Jacob Bukoski is Assistant Professor and Director of the Forests and Climate Change graduate certificate at Oregon State University's College of Forestry. His research examines forest carbon dynamics, climate mitigation, and international forestry. Education includes: PhD in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley MS in Environmental Science from Yale University BA in Environmental Studies from UNC Chapel Hill Research focuses on carbon accumulation in forests, mangrove conservation, and climate policy integration. Teaches interdisciplinary courses on social-ecological systems and forest carbon analysis. Recent publications quantify carbon storage in global plantations and mangrove ecosystems. Current projects investigate albedo impacts on reforestation protocols and coastal conservation synergies. Directs graduate studies in Forests and Climate Change.
Nick Koudas is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, specializing in large-scale data management, data systems, and applied machine learning. His research integrates machine learning techniques into scalable data platforms to enhance the analysis of massive datasets. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, an MSc from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Patras. Education: PhD, University of Toronto MSc, University of Maryland at College Park Bachelor's degree, University of Patras, Greece Research Interests: Relational Deep Dive (ReDD): Natural language query execution over unstructured documents Streaming Video Queries (SVQ): Interactive query processing for video streams Reliable Text-to-SQL: Generating accurate SQL queries with human-in-the-loop assistance Machine Learning Integration in Data Systems Publications: Focus on video analytics, query processing, and reliable natural language interfaces. Notable works include optimizing video queries, declarative frameworks for temporal constraints, and abstention-based SQL generation. Awards: Inventor of the Year (1st Prize), University of Toronto (2011) Best Paper Awards at international conferences Entrepreneurship & Advising: Co-founder of Sysomos (Meltwater Group), Aislelabs (Constellation Software), and Workorb Advisor to mapintent and ktau Labs & Teams: Leads research groups developing systems like ReDD and SVQ, emphasizing collaboration between academia and industry.
Dr. Heesung Woo is an Assistant Professor of Advanced Forestry at the College of Forestry, Oregon State University , specializing in robotics, sensor integration, and precision forestry. His work focuses on autonomous forestry machinery, AI-driven forest management, and sustainable practices. He advises two graduate students and collaborates internationally through research projects. Research Interests: Autonomous Forest Machinery Development Sensor Integration & ICT Solutions Precision Forestry via Remote Sensing/LiDAR/GIS Machine Learning for Forest Inventory Advanced Forestry Practices for Sustainability Publications emphasize innovative applications of technology in forestry, including LIDAR integration, harvester data analytics, and carbon offset project modeling. His work bridges engineering, environmental science, and policy. Dr. Woo leads the Advanced Forestry Lab at Oregon State, focusing on real-world deployment of cutting-edge technologies to address challenges in forest operations, sustainability, and resource optimization.
Dr. Joseph Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), serving as Director of the Agile and Intelligent Robotics (AIRO) Laboratory. He is affiliated with the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR), the Institute for Assured Autonomy (IAA), and holds a Bridging Faculty appointment in the Research and Exploratory Development Department (REDD) at JHU/APL. His research focuses on computational control, machine learning, and robotics to enable agile systems operating in complex environments. Dr. Moore previously served as Robotics Group Chief Scientist at JHU/APL, leading projects on hybrid unmanned aerial-aquatic vehicles and aerobatic fixed-wing systems. He has secured funding as Principal Investigator (PI) for ONR, DARPA, and ARL programs, particularly in post-stall maneuvering control and multi-robot coordination. His work emphasizes robust control strategies for autonomous systems in constrained environments. Research interests include aerial robotics, optimization, and learning-based control. Notable contributions involve NMPC-based systems, UAV navigation, and adaptive control for uncertain environments. His recent articles highlight advancements in swarm coordination, morphing-wing UAVs, and PAC-NMPC frameworks. Dr. Moore advises students such as Mark Gonzales and Adam Polevoy. Key grants include ONR/DARPA-funded projects on post-stall flight control and Army-funded multi-robot coordination efforts. His lab (AIRO) and collaborations (LCSR, IAA) drive applied and theoretical robotics research.
Susanna Hecht is a Professor of Urban Planning at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, specializing in tropical development, political ecology, and Amazonian studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography and has advised graduate students including Mariana Fajardo-Arboleda and Sebastián Solarte-Caicedo. Her research integrates historical ecology, remote sensing, and socio-political analysis to address deforestation, forest resurgence, and alternative development pathways in Latin America. Key areas of focus include the socio-environmental impacts of corporate agriculture (soy, oil palm), indigenous land management practices (e.g., Amazonian Dark Earths), and the role of migration/remittances in reshaping rural land use. She has pioneered work on forest transition theory and critiques of Malthusian explanations for deforestation. Awarded the David Livingstone Medal and Carl O. Sauer Award, Hecht's influential books include *The Fate of the Forest* and *The Scramble for the Amazon*. Her work has shaped policies for extractive reserves, climate finance mechanisms, and global environmental governance. She collaborates with international agencies like NSF, NASA, and the MacArthur Foundation, and serves at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. Recent projects explore globalization's impact on soy frontiers, carbon dynamics in pre-Columbian landscapes, and the socio-ecological implications of forest resurgence. Hecht advocates for integrating indigenous knowledge into modern conservation strategies and critiques neo-extractivist development models.
Adrian Martin is Professor of Environment and Development at the School of Global Development, University of East Anglia (UEA). He is a member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Global Environmental Justice, and ClimateUEA. He directs UEA’s Global Environmental Justice research group and serves as a Coordinating Lead Author for the IPBES Assessment of Diverse Values of Nature. His research centers on interdisciplinary approaches to natural resource management in developing countries. Key themes include environmental justice, conservation governance, ecosystem services, payments for ecosystem services (PES), and the intersection of poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. His work spans regions including sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, with a long-standing focus on Rwanda. Adrian’s recent and ongoing research projects include NAVIGATE (2022–2026) on integrating plural values of nature into decision-making, and Environmental Justice Analysis to Advance Rural Landscape Transformations (2020–2024), funded by ESRC. His publications span high-impact journals such as One Earth , Global Environmental Change , and Nature Sustainability , reflecting interdisciplinary reach across social and natural sciences. His most recent publications highlight trends in environmental justice, particularly in conservation policy, Indigenous rights, rural transformations under climate change, and the ethical dimensions of biodiversity governance. The works emphasize equity, participation, and the need to challenge dominant assumptions in conservation and development. Advancing equitable governance in area-based conservation (2024, IUCN WCPA) Is it just conservation? (2024, One Earth ) Unveiling pervasive assumptions in conservation (2025, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability ) Adrian supervises multiple PhD students working on topics such as REDD+ in Cameroon, community forestry in Kenya, land tenure in Madagascar, and mangrove restoration in Indonesia. He has led or co-led major funded projects from ERC, ESRC, NERC, DFID, and other international bodies. His teaching includes modules on natural resource governance, rural development, and environmental justice, and he has served as course director for the MA Rural Development and BA Geography and International Development. He is actively involved in research groups including the Global Environmental Justice group and contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to poverty, inequality, climate action, and life on land.
Nick Koudas is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on large-scale data management, integrating machine learning into data systems, and developing efficient query processing techniques for unstructured and streaming data. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, an MSc from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a Bachelor's from the University of Patras in Greece. Research interests include data systems, big data analysis, video query processing, and natural language interfaces for databases. He leads projects like ReDD (Relational Deep Dive), SVQ (Streaming Video Queries), and Reliable Text-to-SQL, aiming to bridge human-readable queries with database execution. His work emphasizes scalability, intelligence, and real-world applicability. Recipient of the University of Toronto's Inventor of the Year Award (2011), he translates research into startups like Sysomos, Aislelabs, and Workorb. His contributions span over 200 publications in top venues such as SIGMOD, VLDB, and ICDE. Courses taught include advanced data systems, database design, and system internals. Current projects explore schema extraction from unstructured data, video query optimization, and cost-effective machine learning pipelines. Collaborations with industry and academic partners drive innovations in both theory and practical applications.
Kimberly M. Carlson is an Associate Professor at New York University’s Department of Environmental Studies, part of the Faculty of Arts & Science. Her research focuses on human impacts on terrestrial socio-ecological systems, particularly the environmental consequences of agriculture and private environmental governance. She holds a PhD from Yale University (2012) and a BS from Stanford University (2004). **Education:** PhD, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University (2012) M.Phil., School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University (2009) B.S. in Biology with Honors, Stanford University (2004) **Research & Awards:** Her work examines deforestation drivers, sustainability certification, and climate impacts. Notable awards include the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2009–2012), NASA Earth Systems Science Fellowship (2008–2010), and the MapBiomas Award (2022). She leads studies on zero-deforestation supply chains, labor migration, and tropical land-use dynamics. **Grants & Collaborations:** Over $4M in NSF and NASA grants for projects like assessing corporate sustainability commitments and modeling carbon sequestration. Collaborates globally with institutions like the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment and the IUCN Oil Palm Task Force. **Teaching & Mentoring:** Teaches courses in conservation analysis, environmental policy, and land systems science at NYU. Advised over 20 graduate and undergraduate students, including PhD candidates and MS thesis students in environmental science and policy. **Labs & Teams:** Leads the Agricultural Land Systems Lab, focusing on socio-ecological trade-offs in global agriculture. Engages in interdisciplinary initiatives like the Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP).
Marte Tonning Otterlei is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Stavanger, affiliated with the Faculty of Social Sciences. Her work focuses on child welfare systems, parental experiences in care proceedings, and dialogue-based decision-making processes. She holds a PhD in Social Work and has extensive experience in qualitative research methodologies. Key research interests include family reunification dynamics, communication practices during care transitions, and systemic challenges faced by child welfare workers. Her work emphasizes understanding the emotional and psychological impact of state interventions on families, particularly through positional analysis frameworks. Recent publications explore innovative dialogue processes for reunification after care orders, grief management in child removal contexts, and the ethical dimensions of parental notification systems. She has contributed to international conferences on child welfare equity and social justice issues. Media engagement includes analyses of terminology's impact on care removal perceptions and studies on worker isolation in high-stress cases. Her 2022 monograph Perspektiver på omsorgsovertakelser synthesizes findings from multiple studies on care transition processes. Collaborations include work with Redd Barna on child participation initiatives. Research outputs emphasize actionable insights for improving family participation, worker well-being, and systemic empathy in child welfare practices. Current projects address communication frameworks for difficult conversations in care proceedings.
Dr. Ida Aju Pradnja Resosudarmo is a faculty member at the Fenner School of Environment & Society of the Australian National University. Holding a PhD in Resource Management, she specializes in socio-legal dimensions of environmental governance, with particular emphasis on climate change policy, forest management, and gender equity in Southeast Asia. Current collaborator in the ANU Indonesia Project Active in multidisciplinary research across environmental economics and social sciences Her research bridges legal frameworks with community-level impacts, focusing on land tenure security and forest degradation dynamics. Recent publications analyze the effectiveness of REDD+ mechanisms (2024) and policy compliance in smallholder forestry (2019), while her 2023 work examines fire prevention policies in Indonesian peatlands and international climate partnerships. Current projects include initiatives on Women's Engagement in Peatland Fire Abatement (2022–present) and contributions to Indonesia's climate change modeling frameworks. She supervises graduate students in environmental policy and participates in policy advisory roles, though specific student names are not listed in the provided text.
Subhrendu K. Pattanayak is the Oak Foundation Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Economics (Trinity College of Arts & Sciences), Environmental Sciences and Policy (Nicholas School of the Environment), and the Duke Global Health Institute. His research focuses on environmental policy, energy transitions, public health, and development economics, with an emphasis on low-income tropical regions. Education: PhD (1997) from Duke University, MS (1992) from Purdue University, BA (1990) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Research Interests: Environmental Health (e.g., cookstoves, sanitation, air pollution) Energy Policy (renewable energy, energy access, climate change) Development Economics (impact evaluations, poverty reduction) Climate Mitigation (critical minerals, deforestation, REDD+) Recent Articles Trends: Prioritizes energy access in developing countries (e.g., Ethiopia, India) Examines gender dynamics in adoption of environmental technologies Explores trade-offs between conservation and development Grants & Collaborations: Principal Investigator for studies on cookstoves (Clean Cooking Alliance), critical minerals (University of Gothenburg), and forest policies (Center for International Forestry Research) Co-PI for projects on gendered energy access in Myanmar and Nepal Labs/Teams: Active in Duke Global Health Institute, Nicholas School’s Environmental Policy Program, and the Energy Initiative. Collaborates with institutions like the World Bank and UN agencies.
Hans van Meijl serves as Chief Economist at Wageningen Social & Economic Research and Special Professor of Macroeconomic Assessment of the Circular and Bioeconomy at Wageningen University, affiliated with the Subdivision Sustainable and Innovative Value Chains under the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy. His work addresses global food security within planetary boundaries, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. His research spans the water-climate-energy-food nexus, bioeconomy policy (RED), agricultural trade liberalization (WTO), climate mitigation (REDD), and technology impacts at macro/micro levels. He employs advanced modeling through the MAGNET CGE consortium to analyze indirect land use change, CAP reforms, and GMO productivity effects. Van Meijl coordinates major EU-funded initiatives including Horizon Europe's BRIGHTSPACE, ACT4CAP27, and FOODCOST projects focused on sustainability-oriented agricultural policies. Previously, he led H2020 projects SUPREMA (EU agricultural modeling strategy), MINDSTEP, SUSFANS, and FOODSECURE, alongside national frameworks like iMAP and ENGAGE. He represents the Netherlands as Chief Agricultural Scientist in G20 MACs meetings and contributes to global consortia including IATRC, AgMIP, and GTAP. His leadership extends to the Biomonitor project for EU bioeconomy assessment and the Mansholt Graduate School as Senior Research Fellow.
Dr. Mahesh Poudyal is a Lecturer in Conservation Social Science at the University of Kent's School of Anthropology and Conservation, and a member of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE). His research focuses on socio-economic and institutional aspects of biodiversity conservation, natural resource governance, environmental justice, and the poverty-environment nexus. He has conducted fieldwork in Nepal, Madagascar, Ghana, Sweden, and other regions, examining topics such as conservation impacts on communities, customary land tenure systems, and climate change policies. Dr. Poudyal holds a PhD in Environment and Politics from the University of York (2010), with field research in Northern Ghana. Before joining Kent, he held postdoctoral positions at King’s College London (2019-2021), the ESPA Programme Directorate (2017-2018), Bangor University (2013-2017), and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2011-2013). He is affiliated with ForestAction Nepal as a Research Fellow. His teaching includes modules on conservation and community development, ecotourism, biodiversity economics, and environmental sustainability. Current PhD supervision topics include human-snake conflict mitigation in India, equity in conservation measures, and biosphere reserve governance in Chile. Dr. Poudyal’s work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods. His recent projects include analyzing ecosystem services data through the Nature4SDGs initiative and investigating the socio-economic dimensions of conservation policies in tropical regions.
Lena Rethel is a Professor of International Political Economy at the University of Warwick, with her office located in room D1.18. She works Monday through Thursday and can be contacted at L.Rethel@warwick.ac.uk. From 2019 to 2024, she served as Director of the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR), and from 2020 to 2022, she was the Lead Editor of the Review of International Political Economy. Currently, she is leading the significant research project "FINDEM-The Politics of Financial Citizenship" (2024-2029), funded by a UKRI Frontier Research grant as part of the UK guarantee scheme for successful ERC Consolidator Grant applications. Professor Rethel's research spans several interconnected domains within International Political Economy. Her primary interests include the international politics of finance and development, the global governance of Islamic economies (finance, food systems, and related areas), and the disciplinary boundaries of contemporary International Political Economy. She examines how theories and common sense shape economic and financial policymaking, leading to institutional change such as the expansion of capital markets and development of Islamic finance, with particular attention to Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. Her methodological approach incorporates Everyday and Cultural Political Economy perspectives and event ethnography , focusing on how middle-class expectations shape financial policy in emerging market democracies. Her scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with Southeast Asian financial systems, Islamic finance, and the politics of financialization. The publications show an evolution from early work on the Malaysian political economy toward more recent explorations of sustainable finance regulations, alternative finance practices, and the gendered dimensions of financial citizenship. There's a clear thread connecting her research on how global financial practices are adapted and transformed in local contexts, particularly in Southeast Asia, with increasing attention to sustainability and social equity concerns in more recent work. Among her notable achievements, her book "The Problem with Banks" was shortlisted for the 2013 IPEG Book Prize. While specific teaching awards aren't mentioned in the provided materials, her recent work on pedagogy, including "Teaching the International Political Economy of Everyday Life Through Global Groupwork," demonstrates commitment to innovative educational approaches. Professor Rethel has secured substantial research funding, most notably the UKRI Frontier Research grant for the FINDEM project. Her leadership roles include directing the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation and editing the Review of International Political Economy. She has also organized numerous special journal issues and edited important collections that have shaped scholarly conversations in her field. Her scholarly network is extensive, with collaborations across multiple institutions and disciplines. She has co-edited major works with scholars like James Brassett, Juanita Elias, and Ben Richardson, and has established herself as a key figure in the International Political Economy community, particularly regarding Southeast Asian financial systems and Islamic finance.
Anna Treydte is an Associate Professor in Nature and Environmental Management with a focus on Sustainable Development at Stockholm University's Department of Physical Geography. She also holds Adjunct Professor positions at the University of Hohenheim (Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems) and the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (Department of Life Sciences and Bioengineering). Her work spans multiple continents, addressing biodiversity conservation and human-wildlife coexistence across temperate climates (Germany, Sweden, Italy), desert environments (Mongolia, Saudi Arabia), savanna systems (eastern and southern Africa), mountain regions (Andes), and tropical forests (China, Vietnam, Thailand, Tanzania). Dr. Treydte's research centers on biodiversity and conservation challenges in human-impacted, changing environments. She investigates how climate change and human activities alter structural, species, and functional biodiversity in natural and agro-ecological systems. Her work examines plant-animal interactions, animal population management, human-wildlife coexistence, and livestock impacts on rangelands. She specifically studies shifts in nutrient cycling, carbon stocks, and species diversity in landscapes under varying human land use pressure, including corridors, buffer zones, protected lands, and cultivated areas facing climate-induced weather extremes. She integrates socio-ecological aspects into her research, emphasizing that sustainable human-wildlife coexistence requires local stakeholder involvement in resource use decision-making. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on landscape ecology, rangeland management, and human-wildlife conflict across diverse ecosystems. Her work combines field observations, GPS tracking of wildlife and livestock, socio-ecological surveys, and advanced spatial modeling techniques. Key thematic areas include pastoral mobility patterns, invasive species management, pollination networks in rangelands, and the impacts of land use change on wildlife habitat suitability. Her research consistently addresses the intersection of ecological processes and human livelihoods in changing environments. Dr. Treydte actively supervises numerous PhD, MSc, and BSc students across multiple institutions, with current projects investigating human-wildlife coexistence in Sweden and Tanzania, rangeland restoration techniques, and invasive plant species management. She leads several major research projects including 'Human-Wildlife Coexistence: Reaching a sustainable human-wildlife coexistence by understanding patterns, predicting conflict hotspots and improving communication' and 'Rangeland Ecology: Adapting to change – co-management scenarios of local pastoralists and protected area management to maintain cultural and biological diversity in the Dzungarian Gobi, Mongolia.' Her laboratory, 'NG| Landscape Ecology,' focuses on how landscape patterns, climate, and land use influence ecological processes, biodiversity, and ecosystems. The group employs interdisciplinary approaches that bridge natural and social sciences to address contemporary environmental challenges in a changing world.
