Charles D. Piot is a Professor and Bass Fellow in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University's Arts & Sciences. His work spans contemporary culture and politics, histories of slavery and colonialism, and transnational African diasporic studies. Ph.D., University of Virginia (1986) M.A., University of Virginia (1982) B.A., Princeton University (1973) Research focuses on francophone West Africa , particularly Togo, with theoretical contributions to modernity , biopolitics , postcolonialism , and transnational migration . He explores how globalization, NGOs, and religious movements reshape sovereignty and social structures. Recent work examines urban informality and economic resilience in African microenterprises. His publications include award-winning books Nostalgia For the Future (2010) and Remotely Global (1999), alongside peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from visa lottery systems to ethnographic theory. As co-editor of Cultural Anthropology (2011-2015), he advanced open-access publishing initiatives. Scientific awards include the African Politics Conference Group Award for Best Book on African Politics (2010) Royal Anthropological Institute's Amaury Talbot Prize (1999) African Studies Association's Herskovits Prize finalist (1999)
Pedro Neves is a Full Professor in the Department of Management and Organizations at Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE), Universidade Nova de Lisboa. His academic background includes a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology/Organizational Behavior from ISCTE-IUL and post-doctoral research at the University of Delaware. He teaches courses in Organizational Behavior, Persuasion and Negotiation, and Entrepreneurship, and actively contributes to executive education programs. His research focuses on leadership processes , particularly the dark side of leadership , interpersonal relationships , organizational change management (especially resistance anticipation), occupational health (including stress perception), and entrepreneurial behavior . His work appears in leading journals such as the Journal of Applied Psychology , The Leadership Quarterly , and Human Resource Management . His recent publications show a consistent focus on leadership dynamics, organizational change, employee well-being, and ethical behavior, often using multi-level and cross-cultural frameworks. He has also edited key volumes such as the Handbook of Methods in Leadership Research and the Research Handbook on Destructive Leadership . He currently serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science and is on the Editorial Board of The Leadership Quarterly and other journals, reflecting his scholarly impact. Pedro Neves has collaborated with doctoral students and researchers globally and has contributed to both theoretical and applied aspects of organizational behavior. He has not received explicitly mentioned scientific awards in the text, but his editorial roles and publication record indicate significant recognition in the field. He is involved in the Leadership for Impact Knowledge Center and contributes to open and customized executive education programs at Nova SBE.
Chia-rong Wu serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Global, Cultural and Language Studies at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, holding this position since June 2019. His academic work centers on Sinophone literature, film, and video games through postcolonial theories, Indigenous studies, diaspora, and ecocriticism frameworks. Dr. Wu earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His scholarly contributions include two monographs: Supernatural Sinophone Taiwan and Beyond (Cambria Press, 2016) and Remapping the Contested Sinosphere: The Cross-cultural Landscape and Ethnoscape of Taiwan (Cambria Press, 2020). He has co-edited Taiwan Literature in the 21st Century: A Critical Reader (Springer, 2023) and is preparing The Southern Discourse in Sinophone Literature: Moving Borders (Routledge, forthcoming September 2025). His research examines cultural production across Taiwan and the Sinophone world, with particular focus on how literature, film, and video games engage with historical trauma, identity formation, and cultural politics. Recent projects explore youth narratives in Taiwanese horror video games, Indigenous perspectives on Oceanic Taiwan, and the global South discourse in Sinophone literature, revealing connections between transnational migration, racial dynamics, gender politics, and indigenous awareness. Dr. Wu serves as executive editor and Advisory Board member of Taiwan Lit and the Global Sinosphere (ISSN: 2994-6816), and holds positions on the Board of the American Association for Chinese Studies, the International Advisory Board of Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Approaches to Chinese Literature (Routledge Book Series), and the Cultural History Editorial Advisory Board (Bloomsbury Book Series). Currently supervising PhD students in Sinophone literary and cultural studies, Dr. Wu is developing a new monograph focused on transmedia narratives of youth politics, continuing his exploration of how contemporary media forms engage with political consciousness and historical memory in Taiwan and beyond.
Nicholas Guyatt serves as Professor of North American History in the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of Jesus College. He joined Cambridge in 2014 after teaching positions at Princeton University, Simon Fraser University, and the University of York. His academic foundation includes a BA and M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. from Princeton University under Daniel T. Rodgers. Guyatt's research centers on race, national identity, and state formation in 18th-19th century America, with core expertise in colonial history, the Atlantic World, and intellectual history of American imperialism. His work critically examines racial segregation, maritime history, and evolving concepts of citizenship and world order. Analysis of his recent publications reveals consistent thematic focus on racial ideologies, colonization projects, and imperial thought across the early republic and Civil War eras. His scholarship demonstrates methodological breadth spanning political, intellectual, and social history with particular attention to African American experiences and transnational connections. His distinguished recognition includes: Stanford Humanities Center Faculty Fellow (2009-2010) British Academy Mid-Career Fellow (2013-2014) Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford's Rothermere American Institute (2013-2014) He actively supervises M.Phil. and Ph.D. candidates in 18th-19th century American/Atlantic history, especially welcoming research on Native Americans, African Americans, slavery/abolition, and empire. His editorial leadership with Zed Books' 'Global History of the Present' series reflects commitment to diversifying historical scholarship beyond Eurocentric frameworks. Current major projects include co-authoring 'Jefferson's Wolf: The Struggle to End Slavery in the Founding Era' (Harvard University Press, 2026) and editing 'The Oxford Illustrated History of the United States' (OUP, 2026), demonstrating sustained scholarly productivity through collaborative academic networks.
David Mwambari serves as Associate Professor at KU Leuven's Faculty of Social Sciences within the Unit Leuven International and European Studies (LINES). He leads the ERC-funded TMSS project on Life Narratives of Violence Among Refugees from Africa's Great Lakes Region and holds affiliations with the Oxford Consortium on Human Rights and the Centre for Mediation in Africa at the University of Pretoria. His educational background includes BA/MA in International Relations from United States International University-Africa, MA in Pan-African Studies from Syracuse University, and PhD in History from La Trobe University. He previously held academic positions at King's College London, Ghent University, and United States International University-Africa. Mwambari's research centers on memory studies with emphases on post-genocide Rwanda, colonial durabilities, and refugee narratives. His work examines how cultural memory shapes state formation, peacebuilding, and identity politics through interdisciplinary methodologies blending historical analysis, ethnography, and critical theory. Recent projects investigate vernacular memory practices during crises and the spatial dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction. His scientific contributions include the monograph Navigating Cultural Memory (Oxford University Press, 2023), co-edited volume Beyond History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020), and editorial roles for Qualitative Research journal and Brill's 'Mobilizing Memory' series. His publications demonstrate evolving focus from leadership studies toward memory politics and decolonial research methodologies. European Research Council (ERC) Grant for TMSS Project Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge African Academic Diaspora Fellow at CODESRIA FWO Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Mwambari actively mentors early-career scholars across Africa, Latin America, and East Asia while contributing to public discourse through Al Jazeera and community projects training history teachers in East Africa. His consultancy work addresses cross-disciplinary challenges in healthcare, education, and security, reflecting his commitment to applied scholarship beyond traditional academic boundaries.
Thompson S.H. Teo is a Professor in the Department of Analytics and Operations (DAO) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. He holds editorial roles in top journals including European Journal of Information Systems, International Journal of Information Management, and Communications of the AIS. His research spans information systems strategy, business-IT alignment, e-commerce, sustainability, and AI's societal impacts. With over 200 publications, he ranked #143 globally in 2023 among business scientists (research.com) and was recognized in Stanford's top 2% global scientists (2021-2023). Awards include the Best Associate Editor Award (2017) and AIS Distinguished Membership. Thompson's research interests include IT adoption, cyberloafing, supply chain digitalization, and green innovation. He teaches courses on innovation, Industry 4.0, and strategic IT at undergraduate, masters, and executive levels. Notable contributions include frameworks for commute experience analysis and AI adoption market signals. His work bridges theory and practice, addressing challenges in sustainability, organizational behavior, and digital governance. Affiliations: NUS Business School, Distinguished Editorial Advisory Board (IJoIM), Senior Member (INFORMS) Grants & Leadership: Extensive editorial leadership, supervised China Scholarship Council PhD students, and executive programs on innovation design thinking. Key Contributions: Over 270 publications, four co-edited books on IT/e-commerce, and policy-relevant studies on environmental regulations and green tech adoption. His research often employs mixed methods (e.g., QCA for corruption analysis, PLS-SEM for cyberloafing models) and addresses global issues like fake news mitigation via ChatGPT and pandemic-era customer engagement in short videos.
Susan Smith-Peter is a Professor of History at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, specializing in Russian history beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg. Her research focuses on regional identity, civil society development, and imperial governance in 19th-century Russia, with particular attention to Siberia and provincial dynamics. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.A. from Ohio University. Her work analyzes how Tsarist administrative frameworks fostered subnational identities through statistical bureaus, agricultural societies, and provincial newspapers. Notable contributions include *Imagining Russian Regions* (2018), which argues that autocracy’s civil society initiatives inadvertently fueled revolutionary movements. Her research has been supported by grants from the Fulbright Program, American Historical Association, and IREX. Professor Smith-Peter’s publications span journals like *Slavic Review* and *Kritika*, exploring topics from sugar beet industries to colonial Alaska. She has translated key texts into Russian and edited historical documents such as *The Great Republic Tested by the Touch of Truth*. She serves on campus committees and previously chaired Columbia University’s Seminar on Slavic History and Culture. Key Awards: Fulbright Fellowship, American Historical Association Grant, IREX Grant Grants: Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, University of Illinois Grant, CUNY Grant Her interdisciplinary approach bridges economic, cultural, and political history, emphasizing regional agency within imperial contexts. Ongoing projects explore Siberian historiography and the legacy of 19th-century provincial activism.
Professor Merje Kuus is a distinguished political geographer at the Department of Geography , Faculty of Arts , University of British Columbia . Her work bridges political geography , international relations , and sociology to examine knowledge production in policy-making contexts. PhD from Syracuse University (1999) WSET Level 3 Award in Wine holder Active in Arctic Circle's Mission Council on the GlobalArctic Research focuses on expertise in diplomatic practices , with empirical specializations in European Union and Arctic governance . She also explores geographical imaginaries in wine production , connecting policy analysis to cultural geography. Key publications include: Geopolitics and Expertise: Knowledge and Authority in European Diplomacy (Wiley Blackwell, 2014) Geopolitics Reframed: Security and Identity in Europe’s Eastern Enlargement (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) Ashgate Research Companion to Critical Geopolitics (co-edited, 2013) Recent scientific awards include: Fulbright Fellowship Killam Fellowship SSHRC Canada grants Her supervision portfolio spans climate governance, disaster response expertise, and transnational policy networks, with completed PhD theses on topics ranging from Vancouver's climate governance to Arctic resource governance .
Timo Minssen is Professor of Law at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and the Founding Director of UCPH's Center for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law (CeBIL). He also holds affiliations as an LML Research Affiliate at the University of Cambridge and an Inter-CeBIL Research Affiliate at Harvard Law School's Petrie-Flom Centre. With extensive expertise in Intellectual Property, Competition, and Regulatory Law, Minssen focuses on the legal aspects of emerging health and life science technologies, including genome editing, big data, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology. His educational background includes a German law degree (Staatsexamen) from Georg-August-University in Göttingen, and Swedish biotech & IPR related LL.M., LL.Lic., and LL.D. degrees from Lund University and Uppsala University. His PhD thesis on the patentability of biopharmaceutical technology in the US & Europe received the prestigious Swedish King Oscar award. 2024: TUM Global Visiting Professor, Technical University of Munich (Germany) 2016: Visiting Research Fellow, University of Cambridge (UK) 2014: Visiting Research Fellow, University of Oxford (UK) 2013-14: Visiting Scholar, Harvard Law School (US) 2012: LL.D. - Doctor of Laws (Swedish "juris doktor"), EU/US patent law, Lund University, Sweden Minssen's research spans AI & Big Data in Health & Life Sciences, Sustainable and responsible innovation & tech transfer, Pharmaceutical-, Life Science- & Biotech Law, Comparative European & US Patent Law, Intellectual Property Law & Open Innovation, and EU Competition- & US Antitrust Law. His work addresses legal issues throughout the lifecycle of health and life science products and processes, from R&D regulation to technology transfer and commercialization. His extensive publication record includes 7 books and over 200 articles and book chapters published in leading journals such as Science, Nature Biotechnology, JAMA, and Harvard Business Review. His research has been featured in The Economist, Financial Times, and other major media outlets. Minssen's recent work shows a strong focus on AI regulation, quantum technology law, and data governance in health contexts, reflecting the evolving landscape of technology and law. Scientific Awards and Recognition King Oscar award for best Jur. Dr. thesis (2014) Jorcks Fonds Forsknings Pris (Jorck's Foundation Research Prize) (2017) Awapatent Research Prize (2009) Max Planck Research Scholarship (2005) Visiting Scholar appointments at Harvard Law School, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge Recipient of a Novo Nordisk Foundation Grant for a "Collaborative Research Program in Biomedical Innovation Law" (2018) As an advisor, Minssen serves international organizations including the WHO, WIPO, and EU Commission. He has supervised numerous PhD students in areas including pharmaceutical law, biotechnology patents, and antimicrobial resistance. His current research projects include the Novo Nordisk Foundation's International Collaborative Bioscience Innovation & Law (Inter-CeBIL) Programme (50 million DKK), CLASSICA: EU Horizon Project on AI-assisted surgery, and AI@Care: Law and Ethics and Algorithmic Bias in Healthcare. Minssen leads the Center for Advanced Studies in Bioscience Innovation Law (CeBIL), which serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research on the intersection of law, technology, and innovation in the health and life sciences. The center collaborates with institutions worldwide to address pressing legal challenges in emerging technologies.
Dr. Tani Barlow is the George & Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, affiliated with the Chao Center for Asian Studies and the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. A leading scholar in Modern Chinese intellectual history, her work bridges gender studies, media culture, and transnational feminism. She co-founded the Chinese Commercial Advertising Archive and edits the acclaimed journal positions: asia critique . Her research examines late 19th to early 20th century China through lenses of consumer culture, feminist theory, and cultural ephemera. Notable books include In the Event of Women (2018) and The Question of Women in Chinese Feminism (2004). Barlow holds visiting professorships at Tsinghua University, Hitotsubashi University, and the University of Bologna. She has directed major projects like the Rockefeller Foundation's Critical Asian Studies initiative and the Luce Foundation’s Ephemera Project. Her articles span journals like Boundary 2 and differences , analyzing topics from advertising art to Marxist sociology. Her recent work explores digital humanities applications in historical research and the intersections of capitalism with gendered identities in China. Barlow mentors advanced graduate students specializing in modern Chinese history with technical skills in data analysis and cultural theory. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates visual studies, political economy, and feminist critique to reframe understandings of China’s modernization processes.
Geraldine Heng is the Mildred Hajek Vacek and John Roman Vacek Chair in English at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is cross-appointed to Middle Eastern Studies, Women's Studies, Jewish Studies, and the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Social Justice. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023 and a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, she founded and directs the Global Middle Ages Project (G-MAP), a major interdisciplinary initiative promoting global perspectives on premodernity. With a Ph.D. from Cornell University, Heng has pioneered the field of premodern critical race studies, fundamentally challenging the assumption that race is a modern construct. Her research focuses on literary, cultural, and social encounters between worlds, particularly through the lenses of race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion, with special attention to medieval Europe's interactions with Asia and Africa. Heng's scholarly work reveals how medieval global connections shaped cultural production and identity formation long before the so-called 'Age of Exploration.' Her approach synthesizes literary analysis, historical research, and critical theory to uncover the deep roots of globalization and its implications for understanding contemporary identity politics and cultural exchange. Her publications demonstrate a consistent trajectory toward increasingly global frameworks, moving from studies of medieval romance to comprehensive examinations of early global interconnectedness. This evolution reflects her commitment to dismantling Eurocentric narratives of the medieval world and revealing the complex networks of exchange that characterized premodern societies across Afro-Eurasia. 2019 PROSE prize in Global History 2019 Academy of American Literature prize in Historical Studies 2019 Robert W. Hamilton Grand Prize 2020 Otto Gründler prize Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023) Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America Heng has secured approximately $750,000 in grants for digital projects and held eight major fellowships at research centers. She co-edits the Cambridge University Press Elements series in the Global Middle Ages and the University of Pennsylvania Press series RaceB4Race: Critical Studies of the Premodern. Her teaching encompasses courses on early global literatures, premodern race, Crusades literature, Arthurian traditions, and feminist theory. As founder and director of the Global Middle Ages Project (G-MAP), Heng has built an international scholarly network that challenges traditional disciplinary boundaries and promotes collaborative approaches to studying premodern global connections. The project has fostered numerous digital initiatives, publications, and conferences that have significantly reshaped how scholars understand medieval intercultural exchange.
Sophie Salvo serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Chicago, where she has taught since 2018. Holding a Ph.D. from Columbia University (2017), her scholarship bridges German literary studies, gender theory, and the history of linguistic thought, with primary focus on the nineteenth century and extending to contemporary political literature. Her acclaimed monograph Articulating Difference: Sex and Language in the German Nineteenth Century (University of Chicago Press, 2024) examines how gendered conceptions of language shaped intellectual discourse and literary production. Education Ph.D. in Germanic Studies, Columbia University, 2017 Salvo's research investigates the historical interplay between sex, gender, and language in German intellectual history, tracing how gendered tropes influenced linguistic analysis from Grimm's grammatical gender theories to modernist literary experiments. Her work reveals how patriarchal frameworks became embedded in linguistic science while highlighting women's contributions to language studies despite systemic exclusion. Current projects include an edited volume on the 'Reinvention of Patriarchy' around 1800 and a book analyzing twenty-first century political novels across the ideological spectrum. Her 2019-2024 publications demonstrate consistent interdisciplinary rigor, connecting historical linguistics with feminist theory and political analysis. Articles like 'Father is Always Uncertain' (2024) on Bachofen's patriarchal epistemology and 'The Sex of Language' (2021) on Jacob Grimm collectively chart how gendered assumptions permeated linguistic discourse, influencing both nineteenth-century scholarship and contemporary debates about inclusive language. Salvo actively mentors graduate research on topics including sexuality in Realism, women's writing, Holocaust representations in East German textbooks, and the rise of right-wing politics in post-reunification Germany. As co-organizer of the German Studies Scholarly Seminar at the Newberry Library, she facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue through regular events featuring scholars from institutions nationwide. Her teaching encompasses courses on Robert Musil, gender and sexuality studies, and contemporary political literature, reflecting her commitment to connecting historical analysis with urgent contemporary issues.
Sarah Banet-Weiser is the Walter H. Annenberg Dean and Lauren Berlant Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. She also holds a Research Professor position at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and directs the Center for Collaborative Communication (C3). Previously, she served as Head of the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics (LSE) and held leadership roles at the University of Southern California, including Vice Dean and Director of the School of Communication. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on gender in media, consumer culture, neoliberal capitalism, branding, and social media. Key publications include Authentic™: The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture (NYU Press, 2012), Empowered: Popular Feminism and Popular Misogyny (Duke, 2018), and Believability: Sexual Violence, Media, and the Politics of Doubt (2024). She has edited flagship journals like American Quarterly and co-edits Communication, Culture, Critique . Education: B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Communication from the University of California, San Diego (1989–1995). Editorial Roles: Former editor of American Quarterly ; founding co-editor of NYU Press’ Critical Cultural Communication Studies series. Her awards include the ICA Outstanding Book Award, Mellon Mentoring Award, and Distinguished Faculty Fellow at USC. She has held fellowships at the Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (Paris), Microsoft Research New England, and McGill University. Teaching and courses cover gender, media economies, popular culture, and crisis communication. Her work bridges activism and academia, examining media’s role in global cultural politics.
Dr. Ali Kassem is a Lecturer in Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. His academic work spans multiple disciplines, focusing on decolonial approaches to understanding power dynamics, knowledge production, and social formations across the Arab-majority world and beyond. Dr. Kassem received his PhD from the School of Law, Politics, and Sociology at the University of Sussex. He completed postdoctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Edinburgh and was an early career fellow with the Arab Council for Social Sciences funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. His academic journey includes teaching and research positions at Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich, EHESS in Paris, American University of Beirut, and Lebanese American University. Dr. Kassem's research examines contemporary coloniality across questions of power and knowledge. His work spans anti-Muslim racism within Arab-majority contexts, transformations in Islamic educational institutions, dehumanization of Syrian refugees, and urban transformations in Lebanon. His transdisciplinary approach engages ethnic and racial studies, sociology of religion, social psychology, migration studies, and urban studies, working alongside anticolonial thinkers including Frantz Fanon, Ali Shariati, and James Baldwin. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on decolonial theory applied to education, urban studies, and Islamic contexts. Dr. Kassem's work consistently challenges Eurocentric frameworks while exploring alternatives emerging from the Global South. His research demonstrates particular attention to Lebanon and the eastern Mediterranean region as sites for theorizing global coloniality. Dr. Kassem has authored the book "Islamophobia and Global Coloniality: the Lived Erasure of Visibly Muslim Women in Lebanon" (Bloomsbury Academic, February 2023) and is currently editing "Decoloniality and Arabo-Islamicate Worlds" (Bristol University Press, 2025). His scholarly contributions appear in journals including Ethnic and Racial Studies, Globalizations, Contemporary Religion, and Review of Middle East Studies.
Harri Ylönen serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Film at Aalto University, Finland, specializing in cinematic production with emphasis on editing techniques and narrative development across documentary and fiction genres. His research spans critical areas including: Film Editing Methodologies Documentary Storytelling Fiction Film Production Television Series Development Creative Media Industries Professor Ylönen's mentorship has yielded exceptional student outcomes, with supervised works achieving international recognition. His students' films—such as Siiri Vaara's documentary 'Where the Light Breaks into Shards' and Sameli Muurimäki's 'Lollipop'—secured official selections across major festivals including International Short Film Competition, New Nordic Films, and R&A Shorts competitions throughout 2023. Professional contributions include editorial roles on prominent Finnish productions like the 'Paratiisi' TV series franchise (2020-2024), 'Helsinki-syndrooma', and feature films including 'A Rare Grand Alignment' (2023), demonstrating consistent engagement with contemporary cinematic practices.
