Dr. Li Chen is an Alfred and Helen Lamson/BORSF Endowed Associate Professor in the School of Computing and Informatics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She leads the CELESTIAL research lab, focusing on distributed systems and networking for machine learning and AI. Her research interests include federated learning, cloud computing, and resource optimization. Dr. Chen holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and has received awards such as the NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4 grant and the BoRSF Endowed Professorship. Education: Ph.D. (2018), M.A.Sc. (2015) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Toronto; B.Eng. (2012) in Computer Science from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. She also visited Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2013-2014). Research spans federated learning frameworks (e.g., SEAFL, FedClust), cloud resource scheduling (e.g., Hadar, HarmonyBatch), and applications in weather forecasting (e.g., MMST-ViT). Her work is supported by NSF, Louisiana BoRSF, and industry partners like XRMedix. Awards include the Alfred and Helen Lamson/BORSF Endowed Professorship (2024-2027), NSF EPSCoR grant (2024-2026), and best paper recognitions at IEEE conferences. She advises a diverse group of graduate students and has supervised alumni now in academia and industry. Teaching includes courses on computer networks, operating systems, and distributed systems. She organizes workshops and tutorials (e.g., 2023 Summer Tutorial on ML & Meteorology) and serves on conference committees such as INFOCOM and IWQoS.
Virginia Smith is the Leonardo Associate Professor of Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, with a courtesy appointment in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. She leads research addressing critical challenges in machine learning systems, particularly focusing on safety and efficiency. Her research interests span federated and collaborative learning, efficient training methods, data privacy, and AI safety. Recent work has explored topics such as model unlearning, LLM security, and resource-efficient distributed learning systems. She has made significant contributions to understanding how to make machine learning systems more robust, private, and efficient while maintaining performance. Professor Smith's publication record demonstrates a clear progression toward addressing practical challenges in deploying machine learning systems at scale. Her recent work shows strong emphasis on large language model safety, privacy-preserving techniques, and efficient distributed learning approaches. The research spans theoretical foundations to practical implementations, with numerous papers appearing in top-tier venues including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, and MLSys. AFOSR Young Investigator Award Sloan Research Fellowship 2023 Samsung AI Researcher of the Year Best Paper Award at ICML 2025 Exploration in AI Workshop Outstanding Paper Award at MLSys 2023 As an educator, Professor Smith mentors numerous PhD students and postdocs while teaching advanced machine learning courses at CMU. She serves as Program Chair for ICML 2025 and co-organizes a semester program on Federated and Collaborative Learning at the Simons Institute. Her research group maintains strong collaborations with industry partners including Amazon, where she has received research awards.
Professor Ruchi Choudhary is a Professor in Architectural Engineering at the University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering, within the School of Technology. She leads the Energy Efficient Cities initiative (EECi), a cross-disciplinary research project focused on strengthening the UK's capacity to address energy demand reduction and environmental impact in cities through research in building and transport technologies, district power systems, and urban planning. Her research interests span urban energy systems, building energy modeling, sustainable cities, geothermal energy systems, and data-driven energy modeling . She has pioneered work in digital twins for energy systems, urban subsurface thermal modeling, and building-integrated agriculture. Her research group develops numerical tools to improve energy efficiency of cities, with particular focus on modeling energy consumption of large building sets at multiple time and spatial resolutions. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trend toward integrating machine learning with physics-based modeling for energy systems, with increasing emphasis on uncertainty quantification, digital twins, and value of information analysis for decision-making. Her work bridges the gap between theoretical modeling and practical urban implementation, with significant focus on city-scale geothermal potential, underground climate change impacts, and energy equity considerations. Professor Choudhary has supervised numerous PhD students who have gone on to prominent positions at institutions including UCL, University of Cambridge, BEIS, Arup, and various international universities. Her research group includes faculty members, research associates, graduate students, and international collaborators from institutions worldwide. Her current research focuses on two parallel investigations: one on using multi-scale multidisciplinary models to address energy use questions in the built environment, and second, on quantifying uncertainties in model outcomes. Current projects include integration of food production in urban environments, analysis of underground transport systems as energy sources, large-scale integration of ground source heat pumps, and distributed energy networks.
Professor Wayne Luk is a Professor of Computer Engineering at the Department of Computing, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London. He leads the Programming Languages and Systems Section and the Custom Computing Research Group, and directs the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in High-performance Embedded and Distributed Systems and the Centre for Advanced Financial Engineering. He previously served as a Visiting Professor at Stanford University from 2006 to 2009. His research spans FPGA acceleration, quantum computing, deep learning optimization, and algorithm-hardware co-design, with affiliations to the CRUK Convergence Science Centre and the Engineering Secure Software Systems group. His research interests include computational modeling for particle physics, causal discovery in agent-based systems, and high-throughput digital electronics. Notable contributions include FPGA-accelerated algorithms for neural networks, quantum circuit simulation, and Bayesian optimization frameworks. His work emphasizes practical applications of reconfigurable hardware in fields like medical imaging, high-energy physics, and financial systems. Professor Luk is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, IEEE, and BCS. His publications focus on advancing hardware-aware machine learning, FPGA-based acceleration techniques, and scalable design methodologies. His research bridges theoretical computer science with applied engineering, addressing challenges in real-time systems, embedded computing, and next-generation computing architectures. His academic leadership includes directing interdisciplinary centers and training programs, fostering collaboration across computing, engineering, and physics. Current projects explore quantum computing tools, causal inference systems, and high-performance graph neural networks for particle physics applications.
Jelle Hellings is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computing and Software at McMaster University , Canada. His research focuses on high-performance large-scale data management systems with a strong theoretical and algorithmic component, including resilient systems (blockchains) , graph databases , and external-memory algorithms . He previously worked as a Postdoc Scholar at the University of California, Davis and earned his PhD from Hasselt University in Belgium. Education: Doctor of Sciences in Computer Science (2018), Hasselt University Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (2011), Eindhoven University of Technology His research interests include scalable resilient systems with Byzantine fault tolerance, database theory, graph query languages, constraints on graph data, and external-memory algorithms for large graph datasets. He has authored numerous high-impact publications on blockchain-based resilient systems, query optimization in graph databases, and theoretical advancements in relation algebra expressiveness. Hellings actively contributes to academic service through program committee memberships and tutorial organization, and he currently teaches courses on future resilient databases and foundational computer science topics.
Vijay Kumar is the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, with faculty appointments in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Electrical and Systems Engineering. He is a leading figure in robotics and computer architecture research. Research Interests include robotics, particularly multi-robot systems and micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), as well as computer architecture innovations for machine learning, GPU acceleration, and datacenter efficiency. His work spans theoretical foundations and practical applications in autonomous systems and hardware optimization. Scientific Awards include: 1991 NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award 1996 Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching 2012 ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award 2014 Engelberger Robotics Award 2017 IEEE George Saridis Leadership Award Multiple best paper awards at DARS, ICRA, and RSS conferences Editorial Leadership includes serving as Editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics and Advisory Board Member of AAAS Science Robotics Journal . His GRASP Lab team developed foundational frameworks for micro UAV testbeds and swarm robotics.
Brandon Lucia is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering. He holds the Kavčić-Moura Professorship and leads the Abstract research group. As CEO and co-founder of Efficient Computer Corp., he bridges academic research with commercial applications in energy-efficient computing. Dr. Lucia received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington in 2013, following an MS from the same institution in 2010 and a BS in Computer Science from Tufts University in 2007. His research focuses on the intersection of computer architecture, computer systems, and programming languages, particularly in energy-constrained environments. His primary research interests include intermittent computing, energy harvesting computers, orbital edge computing, and parallel computing systems. Lucia's work addresses fundamental challenges in creating programmable, reliable computing devices that operate without batteries by harvesting energy from their environments, with applications in sensing, medical implants, and space systems. He also investigates software systems and architectures for making parallel computing correct, reliable, and efficient in the post-Moore's Law era. Lucia's publication record shows a clear trajectory toward orbital edge computing and nanosatellite systems, with recent work focusing on computational constellations, visual navigation for satellites, and energy-efficient processing in space. His research spans both theoretical foundations of intermittent computing and practical implementations in hardware and software. 2021 Sloan Research Fellowship 2018 NSF CAREER Award 2018 ASPLOS Best Paper Award IEEE MICRO Top Picks in Computer Architecture (2009, 2010, 2016) 2015 OOPSLA Best Paper Award 2019 IEEE TCCA Young Computer Architect Award 2022 Engineering Faculty Award As an advisor, Lucia has mentored numerous graduate students including Brad Denby, Zhuo Cheng, and Kyle McCleary, many of whom have become co-authors on his significant publications. His lab developed the world's first batteryless PocketQube nanosatellite (Tartan-Artibeus-1), which was deployed to low-Earth orbit aboard the SpaceX Transporter-3 Rocket. Lucia's research has received funding from sources including NSF, DARPA, Google, and VMware, supporting both fundamental research and practical implementations of energy-harvesting computing systems.
Professor Omer Rana serves as Professor of Performance Engineering and International Dean for the Middle East at Cardiff University's School of Computer Science and Informatics. He also holds the prestigious position of Cross-Council Research Director for the UK National Edge AI Hub, demonstrating his leadership in national research initiatives. Previously, he led the Complex Systems research group and served as Dean of International for the Physical Sciences and Engineering College at Cardiff University. Professor Rana is a Fellow of both the Learned Society of Wales and the Higher Education Academy, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Welsh Ethnic Minority Professors Initiative (WEMPI). His research expertise centers on the intersection of intelligent systems and high performance distributed computing, with particular focus on applying intelligent techniques to resource management in distributed systems. His scholarly contributions span edge computing, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, federated learning, privacy-preserving systems, and sustainable computing. Professor Rana has published extensively in top-tier journals and conferences, with recent work emphasizing practical applications in industrial automation, smart buildings, and sustainable computing solutions. Professor Rana's publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in edge computing and distributed systems research, with a growing emphasis on practical implementations across diverse application domains. His work bridges theoretical computer science with real-world technological challenges, particularly in industrial automation, smart environments, and sustainable infrastructure. Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Professor Rana actively supervises postgraduate students and has secured significant research funding for projects related to edge computing, IoT, and distributed systems. His international collaborations span Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, reflecting his global influence in the field. He serves as a sought-after keynote speaker, workshop chair, and panel moderator at major international conferences including IEEE/ACM Utility and Cloud Computing (UCC) and IEEE Edge Computing. He leads multiple research initiatives, most notably as Cross-Council Research Director for the UK National Edge AI Hub, where he shapes national research directions in edge computing and AI. His work has practical applications across industrial automation, smart building management, electric vehicle infrastructure, and sustainable computing solutions.
Mark Steedman is Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics, with adjunct appointment at University of Pennsylvania. His research spans computational linguistics, AI, and cognitive science, focusing on Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG) and its applications. His research examines: Combinatory Categorial Grammar parsing and semantics Language model capabilities and limitations Cross-linguistic semantic inference Brain modeling of language processing Recent publications analyze hallucination sources in large language models, cross-linguistic entailment graphs, and brain-computer parallels in structure-building. He develops computational models integrating symbolic and distributional approaches to semantics. Honors include ACL Lifetime Achievement Award (2018) and George E. Davis Medal (2001). He serves on editorial boards of major linguistics journals and has authored influential books including 'The Syntactic Process' and 'Taking Scope'.
Mirjana Stojilovic is a Researcher at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC), specifically within the Institute of Computer Engineering (IINFCOM) and the Parallel Systems Architecture Laboratory (PARSA). She also serves as a Lecturer in the SSC - Teaching department at EPFL. Her office is located at INJ 235, Station 14, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Mirjana Stojilović received her Dipl. Ing. and Ph.D. degrees from the School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, in 2006 and 2013, respectively. Her academic journey includes collaborating with the Processor Architecture Laboratory at EPFL as a Guest Researcher from 2010 to 2013, working at the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland as a senior researcher from 2013 to 2016, and joining the Parallel Systems Architecture Lab at EPFL in October 2016. Dr. Stojilovic's research spans field-programmable technology, electronic design automation (EDA), and electrical-level attacks and countermeasures for reconfigurable hardware. Her work bridges the gap between hardware design and security, with a particular focus on vulnerability analysis and protection mechanisms for FPGA-based systems in cloud environments. She has made significant contributions to understanding side-channel attacks, fault injection techniques, and secure multi-tenancy solutions for shared hardware resources. Her extensive publication record reveals a clear research trajectory from traditional FPGA design and EDA topics toward increasingly security-focused investigations. Recent work demonstrates deep expertise in power analysis attacks, hardware trojans, and countermeasures for cloud-based FPGA systems, reflecting the growing importance of hardware security in distributed computing environments. Scientific Awards and Recognitions: Best Paper Award at 2016 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC Europe 2016) Young Scientist Award at 33rd International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP2016) Young Author Best Paper Award at the 20th Telecommunication Forum in Belgrade (TELFOR 2012) EPFL School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC) Teaching Award (2015) Nominated for Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Field-Programmable Technology (FPT) (2020) Dr. Stojilovic has advised numerous PhD students including Coulon Louis, Pirayadi Rouzbeh, and Shrivastava Shashwat, along with past EPFL PhD students Glamocanin Ognjen and Mahmoud Dina. She has supervised dozens of semester and diploma projects focusing on hardware security, FPGAs, design automation, side-channel attacks, and cloud computing. Her service to the academic community includes serving on program committees for FPGA, FCCM, FPL, and DATE conferences, reviewing for multiple IEEE and ACM journals, and acting as associate editor for IEEE ESL and ACM TRETS. As a member of the Parallel Systems Architecture Laboratory at EPFL, Dr. Stojilovic leads research projects investigating security aspects of reconfigurable hardware systems. Her team works at the intersection of computer architecture, electronic design automation, and hardware security, with particular emphasis on vulnerabilities and protections for shared FPGA resources in cloud environments.
Edouard Oyallon is a CNRS Researcher at Sorbonne University's MLIA team within the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR). His research focuses on machine learning foundations, particularly the symmetries of deep neural networks, and large-scale distributed/decentralized training algorithms. He has contributed to frameworks like Kymatio for wavelet scattering transforms and collaborates on projects such as SHARP (Frugal Learning) and ADONIS (ANR-funded). He advises multiple PhD and postdoctoral researchers and teaches advanced deep learning courses at Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IPP). Grants include the ADONIS project (ANR/Sorbonne) and participation in VHS and CoCa4AI initiatives. His work spans theoretical and applied aspects, with recent emphasis on optimizing LLM training at exascale. He maintains active roles in academic service, including organizing workshops on federated learning and graph machine learning.
Dr. Rajkumar Buyya is a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne and Founder & CEO of Manjrasoft , a spin-off commercializing cloud innovations. He has held visiting roles at Imperial College London , University of Birmingham , and Tsinghua University . Research Interests : His work spans Cloud Computing , Edge Computing , Grid Systems , and Energy-Efficient Computing , focusing on utility-driven resource allocation, simulation tools, and scalable IoT application frameworks. He pioneered the CloudSim toolkit and Aneka Cloud technologies. Scientific Awards : IEEE Fellow (2015), Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2016-2021) Khwarizmi International Award (2020), Scopus Researcher of the Year (2017) Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award (2010), IEEE TCSC Medal (2009) Impact : Authored over 850 publications, including the widely adopted textbook Mastering Cloud Computing . Graduated 54 PhD students now in leadership roles at institutions like Newcastle University and companies such as IBM , Google , and Amazon . His research has driven global adoption of cloud/edge technologies in 50+ countries.
Ugur Cetintemel is the Khosrowshahi University Professor of Computer Science at Brown University, where he has been since completing his PhD at the University of Maryland in 2001. His research focuses on data management systems, database systems, distributed systems, and stream processing, with recent work integrating AI techniques into database systems. He teaches courses such as Database Management Systems and Data Science fundamentals. Notable contributions include the Aurora and Borealis stream processing engines, S-Store for transaction processing, and DBPal for natural language interfaces. His work emphasizes scalable, efficient systems for large-scale data challenges. Education: PhD in Computer Science, University of Maryland, 2001 MS in Computer Science, Bilkent University, 1996 BS in Computer Science, Bilkent University, 1994 Research Interests: Data management, stream processing, distributed systems, predictive analytics, and AI integration with databases. Key projects include optimizing database systems for modern hardware, developing real-time stream processing frameworks, and exploring interactive data exploration techniques. Grants & Advising: Extensive contributions to grants and collaborations, though specific grant details are not listed. Supervises graduate students in areas like database systems and machine learning integration. Part of the Brown Data Management Group. Labs/Teams: Leads research within the Brown Data Management Group, focusing on advancing database systems for big data and real-time analytics.
Jignesh M. Patel is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University , focusing on Data Management , System Efficiency (e.g., Scalable Data Platforms), and Human Efficiency (e.g., LLM-Based Query Interfaces). His work bridges Database Systems , Machine Learning , and Human-Computer Interaction . Co-founder of four startups: Paradise (1997), Locomatix (2007), Quickstep (2015), and DataChat (2017). Member of SIGMOD 2025 (AE) , CIDR 2024 (Co-Chair) , and other program committees. Research Interests include efficient data analysis algorithms , LLM-based data interaction , and systems security . His group develops platforms combining scalability and user productivity . Scientific Awards include Best Paper Awards at SIGMOD and VLDB, and Fellowships from AAAS, ACM, and IEEE. He also received Teaching Awards at CMU. Professional Activities feature co-founding startups , serving on program committees , and teaching courses like Database Systems and Advanced Database Systems at CMU.
Jee Choi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. His research focuses on developing high-performance algorithms for big data analytics, particularly in tensor decomposition and parallel computing systems. Education: PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015 MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004 BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2000 Research Interests: Dr. Choi specializes in High Performance Computing with expertise in parallel algorithm design, performance modeling, and energy efficiency. His work targets Tensor Decomposition & Data Mining for big data, developing scalable solutions for sparse and dense tensor computations. He advocates leveraging HPC systems to transform massive datasets into societal benefits through efficient data mining techniques. Publication Trends: Choi's recent publications (2021-2025) demonstrate consistent innovation in tensor decomposition methodologies, with increasing focus on adaptive storage (Alto), streaming data factorization, and energy-aware autotuning. His work spans GPU clusters, distributed systems, and emerging architectures, maintaining strong connections to real-world big data challenges while advancing theoretical algorithm design. Professional Background: After completing his PhD under Richard Vuduc at Georgia Tech (notable for SpMV GPU autotuning and Energy Roofline Model), Choi conducted DoD-funded research on tensor decomposition at IBM Watson Research Center (2015-2018) before joining the University of Oregon faculty.
