Mark Liberman is a Trustee Professor at the University of Pennsylvania , holding appointments in the Department of Linguistics and Department of Computer and Information Science . He serves as Director of the Linguistic Data Consortium and Faculty Director of Ware College House . His career spans linguistics, speech technology, and computational methods. Education: Harvard University (1965-1969), MIT (M.S. 1972, Ph.D. 1975) Professional Experience: AT&T Bell Laboratories (1975-1990), University of Pennsylvania (1990-present) His research interests include: Corpus-based Phonetics : Analyzing speech patterns via large-scale datasets. Clinical Applications : Developing speech biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Tonal Phonology : Studying lexical tone and intonation in languages like Yoruba and Mandarin. Formal Annotation Models : Creating frameworks for linguistic data standardization. Recent publications highlight automated speech analysis, cross-linguistic prosody, and digital biomarkers for conditions like ALS-FTD and Alzheimer’s. His collaborations span computational linguistics , neurology , and cognitive science . Scientific awards include the IEEE James L. Flanagan Award (2017), Antonio Zampolli Prize (2010), and fellowships from the AAAS and Linguistic Society of America . He advises PhD students May Chan and Jonathan Him Nok Lee and contributes to editorial boards for journals like Cognition and Annual Review of Linguistics . His work bridges speech science , language technology , and neurocognitive research .
Mark Y. Liberman is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Linguistics and Trustee Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Linguistics and the Department of Computer and Information Science. His roles include Director of the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC), Faculty Director of Ware College House, and former Director of the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. Education: A.B. in Linguistics and Applied Mathematics from Harvard University (1965–1969), M.S. (1972) and Ph.D. (1975) in Linguistics from MIT. Research focuses on corpus-based phonetics, clinical linguistics applications, tonal phonology, formal models for linguistic annotation, and computational linguistics. He explores speech production, prosody, and interdisciplinary topics like language evolution and neurobiology of speech. Recent articles highlight advancements in speech biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, autism analysis, and computational linguistics. Awards include Fellowships from the AAAS and Linguistic Society of America. He advises graduate students and leads large-scale language resource initiatives like LDC, contributing to open-access linguistic datasets. Labs/Teams: Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC), Institute for Research in Cognitive Science (IRCS), and collaborations in computational linguistics and neuroscience.
Maria Gouskova is a Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Linguistics, New York University (NYU). She is affiliated with the College of Arts and Science and holds editorial roles as an Associate Editor of Language and board member of NLLT and Phonology . Her research focuses on phonology, morphology, and lexicon, with a particular emphasis on morphophonological interactions, sublexicons, and phonotactic constraints. She earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2003) and a B.A. in English Linguistics and German Language/Literature from Eastern Michigan University (1998). Her work bridges theoretical phonology and experimental methods, addressing questions such as how phonological patterns interact with morphology, the role of sublexical phonotactics in grammatical processes, and the learnability of complex segmental inventories. Recent research includes studies on Russian diminutive affixes, gradient phonological constraints, and the phonological properties of compounds. Her publications span topics like allomorphy, lexical phonology, and the typology of morpheme structure constraints. She frequently collaborates on projects investigating the interplay between syntax, phonology, and morphology, as seen in studies of Russian prepositions and compound stress patterns. Her contributions to phonological theory include advancing models of sublexicon theory and nonlocal constraint induction.
Simon King is a Professor of Speech Processing at the University of Edinburgh , affiliated with the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences . He serves as Director of the Centre for Speech Technology Research (CSTR) and teaches courses like Speech Processing and Speech Synthesis , while directing the MSc in Speech and Language Processing . Research Interests His research focuses on: Developing new acoustic models (e.g., Linear Dynamical Models, factorial-HMMs) for speech recognition Advancing unit selection and HMM-based speech synthesis Integrating articulatory measurement data for enhanced modeling Exploring perceptual measures in synthesis criteria Building multilingual speech systems to identify universal speech building blocks Publication Trends Simon's recent work emphasizes deep learning (DNNs, LSTMs) in speech synthesis, multilingual frameworks , and articulatory-acoustic feature integration . His studies often bridge grapheme-based modeling , perceptual error reduction , and noise-robust synthesis . Scientific Awards EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship (2005-2009) Students & Collaborations He has supervised numerous PhD students including Rasmus Dall, Tom Merritt, and Srikanth Ronanki. Current research fellows like Mirjam Wester and Zhizheng Wu contribute to projects such as Natural Speech Technology (NST) and Simple4All .
Ben Eischens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at UCLA. His work focuses on the intersection of phonology and phonetics, particularly in San Martín Peras Mixtec, an Otomanguean language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico and diaspora communities. He holds a Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz (2022) and collaborates extensively with Indigenous communities on language documentation and description. His research explores tone systems, laryngeal features, speech rate effects, and negative nominal structures, emphasizing empirical fieldwork and community partnerships. Recent work includes studies on vowel reduction, polar question formation, and the phonetic grounding of phonological theories. Eischens has presented at major conferences such as the International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS), Annual Meeting on Phonology (AMP), and workshops on Languages of the Americas. His publications appear in journals like the International Journal of American Linguistics and Phonological Data & Analysis. He teaches courses in linguistic theory and field methods at UCLA, maintaining active research partnerships with San Martín Peras Mixtec community members. His work bridges theoretical linguistics with applied documentation, prioritizing Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
Jianjing Kuang is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, affiliated with the School of Arts and Sciences. As Director of the Penn Phonetics Laboratory, they lead research in phonetics, laboratory phonology, and tonal language studies. Kuang holds a Ph.D. from UCLA (2013) and specializes in the interplay between production and perception in speech, particularly focusing on tonal systems, prosody, and cross-linguistic fieldwork. Their work integrates behavioral experiments, corpus studies, and computational modeling to explore phonological contrasts, voice quality, and sound change. Key affiliations include MindCORE and the Center for East Asian Studies. Research interests include multidimensional cues in tone processing, glottal articulations, mapping production-perception relationships, and prosodic sentence processing. Kuang has conducted fieldwork on languages such as Yi, Q’anjob’al, and Mandarin. Their studies address topics like tonal splitting in Yi, cue-changing in Korean stops, and prosodic patterns in Mayan languages. Recent work explores voice quality’s role in pitch perception and prosodic boundary detection. Awards and grants are not explicitly listed, but Kuang’s extensive publications (over 50 peer-reviewed papers) reflect sustained academic impact. They advise graduate students in phonetics and phonology, with active collaborations in computational linguistics and speech technology. The Penn Phonetics Laboratory, under Kuang’s direction, emphasizes interdisciplinary research bridging experimental and theoretical phonetics.
Georgia Zellou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Davis, where she co-directs the Phonetics Lab and conducts award-winning research at the intersection of phonetics, speech perception, and human-AI interaction. Her work investigates how phonetic detail is cognitively represented through variations in speech production, with significant contributions to understanding speech alignment with voice assistants, face-masked speech intelligibility, and cross-linguistic perception of synthetic voices. Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder (2012), an M.A. in Linguistics from Stony Brook University (2007), and a B.A. in Linguistics & Anthropology from the University of Florida (2005, Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). Ph.D., Linguistics, University of Colorado at Boulder (2012) M.A., Linguistics, Stony Brook University (2007) B.A., Linguistics & Anthropology, University of Florida (2005) Professor Zellou's research program centers on laboratory phonology approaches to real-world communication challenges, examining how acoustic-phonetic details influence speech perception across contexts. Her studies span speech alignment with voice-AI systems (e.g., Amazon Alexa), sociophonetic variation in bilingual speech, and the cognitive mechanisms underlying perceptual compensation for coarticulation. She employs experimental methods including eye-tracking, acoustic analysis, and perceptual testing to uncover how phonetic variation functions pragmatically in human communication and human-machine interaction. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) human-AI voice interaction dynamics, including prosodic alignment and social evaluation of TTS voices; (2) intelligibility optimization in challenging contexts (face masks, clear speech for diverse listeners); and (3) cross-linguistic phonetic variation in vowelless words and consonant clusters. These works consistently bridge theoretical phonology with applied speech technology, demonstrating how fine-grained phonetic detail influences communication effectiveness in both human-human and human-machine contexts. Her scientific recognition includes: Fulbright Scholar (2022) for research in France Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring (2019) Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (2020) Amazon Faculty Research Award (2019) for Alexa-related speech studies Dean’s Fellow designation at UC Davis (2020-2023) Professor Zellou maintains an active mentoring practice recognized with the Chancellor’s Award, supervising undergraduate researchers in the Phonetics Lab while teaching core linguistics courses from introductory to advanced graduate levels. Her research program is supported by competitive grants including NSF funding, Amazon Research Awards, and UC Davis internal grants (Hellman Foundation, ISS Junior Faculty Grant), reflecting the translational value of her work for speech technology development. She has co-directed major initiatives including the 2019 LSA Linguistic Institute. The Phonetics Lab she co-leads serves as a hub for experimental phonetics research, focusing on speech production-perception relationships through projects investigating vocal accommodation to voice assistants, nasal coarticulation dynamics, and cross-linguistic prosody. Current collaborations with industry partners aim to implement human speech adaptation principles into voice assistant design to enhance naturalness and engagement.
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'.
Paul Boersma is a Professor of Phonetic Sciences at the University of Amsterdam within the Faculty of Humanities. His research explores how phonetic, phonological, and morphological phenomena emerge through computational modeling using artificial neural networks and Optimality Theory, with a focus on multi-level constraint interactions and distributional learning. University of Amsterdam Faculty of Humanities Phonetic Sciences Key research areas include: Computational Modeling : Simulations of phonological category emergence from phonetic data Optimality Theory : Gradual Learning Algorithm applications BiPhon Framework : Parallel bidirectional phonology/phonetics models Statistical Learning : Cross-situational and distributional learning mechanisms Recent publications emphasize: 2025: Inclusive speech recognition systems using Whisper model 2025: F0 ratio analysis for creaky voice diagnostics 2024: Prosodic clitics in child speech and checked tones in Shanghai Chinese 2023: Distributional learning in developmental language disorder contexts 2022: Substance-free phonological features and ghost segment phenomena He has also contributed extensively to the Praat software for phonetic analysis, with continuous updates since 1993.
Dr. Gábor Pintér holds dual academic appointments as Assistant Professor at Károli Gáspár Reformed University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Department of Japanology) and as Associate Professor at Kobe University's School of Languages and Communication. Born in Hungary in 1977, he earned his MA (2005) and PhD (2008) in Linguistics from Kobe University, Japan, with a dissertation on asymmetrical segment distributions in Japanese. His research focuses on three interconnected domains: phonological theory (especially Japanese phonology), experimental phonetics, and applications of automatic speech recognition in language education. Specific interests include vowel devoicing patterns, prosodic perception in L2 learners, phonotactic constraints, and diachronic sound changes in Japanese. Pintér actively contributes to international research collaborations, including the JSPS-funded project 'Stochastic & theoretical phonological research' and serves as chair of the Phonology Association in Kansai (PAIK). His 15 most recent publications demonstrate methodological diversity, combining theoretical linguistics with computational approaches and experimental studies, primarily focused on Japanese phonetics and speech technology applications. Professional memberships include board positions in The Phonological Society of Japan and memberships in the International Speech Communication Association and Association for Laboratory Phonology.
Erik W. Willis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University Bloomington, where he also serves as Director of Graduate Studies and Director of the Hispanic Linguistics Program. His work focuses on Spanish phonetics, phonology, and dialectal variation, particularly in Caribbean and Mexican Spanish varieties. He employs acoustic analysis and laboratory methods to study rhotic contrasts, intonational patterns, and sociolinguistic phenomena. Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2003) M.A., Brigham Young University (1997) B.A., Brigham Young University (1994) His research spans multiple subfields including: Acoustic characterization of Spanish rhotics Intonational system analysis using Sp_ToBI Second language phonology acquisition Web-based language assessment tools Vowel system variations in Spanish dialects Contextual phonetic realizations in Caribbean Spanish Recent publications demonstrate systematic variation in coda liquids, tap-trill contrasts, and intonational patterns across Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Mexican Spanish. His work combines empirical acoustic analysis with sociolinguistic frameworks to document both phonetic realizations and their pragmatic functions in spoken language.
Prof. Robert Fuchs holds the Frommann Professorship of Applied English Linguistics at the University of Bonn, leading the Chair of Bonn Applied English Linguistics (BAEL) within the Department of English, American and Celtic Studies. His research focuses on World Englishes, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, and the impact of artificial intelligence on linguistic analysis. He actively supervises PhD students in topics aligned with his research group's interests, emphasizing empirical work and data science. Recent research explores language change in varieties like Hong Kong English, Trinidadian prosody, and intensifier usage across cultures. Fuchs frequently presents at international conferences, including ISLE, ICAME, and Sociolinguistics Symposium, and publishes extensively in journals like World Englishes and Language and Speech . His teaching includes advanced courses on corpus linguistics and language in culture, with a focus on climate change discourse analysis. He maintains an active academic presence through ResearchGate, Academia.edu, and LinkedIn. Research Interests: Fuchs investigates sociolinguistic variation, AI applications in linguistics, and the structural features of postcolonial Englishes. His work addresses topics such as vowel mergers in Hong Kong English, lexical stress perception in Indian English, and the role of gender in language use. He also explores diachronic changes in aspects like stative progressives and the perfect-past alternation across Asian Englishes. Advising & Grants: Fuchs oversees PhD student recruitment through research associate positions and self-funded scholarships, prioritizing applicants with strong empirical and analytical skills. His funded projects include studies on pandemic discourse (DisCOVIndUK) and linguistic trends in Caribbean English. His lab, BAEL, collaborates internationally, with ongoing work on Trinidadian prosody and Northeast Indian linguistic ecology. Labs/Teams: The Bonn Applied English Linguistics (BAEL) group, part of the University of Bonn's IAAK institute, focuses on cutting-edge research in global Englishes and computational linguistics, hosting international workshops and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.
Holly J. Nibert is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Linguistics and Director of the Spanish Language Program in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on second language acquisition (SLA) of Spanish phonology and phonetics within the revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r). She also emphasizes principles of teaching Spanish as a second language, instructor training, and language program administration. Education: Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000) M.A. in Spanish Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1991) B.A. in Spanish, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1989) Research interests span Spanish phonetics/phonology SLA, pedagogical techniques, and leadership in language program administration. Her recent work examines applying leadership studies to program direction. She co-authored two Spanish textbooks: ¡Arriba! and Día a día . Key awards include the 2013 WMU Distinguished Teaching Award and multiple teaching accolades as a graduate TA. Her work bridges theoretical SLA research with practical classroom applications, including curriculum design and international teaching assistant training. Her contributions to the field include advancing techniques for SLA of segmental and prosodic features, as well as leadership strategies for language programs. She previously directed Western Michigan University's First-Year Spanish Program for 15 years before joining OSU in 2014.
Arto Anttila is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Stanford University and holds an Adjunct Professor (dosentti) position in General Linguistics at the University of Helsinki. His research spans multiple linguistic subfields with particular focus on the interfaces between phonology, syntax, and prosody. Dr. Anttila's research interests include phonology, morphology, syntax, metrics, and language variation. His work often explores how phonological constraints interact with syntactic structures and how variation manifests across different linguistic domains. He has made significant contributions to Optimality Theory, MaxEnt grammar, and probabilistic approaches to phonology. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on metrical patterns, stress systems, syllable structure, and the relationship between prosody and syntax. Anttila frequently collaborates with researchers like Giorgio Magri, Adams Bodomo, and Ryan Heuser, examining phenomena across diverse languages including English, Finnish, and Dagaare (an African language). Anttila has developed several computational tools for linguistic research, including CoGeTo (Convex Geometry Tools for constraint-based phonology), MetricalTree (for English phrasal stress prediction), Prosodic (for automatic metrical scansion), T-Order Generator, and OTOrder. These tools reflect his interest in the mathematical and computational aspects of linguistic theory.
Jalal Al-Tamimi is an Associate Professor (Maître de conférences) in experimental phonetics and phonology at Université Paris Cité, affiliated with the Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle (LLF). He holds an HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) in Phonetics and Phonology and has extensive experience in teaching and research across institutions including Newcastle University, UK. His research focuses on the interface between phonetics and phonology, particularly the role of acoustic and articulatory correlates in speech production, perception, and acquisition. He specializes in Arabic dialects, using advanced quantitative methods like generalized additive mixed models and machine learning techniques. Al-Tamimi’s academic journey includes a PhD from Lyon 2 University (2007) and postdoctoral roles in the UK before joining Paris. He currently directs the Master in Language Sciences and co-leads research strands on phonetic complexity and language variation. His administrative roles include membership in the AFCP and coordination of experimental linguistics at LLF. Research interests span laboratory phonology, articulatory-acoustic mapping, and the application of automated methods in clinical diagnosis. His work explores epilarynx dynamics in Arabic gutturals and forced-alignment systems for dialectal Arabic. Awards include the Peter Ladefoged Prize (2018) and Leverhulme Fellowships. He supervises numerous PhD and MA students across computational linguistics and phonetics. Publications highlight contributions to vowel dynamics, speech processing in Alzheimer’s, and cross-linguistic phonological studies. His lab collaborations involve the MAUS team and Sorbonne’s SCAI, focusing on speech technology and pathological speech analysis.
