zhenying Ding and actively participates in academic committees. Outside academia, she enjoys outdoor activities like mountain hiking and weight lifting.
Hans-Georg Mueller is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Davis. His research spans multiple domains of modern statistical methodology, with groundbreaking contributions to functional data analysis, metric statistics, and nonparametric inference for random objects. Key research areas include Fréchet regression, distributional data analysis, network regression, and optimal transport Applications span longitudinal growth studies, brain development, aging and longevity, plant genomics Research Interests : He has pioneered methods for analyzing complex data structures such as functional data, manifold-valued data, and random objects. His work on the PACE approach for longitudinal data has become foundational in the field. Recent Publications demonstrate strong trends in Fréchet analysis, metric statistics, and distributional data modeling, with applications in both biomedical and environmental domains. Books and Edited Works : Author of the foundational monograph Nonparametric Regression Analysis for Longitudinal Data (1988), and co-editor of influential volumes including Change-point Problems (1994) and Mathematical Modeling in Experimental Nutrition (1998).
Bin Nan serves as Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of California, Irvine, where he develops statistical and machine learning methodologies to advance biomedical research and improve human health outcomes through rigorous data analysis. His educational credentials demonstrate a strong quantitative foundation: Ph.D. in Biostatistics, University of Washington (2001) M.S. in Biostatistics, University of Washington (1999) M.S. in Statistics, Virginia Commonwealth University (1997) M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics (1987) B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics (1984) Nan's research program focuses on developing cutting-edge statistical methods for survival analysis, longitudinal data, high-dimensional inference, and machine learning, with direct applications to epidemiology, bioinformatics, and brain imaging. His work addresses critical challenges in biomedical data such as temporal dependence in neuroimaging sequences, estimation of large correlation matrices, and analysis of disease onset with terminal events, all aimed at identifying biomarkers for earlier disease diagnosis. Analysis of his recent publications (2015-2023) reveals a consistent trajectory toward methodological innovation in handling complex biomedical data structures, particularly through de-biased lasso techniques for survival models, neural network applications to censored data, and specialized approaches for longitudinal data with terminal events. These advances predominantly support Alzheimer's disease research and transplant outcome studies. No specific scientific awards were documented in the source material. His research program maintains continuous funding through National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health grants, including a recent $1.8 million award for Alzheimer's disease methodology development. Nan actively collaborates with the UCI Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, though student advising details were not provided. His teaching portfolio includes advanced graduate courses in probability theory, survival analysis, and high-dimensional inference. Nan operates within interdisciplinary biomedical research teams focused on translating statistical innovation into clinical applications, particularly through brain imaging analysis and biomarker identification for neurodegenerative diseases.
David S. Matteson is a Professor and Associate Department Chair in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at Cornell University. He holds affiliations with the Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, the ILR School, the Center for Applied Mathematics, and the Program in Financial Engineering. His research focuses on developing statistical and machine learning methodologies for complex systems, with applications in finance, environmental science, healthcare, and nanotechnology. He received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Chicago and a BSB in Finance, Mathematics, and Statistics from the University of Minnesota. His awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2015), SUNY Chancellor’s Award (2022), and Fellowships from the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and American Statistical Association (2024). Research interests span theoretical methods like changepoint analysis, high-dimensional time series, and functional data, alongside applied domains such as systemic risk, climate change, and medical imaging. He leads major NSF-funded initiatives including the PRISM Institute for Trans-domain Systemic Risk and the TRIPODS Greater Data Science Cooperative Institute (GDSC). Editorial Roles: Founding Editor-in-Chief of Data Science in Science , Associate Editor for Journal of Econometrics , and former editor for multiple statistical journals. Leadership: Chair of the ASA’s Business and Economic Statistics Section (2024), Director of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). Grants: PI/Co-PI on NSF and USAID projects addressing systemic risk, energy systems, and poverty estimation.
Long Nguyen is a Professor of Statistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a courtesy appointment in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is affiliated with the Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) and the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM). His research focuses on Bayesian nonparametrics, optimal transport, machine learning, and spatiotemporal data analysis. Nguyen holds a PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and has held postdoctoral positions at Duke University and the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Institute. Education: B.Sc. in Computer Science from Pohang University of Science and Technology; M.Sc. in Mathematics from Arizona State University; Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley (2007). Research Interests: Bayesian nonparametric methods, optimal transport theory, statistical inference for complex models, and applications in spatiotemporal data, functional data analysis, and hierarchical modeling. He emphasizes developing scalable algorithms and geometric approaches for statistical learning. Editorial Roles : Annals of Statistics Journal of Machine Learning Research SIAM Journal on Mathematics of Data Science Bayesian Analysis Awards : IMS Fellow, ASA Fellow NSF CAREER Award IEEE Signal Processing Young Author Award L. J. Savage Dissertation Award (via student Aritra Guha) Advising & Collaborations : Guided over 20 PhD students and postdocs, many now in academia and industry. Collaborates on projects in AI ethics, music theory, and environmental data science. Active in organizing summer schools in Vietnam on Bayesian statistics and machine learning. Labs & Teams : Co-leads the Statistical Machine Learning reading group at U-M and collaborates with the VIASM on advanced mathematical research in Hanoi.
Charles Doss is an Associate Professor in the School of Statistics at the University of Minnesota. He earned his PhD from the University of Washington in 2013 under Jon Wellner and holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago. His research focuses on empirical process theory, nonparametric estimation/inference for functions with shape constraints (e.g., concavity, log-concavity), and applications to causal inference, birth-death processes, and unlinked regression. His recent publications address problems such as doubly robust estimation for continuous treatments, heteroscedasticity detection, and convex stochastic optimization. He has received significant funding, including NSF grants DMS-2210312 and DMS-1712664, as well as institutional awards. Warwick Mid-Career Faculty Research Award (2022–2023) NSF DMS-2210312 Grant NSF DMS-1712664 Grant He has served as an Associate Editor for The Electronic Journal of Statistics (2022–present) and The American Statistician (2020–2024). He mentors students such as Guangwei Weng, Daeyoung Ham, and Oliver VandenBerg and contributes to outreach programs like Run the World, a Machine Learning summer camp for high school students.
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States
Sabyasachi Chatterjee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He joined UIUC in 2017 after serving as a Kruskal Instructor at the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD in Statistics from Yale University (2014), advised by Andrew Barron. His research focuses on nonparametric signal estimation, shape-constrained estimation (monotonicity, convexity, unimodality), statistical information theory, and resampling methods like cross-validation. He also explores statistical learning theory, online learning, and applied probability. His recent work includes advancements in quantile regression via dyadic CART, adaptive estimation of piecewise polynomials, and spatially adaptive prediction algorithms. Key contributions involve risk bounds for trend filtering and cross-validation frameworks for signal denoising. His research is supported by NSF Grant DMS-1916375 on nonparametric estimation under shape/norm constraints. Chatterjee collaborates on grants and has advised multiple students (though specific names are not listed in available texts). His lab’s work bridges theoretical statistics with practical applications in data science and signal processing.
Lexin Li is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, with additional affiliations at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Program on Computational Precision Health, and the Center for the Theoretical Foundations of Learning, Inference, Information, Intelligence, Mathematics and Microeconomics at Berkeley (CLIMB). He received his BE in Electrical Engineering from Zhejiang University (1998) and PhD in Statistics from the University of Minnesota (2003), followed by postdoctoral training at UC Davis School of Medicine. He joined North Carolina State University as Assistant Professor in 2005, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011, and served as visiting faculty at Stanford University and Yahoo Research Labs (2011-2013) before joining UC Berkeley as Associate Professor in 2014, where he was promoted to Full Professor in 2018. Dr. Li's research spans statistical methodology development for neuroimaging data analysis, tensor statistics, and machine learning applications to biomedical problems. His work focuses on brain connectivity and network analysis, imaging causal inference, tensor regression, dimension reduction, and statistical machine learning with applications to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological disorders. His methodological innovations bridge theoretical statistics with practical neuroscience applications, particularly in multimodal neuroimaging analysis and brain network modeling. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trajectory in integrating deep learning with classical statistical inference, particularly in tensor analysis, functional data modeling, and causal inference. The research shows increasing sophistication in handling high-dimensional, complex neuroimaging data while developing rigorous statistical frameworks for inference. His work increasingly focuses on multimodal data integration and developing methods that can handle the complexity of real-world neurological data. Dr. Li has received numerous prestigious honors including being elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (2017), Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (2021), Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2024). Fellow, American Statistical Association (2017) Fellow, Institute of Mathematical Statistics (2021) Elected Member, International Statistical Institute Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2024) Editor-in-Chief, Annals of Applied Statistics (2025-2027) As an academic leader, Dr. Li serves as Co-Director of the Biostatistics Program (2019-) and Director of Graduate Admissions (2015-) at UC Berkeley. He is an active editor, currently serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Applied Statistics (2025-2027), and has held associate editor positions at multiple top statistical journals including the Journal of the American Statistical Association and Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics. He also serves as a Standing Member of the NIH Emerging Imaging Technologies in Neuroscience Study Section (2023-2027). His research has been supported by various NIH grants focused on statistical methodology for neuroimaging analysis. Dr. Li leads a vibrant research group focused on statistical neuroimaging and machine learning methodology, with strong connections to the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and collaborations across multiple departments at UC Berkeley. His team develops innovative statistical methods that address real challenges in neuroscience research while maintaining rigorous theoretical foundations. The group maintains active collaborations with neuroscientists and clinicians working on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological conditions.
Mohsen Pourahmadi is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at Texas A&M University, part of the College of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on developing methodologies for modeling covariance matrices in multivariate and time series data, with applications to financial analysis, longitudinal studies, neuroeconomics, and high-dimensional data. Key tools include graphical lasso algorithms, Cholesky decomposition, and Bayesian approaches. He emphasizes extending generalized linear models (GLM) to covariance matrix estimation, leveraging prediction theory and stochastic processes. Education details are not explicitly provided in the text. His work spans theoretical advancements in covariance estimation, such as sparse VAR models, nonstationary process analysis, and regularized multivariate regression. He has contributed to applications like detecting cyber attacks on infrastructure systems and analyzing breast cancer data through Bayesian networks. Research interests include time series graphical models, antedependence models for longitudinal data, and regularization techniques for high-dimensional covariance matrices. His recent work explores fused-lasso penalties, Bayesian correlation matrix estimation, and stationary subspace analysis. Pourahmadi has authored numerous articles on topics ranging from multivariate volatility modeling to nonparametric covariance estimation, emphasizing both computational efficiency and theoretical rigor.
David B. Dunson is the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Statistical Science at Duke University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Mathematics. He is also a Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. His research bridges theoretical statistics with practical applications across multiple scientific domains, focusing on developing new tools for probabilistic learning from complex data. Dr. Dunson earned his Ph.D. from Emory University in 1997 and his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in 1994. Dr. Dunson's research focuses on developing statistical methods directly motivated by challenging applications in ecology/biodiversity, neuroscience, environmental health, and criminal justice/fairness. His methodological work spans models for low-dimensional structure in data (latent factors, clustering, geometric and manifold learning), flexible/nonparametric models (neural networks, Gaussian/spatial processes), Bayesian inference frameworks, and models for "object data" (trees, networks, images, spatial processes). His approach emphasizes creating practical tools that scientists and decision makers can use routinely. Dunson's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on advancing Bayesian methodology for complex data structures across applications in biodiversity mapping, brain connectomics, environmental health, and infectious disease modeling. His work shows consistent innovation in nonparametric Bayesian methods, computational efficiency, and the handling of high-dimensional and structured data, always with an eye toward solving real-world scientific challenges. Dr. Dunson has received numerous prestigious awards including: IMS Medallion Lecturer (2019) Mitchell Prize from the International Society of Bayesian Analysis (2018) Carnegie Centenary Professorship (2018) DeGroot Prize (2017) COPSS Award: President's Award (2010) Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (2010) His extensive publication record with numerous co-authors suggests an active research group mentoring graduate students and postdocs. His research on projects like biodiversity mapping (funded by a European Research Council Grant) and brain connectomics indicates well-funded research programs addressing significant scientific challenges across multiple domains. Dr. Dunson's work involves collaborations across multiple labs and teams, particularly through his affiliation with the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. His research on biodiversity mapping, brain connectomics, and environmental health suggests involvement in large, interdisciplinary teams addressing complex scientific questions that require sophisticated statistical approaches.
Robert Nowak holds dual distinguished professorships as the Keith and Jane Morgan Nosbusch Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Grace Wahba Professor of Data Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Based at the Discovery Building (330 N Orchard Street), he leads interdisciplinary research at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, bridging engineering with data science applications. His academic foundation includes: BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Post-doctoral Fellowship at Rice University Nowak's research program spans artificial intelligence, machine learning, and optimization with dual emphases on AI-driven health applications and systems optimization. His work integrates theoretical rigor with practical implementations, particularly in large language model fine-tuning, active learning frameworks, and neural network theory. Recent publications demonstrate strong focus on improving model efficiency, humor comprehension in AI systems, and theoretical bounds for retrieval-augmented generation. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in large language model advancement (particularly humor understanding and task diversity), theoretical neural network analysis (including sparse architectures and multi-task learning), and novel active learning methodologies for open-world scenarios. His work consistently bridges theoretical machine learning with real-world applications in health and recommendation systems. While specific named awards aren't documented in the source material, his appointment to two endowed chairs (Nosbusch and Wahba professorships) represents exceptional institutional recognition of his scholarly impact. Nowak advises graduate students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department and secures significant research funding, including NSF grants such as CIF: Small: Advanced Understanding and Applications of Deep Learning. His group operates within the collaborative ecosystem of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, fostering cross-disciplinary projects that integrate AI with health sciences and engineering systems. Current projects indicate strong momentum in human-AI collaboration frameworks and optimization of language model training pipelines.
Sally Paganin is an Assistant Professor of Statistics at The Ohio State University, affiliated with the Department of Statistics within the College of Arts and Sciences. She joined the faculty in 2023 and holds a PhD from the University of Padova (2019). Her research focuses on Bayesian statistics, computational methods, and latent variable modeling, with recent emphasis on genomic data analysis for cancer detection and software development for hierarchical models. Her expertise spans Bayesian nonparametrics, statistical computing, and domain knowledge integration in modeling frameworks. She actively contributes to the NIMBLE project, an R-based platform for hierarchical modeling, and has developed open-source tools like the compareMCMCs package for MCMC efficiency analysis. Dr. Paganin serves as an Associate Editor for the software section of The New England Journal of Statistics in Data Science and previously served as Treasurer of j-ISBA (2021–2022). Her work bridges theoretical advancements with practical applications in healthcare and computational statistics. Key research themes include Bayesian model assessment, latent variable models, and statistical methods for complex data structures. Her publications reflect contributions to MCMC algorithms, semiparametric IRT models, and prior-driven clustering techniques.
