Prof. Dr. Matthias Weidlich is a faculty member at Humboldt University of Berlin within the Institute of Computer Science under the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences . His research focuses on Process Mining , Complex Event Processing , and Data Privacy with applications in Business Process Management and Scientific Workflows . Research Interests: Business Process Management and Process Mining Complex Event Processing and Stream Data Analysis Data Privacy and Security in Process Systems Scientific Workflow Systems and User Behavior Heterogeneous Network Embeddings Algorithm Design and Optimization Recent Publications (2023-2025) demonstrate expertise in: Efficient stream processing techniques Privacy-preserving process mining frameworks Scientific workflow analysis tools Graph neural network applications Multi-modal data integration Adaptive querying systems Contact: Office: Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin Phone: 030 2093-41277 Email: matthias.weidlich@hu-berlin.de Web: hu.berlin/data
Raul Castro Fernandez is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, where he researches data ecology, a concept he created to study how data shapes our world and how we can shape it back. He is the faculty co-lead of the Data Science Institute's Data Ecology Research Initiative and a member of ChiData, the data systems research group at the University of Chicago. He is also co-founder and Chief Research Officer at invocate and co-runs Chicago Data Night, a forum connecting industry and academia in Chicago. Castro Fernandez's research focuses on data ecology, data discovery, data markets, and data integration. He develops both theory and systems that help people and organizations find, evaluate, and use data effectively. His work often uses techniques from data management, statistics, and machine learning. He has pioneered concepts in data market design, understanding the economics of data, and building platforms to support markets of data. His research on data ecology frames how data moves through and transforms technological, economic, and social systems—and how to design interventions to make those ecosystems more valuable, equitable, and resilient. His publications reveal a strong focus on data markets, data discovery, and LLM applications for data management. Recent work includes Pneuma (leveraging LLMs for tabular data), Solo (data discovery using natural language), and Nexus (correlation discovery for spatio-temporal data). His research spans theoretical foundations of data value to practical systems for data sharing and discovery. SIGMOD Test of Time Award (2023) NSF CAREER Award (2024) Sloan Research Fellowship (2025) Castro Fernandez has advised numerous PhD, Master's, and undergraduate students who have gone on to pursue PhDs at institutions like University of Washington and Stony Brook, joined companies like Google, Anthropic, and Citadel, or founded startups. His teaching includes courses on The Value of Data, Ethics in Data Science, and Introduction to Databases. He serves on program committees for major conferences including SIGMOD, VLDB, and CIDR, and has been recognized as a Distinguished Reviewer by multiple venues.
Barzan Mozafari is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and leads a research group focused on scalable database systems and approximate computing. He holds a PhD from UCLA (2011) and was a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT. His research emphasizes data-intensive systems, combining statistical models, optimization, and machine learning to enhance database performance and predictability. Notable projects include BlinkDB (approximate query processing), DBSeer (database diagnosis), and VerdictDB (platform-independent AQP). He co-founded Keebo, advancing data learning technologies, and contributed to SnappyData (acquired by TIBCO). His work spans technical innovations like CATS/VATS scheduling algorithms (adopted in MySQL/MariaDB) and grants such as ConFlux (NSF-funded supercomputing-big data integration) and a smart black-box for autonomous vehicles. Awards include the NSF CAREER Award and Best Paper recognitions at SIGMOD and EuroSys. Teaching includes EECS 484/584 (Database Management Systems) and advanced topics courses. He advises students like Yongjoo Park (SIGMOD Dissertation Runner-Up), Jiamin Huang, and Boyu Tian.
Yongshan Ding is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Applied Physics at Yale University. He leads the Quantum Systems Lab (QSL) and directs Yale's Quantum Science and Engineering Certificate program. Affiliated with the Yale Quantum Institute (YQI) and Computer Systems Lab (CSL), his research focuses on quantum computing systems spanning algorithms, architecture, and hardware/software co-design. Dr. Ding earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.Sc. from Carnegie Mellon University. He has received prestigious awards including the Siebel Scholarship (2020) and William Rainey Harper Dissertation Fellowship (2020). Research Interests: Quantum computing architectures, noise-resilient quantum algorithms, error correction methods, quantum compilation, hardware-software co-design, and NISQ system optimization. Editorial Roles: Editor at Quantum journal and Associate Editor at ACM Transactions on Quantum Computing . Labs: Founder of Yale's Quantum Systems Lab (QSL) and contributor to the Computer Systems Lab (CSL). Awards: Siebel Scholarship (2020) William Rainey Harper Dissertation Fellowship (2020) QCE Best Paper Award (2024) IEEE Micro Top Picks Honorable Mention (2023, 2020) IBM Q Best Paper Award, First Prize (2020) Mathematics Competition Runner Up (2016)
Professor Kirk R. Pruhs is a full Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information. He holds editorial roles at journals such as the Journal of Scheduling and ACM Transactions on Algorithms. His research focuses on algorithmic problems in green computing, scheduling, online optimization, and resource management. Pruhs has advised numerous PhD students and has a strong publication record in top venues like SODA, STOC, and FOCS. His work often addresses energy-efficient algorithms and computational resource management. Notable contributions include studies on stochastic scheduling, energy-efficient routing, and competitive analysis of online algorithms. Education: BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Iowa State University (1984), PhD in Computer Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison (1989). Research Interests: Algorithmic challenges in green computing, fair allocation mechanisms, scheduling under uncertainty, and online optimization techniques. He explores how computational methods can improve energy efficiency and resource allocation in distributed systems. Recent articles focus on robust scheduling strategies, stochastic systems, and algorithmic approaches to network design and resource optimization. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications in sustainable computing. Students: Includes Jonathan Beaver (2006), Mohamed Aly (2008), Christine Chung (2009), Daniel Cole (2013), Neal Barcelo (2015), Michael Nugent (2015), and Alireza Samadian Zakaria (2021). Labs/Teams: Engaged in algorithm design and analysis within the Department of Computer Science, contributing to initiatives in computational sustainability and high-performance computing.
Sharad Mehrotra is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), leading the Center for Emergency Response Technologies (CERT) and directing the NSF-funded RESCUE project. He previously served at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin (1993). His research focuses on data management, IoT systems, privacy-preserving technologies, and smart spaces, with contributions to frameworks like TIPPERS and MARS. Education: Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin, 1993 Research Interests: His work bridges database systems, security, and IoT, emphasizing privacy in smart environments. Notable projects include sentient space technologies for disaster response, cryptographic methods for encrypted data queries, and semantic IoT integration. Recent efforts address privacy in multi-owner data systems and resilient community water infrastructure. Awards & Recognition: ACM Fellow (2024) SIGMOD Best Paper (2001), DASFAA Best Paper (2004) NAVWAR Innovation Award (2021) Outstanding Graduate Mentor (2005) Grants & Leadership: As RESCUE PI, he managed $12.5M NSF funding, developing crisis-response software deployed by emergency agencies. Collaborations include the Cal-IT2 institute (UCSD/UCI) and the US Navy’s TIPPERS platform. He co-leads initiatives like the NSF Civic Innovation Challenge for disaster resilience in aging communities. Labs & Teams: Directs UCI’s Information Systems Group and CERT, fostering interdisciplinary research with 60+ members. His teams produce open-source tools (e.g., SEMIoTIC, PrivacySphere) and engage in global partnerships via Fulbright Visiting Scholar programs.
Sandy Irani is a Full Professor at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the Department of Computer Science within the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. She received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1991 and has been at UCI since 1992. Her research focuses on algorithm design, computational complexity theory, and quantum computing, with notable contributions to online algorithms and quantum complexity theory. She currently serves as Associate Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley, a role she has held since 2022. This position allows her to collaborate with researchers across theoretical computer science and related disciplines. Irani’s teaching excellence is recognized through the UCI Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching (2021), and she has contributed to education through her zyBook on Discrete Mathematics, used by over 94,000 students globally. Her work bridges foundational computer science with practical applications, including power management strategies and distributed computing algorithms. Notably, she has collaborated with industry leaders like Mike Luby on optimizing distributed systems. Her research in quantum computing explores computational problems inspired by condensed matter physics, aiming to understand quantum advantage over classical systems. She has also authored influential papers on topics like cache hierarchy design, scheduling algorithms, and the theoretical limits of electronic structure calculations. Awards: ACM Fellow (2022), UCI Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching (2021). Key Roles: Associate Director, Simons Institute; Vice Chair, Computing Division at UCI. Recent Projects: Quantum algorithms for condensed matter systems, maximal independent set algorithms in distributed networks.
Janki Bhimani is a Professor and Director of the Data Management Research Lab (DaMRL) at the School of Computing and Information Science, Florida International University (FIU). Her research focuses on Memory and Storage Systems, Cloud Computing, Performance Modeling, and Applied Machine Learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Northeastern University (2019), an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2016), and a B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from GITAM University (2013). Prior to FIU, she taught at Northeastern University and collaborated with Samsung Semiconductor Research Labs on flash-based SSDs. Her research interests include emerging memory technologies, high-performance computing, and datacenter reliability management. She leads innovative projects like Heimdall (machine learning for storage I/O optimization) and MoKE (modular key-value storage emulation). Awards include FIU Top Scholar and KFSCIS Excellence in Applied Research. Teaching highlights include CIS 3530 (Data Structures), CIS 5346 (Storage Systems), and EECE 2560 (Engineering Algorithms). Her work emphasizes bridging theory and practice, with patents on storage system optimization and machine learning integration.
Ioan Raicu is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and a guest research faculty at Argonne National Laboratory's Math and Computer Science Division. He leads the Data-Intensive Distributed Systems Laboratory (DataSys) at IIT, focusing on distributed systems, cloud computing, and high-performance computing. His work is primarily funded by the NSF and DOE. Research interests include distributed systems, many-task computing, and data-intensive applications. Over 140 peer-reviewed publications have yielded a H-index of 46, with top papers addressing cloud vs. grid computing comparisons, Globus GridFTP, Swift workflow systems, and Falkon frameworks. Recent projects explore fine-grained parallelism, scalable indexing, and energy-efficient blockchain algorithms. Awards include NSF grants and recognition for lab innovations. Advised PhD students include Alexandru Orhean and Poornima Nookala. The DataSys lab has won the Grainger Computing Innovation Prize and leads initiatives like the BigDataX REU program. Active in conferences such as SC and IEEE IPDPS, Raicu's work bridges theory and practice in extreme-scale computing systems.
Shiva Jahangiri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara University's School of Engineering. His research focuses on Big Data Management Systems, Databases for AI/ML, and Query Optimization. He leads the DBIS Lab, which explores database internals, vectorized data processing, and open-source projects like Apache AsterixDB. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine; M.S. in Computer Science (Data Science) from the University of Southern California. Current courses taught include Advanced Programming, Advanced Database Systems, and Introduction to Database Systems. He advises Ph.D. and Master’s students on topics like Vector Databases, Query Scheduling, and Resource Management. Recent research trends involve optimizing group-by/aggregation operators, schema inference for semi-structured data, and memory management in complex join queries. His work bridges theoretical advancements with practical implementations in open-source systems. DBIS Lab activities include student participation in senior design projects, directed research, and volunteer roles. The lab emphasizes industry collaboration for hands-on experience in database systems development.
Khanh Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University, part of the College of Engineering. His research focuses on improving scalability and efficiency in Big Data systems through compiler and runtime innovations, particularly in memory management and distributed computing. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of California, Los Angeles (2019) M.S. in Computer Science, University of California, Irvine (2015) B.S. in Computer Science, University of California, Irvine (2012) His research interests include programming languages, compiler design, memory management, and Big Data systems. He has developed techniques such as Gerenuk for thin computation over big data, Skyway for distributed heap connectivity, and Yak , a high-performance garbage collector. His work emphasizes resource efficiency and workload scalability, particularly for machine learning and data-parallel applications. Recent publications (2021–2024) highlight advancements in adaptive memory management for warehouse-scale computers, semantics-aware swapping in disaggregated systems, and query-driven distributed tracing. Awards: Google Ph.D. Fellowship (2017) Facebook Ph.D. Fellowship Finalist (2017) His research bridges compiler/runtime systems with large-scale data processing, addressing challenges in distributed systems and far-memory utilization. He collaborates with industry and academic partners to advance practical, scalable solutions for modern data-intensive workloads.
Guimu Guo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Rowan University's College of Science & Mathematics. His research focuses on parallel and distributed computing techniques for large-scale graph mining problems, with applications in bioinformatics and transportation engineering. Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Alabama at Birmingham M.Sc. in Computer Science from Tongji University Dr. Guo has published extensively in top-tier venues like VLDB, ICDE, and IEEE BigData. His work spans graph mining algorithms, parallel computing, and interdisciplinary applications in transportation and genomics. He actively mentors PhD and Master's students, offering fully funded positions. Key research trends include: Advancing GPU-accelerated graph decomposition techniques Developing distributed frameworks for subgraph querying and task concurrency Exploring parallel algorithms for frequent pattern mining and clique-like subgraphs Scientific Recognition: NSF CRII Award UAB Outstanding PhD Student Award Alabama GRSP Awards (Rounds 15 & 16) Teaching spans from foundational object-oriented programming to advanced graduate courses in parallel programming. His lab group has produced significant contributions to subgraph mining, transportation simulation, and genome assembly systems.
Jingrui He is a Professor and MSIM Program Director at the School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She holds multiple faculty affiliate positions including with the Department of Computer Science, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), Illinois Informatics, Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA), and Mayo Clinic Arizona. Her research spans machine learning with applications in diverse domains including healthcare, agriculture, security, and finance. Dr. He received her PhD in Machine Learning from Carnegie Mellon University in 2010. Her research focuses on heterogeneous machine learning, active learning, neural bandits, and self-supervised learning. She addresses complex data challenges where multiple types of heterogeneity coexist, developing methods for exploring, understanding, characterizing, and predicting real-world data through statistical machine learning techniques. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on graph learning, federated learning, fairness in AI, and neural bandit algorithms. She has developed innovative approaches for class-imbalanced graph learning, Byzantine-robust federated learning, and privacy-preserving graph machine learning. Her work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications across multiple domains. Her scientific awards include the Amazon Research Award (2025), ACM Distinguished Member (2023), AAAI Senior Member (2023), FAccT Distinguished Paper Award (2022), NSF CAREER award (2016), and multiple IBM Faculty Awards. She has been recognized as an excellent teacher and received Best Paper awards at major conferences including ICDM and SDM. Dr. He directs the iSAIL Lab and leads several major research projects including the AI Institute for Future Agricultural Resilience Management and Sustainability (AIFARMS). She has successfully mentored numerous doctoral students who have become co-authors on her publications. Her research has been funded through prestigious grants including the NSF CAREER award and IBM Faculty Awards.
Bettina Kemme is a faculty member at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her research focuses on database systems , distributed computing , and cloud data management . She has made significant contributions to database replication, consistency models, and middleware frameworks for scalable applications. Research Themes : Database replication, distributed systems, cloud computing, and software engineering. Notable Collaborations : Jörg Kienzle, Joseph Vinish D'silva, Yunjia Zheng, and Marta Patiño-Martínez. Publications span critical areas such as graph database view management, transactional recovery in key-value stores, and latency-aware publish/subscribe systems. Her work is published in venues like VLDB , ICDE , Middleware , and SRDS .
Mateo Valero Cortés is a renowned Professor of Computer Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). He has held academic and leadership roles since 1974, advancing high-performance computing (HPC) and computer architecture research. His work includes pioneering contributions to vector architectures, multithreading, and instruction-level parallelism. Education includes a Telecommunications Engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (1974) and a PhD in Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (1980). His research spans over 700 publications, focusing on HPC systems, parallel computing, and supercomputing infrastructure. Key research interests include vector processing, super-scalar processors, and task-based programming models. Recent work emphasizes scalable architectures for exascale computing and energy-efficient hardware-software co-design. Notable achievements include the Eckert-Mauchly Prize (highest in computer architecture), Seymour Cray Award, and Charles Babbage Prize. He has led initiatives like the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES) and PRACE (European HPC partnership). Academic affiliations include the Royal Academy of Engineering of Spain, ACM Fellow, and IEEE Fellow. He has received 13 honorary doctorates and awards such as Mexico’s Order of the Aztec Eagle. Current projects include the Mont-Blanc HPC prototype and ERC-funded research on multi-core chip design. His BSC oversees over 300 researchers and manages MareNostrum supercomputers.
