Nirupam Roy is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, and Director of the iCoSMoS research lab. His work bridges wireless networking, mobile computing, and acoustic sensing with applications in IoT, localization, healthcare, security, and wearables. Research Focus: Wireless Networking & Mobile Sensing Awards: Best paper award, MobiSys 2022 Best demo award, MobiSys 2021 CSL Ph.D. Thesis Award, UIUC 2019 Students: Nakul Garg, Yang Bai, Irtaza Shahid, Harshvardhan Takawale, Aritrik Ghosh, Ayushi Mishra, Sumbul Zehra, Justin Goodman Grants: NSF CAREER award (2023), Meta Research Award (2023)
Navid Azizan is the Alfred H. (1929) and Jean M. Hayes Career Development Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), holding dual appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (in Control, Instrumentation & Robotics) and the Schwarzman College of Computing's Institute for Data, Systems & Society (IDSS). He is also a Principal Investigator in the Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems (LIDS), and a faculty member of the MIT Statistics and Data Science Center, the Center for Computational Science and Engineering, and the Operations Research Center. Dr. Azizan received his PhD in Computing and Mathematical Sciences from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2020, his MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2015, and his BSc in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Physics from Sharif University of Technology in 2013. Prior to joining MIT, he completed a postdoc at Stanford University's Autonomous Systems Laboratory and was a research scientist intern at Google DeepMind. His research spans the intersection of machine learning, systems and control, mathematical optimization, and network science. Dr. Azizan's work focuses on developing principled learning and optimization algorithms for reliable intelligent systems, with applications to autonomy and sociotechnical systems. His research has significant implications for creating trustworthy AI systems that can operate effectively in complex, uncertain environments. Dr. Azizan's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on uncertainty quantification, reliable AI systems, constrained optimization, and control-oriented learning. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications, particularly in autonomous systems where safety and reliability are paramount. His research group has made notable contributions to areas including neural network verification, multi-agent reinforcement learning, and adaptive inference techniques for large language models, with several papers featured on MIT News and selected for oral presentations at top conferences. Alfred H. (1929) and Jean M. Hayes Career Development Professorship (2025-present) Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising (2025) List of Outstanding Academic Leaders in Data from the CDO Magazine (2024, 2023) Amazon Science Hub Research Award (2023) Outstanding UROP Faculty Mentor (2023) Esther and Harold E. Edgerton (1927) Career Development Chair (2022-2025) Information Theory and Applications (ITA) Gold Graduation Award (2020) Dr. Azizan has been recognized for his excellence in graduate advising, receiving the Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising in 2025. During the pandemic, he founded and co-organized the 'Control meets Learning' virtual seminar series, connecting researchers across disciplines. His work has attracted significant research funding from industry partners including Google, Amazon, and MathWorks, supporting both fundamental research and practical applications in reliable intelligent systems. The Azizan Lab at MIT brings together researchers from mechanical engineering, computer science, and applied mathematics to tackle challenges at the intersection of learning and control. The lab emphasizes both theoretical foundations and practical implementations, with a particular focus on developing algorithms that provide guarantees of performance and safety. Current research directions include uncertainty quantification in AI systems, constrained optimization for neural networks, and control-oriented learning for autonomous systems, with applications spanning robotics, transportation, and complex sociotechnical systems.
Prof. Eleni Chatzi is a Full Professor and Chair of Structural Mechanics at ETH Zurich's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. She holds a PhD from Columbia University (2010) and has held roles from Assistant to Full Professor at ETH since 2010. Her research focuses on intelligent structural monitoring and data-driven asset management, emphasizing nonlinear dynamics and sensor integration. Affiliations : Institute of Structural Engineering, European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE President), Swiss Community for Computational Methods (SWICCOMAS Chair) Research interests include Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), system identification, and advanced simulation tools. She pioneered work on data-driven diagnostics and self-aware infrastructure, supported by grants like the ERC Starting Grant (2015). Awards include the 2020 Walter L. Huber Prize and 2024 SHM Person of the Year Award. Her work spans wind energy infrastructure, metamaterials for vibration control, and AI-driven structural analytics. Over 600 publications and 200k+ citations highlight her impact. She teaches computational science and structural dynamics in ETH's programs and collaborates globally on sustainable infrastructure projects.
Richard Franz Löscher is a researcher at the Institute of Applied Mathematics specializing in numerical methods for optimal control problems. He holds a BSc, Diplom-Ingenieur (Dipl.-Ing.), and Doctorate in Technical Sciences (Dr.techn.), demonstrating extensive technical education and engineering expertise. His educational qualifications include: BSc Diploma in Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) Doctorate in Technical Sciences (Dr.techn.) Löscher's research centers on numerical mathematics with deep specialization in finite element methodologies for distributed optimal control problems governed by partial differential equations. His work addresses elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic control systems through regularization techniques, adaptive mesh refinement, and robust solver development. Key innovations include variable energy regularization frameworks, mass-lumping discretizations, and complexity-optimal space-time finite element systems that significantly advance computational efficiency and error estimation in constrained control environments. Analysis of his 2024-2026 publications reveals a cohesive research trajectory focused on overcoming computational bottlenecks in optimal control. His work consistently bridges theoretical rigor with practical implementation, emphasizing discretization schemes that balance accuracy and computational cost while addressing state/control constraints across diverse PDE systems. No scientific awards or honors were documented in available sources. Löscher maintains active research collaborations with prominent figures including Ulrich Langer and Olaf Steinbach, evidenced by co-authored publications and peer-review activities for journals like Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics. His external research engagement includes a July 2024 visit to Delft University of Technology, highlighting international academic partnerships.
Giacomo Indiveri is a dual Professor at the Faculty of Science of the University of Zurich and the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering of ETH Zurich . He serves as the Director of the Institute of Neuroinformatics at both institutions. Indiveri holds an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (1992) from the University of Genoa and a Ph.D. in Computer Science (2004) from the same university. Primary Affiliation: University of Zurich (Faculty of Science, Institute of Neuroinformatics) Secondary Affiliation: ETH Zurich (Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering) Indiveri's research bridges neuroscience , computer science , and machine learning to develop neuromorphic cognitive systems . His work focuses on spike-based learning , recurrent neural networks , and analog/digital circuit design for real-time sensory-motor systems . He integrates emerging memory technologies into fault-tolerant event-based architectures, enabling brain-inspired computing paradigms in applications like robotics and medical monitoring. His recent publications emphasize neuromorphic hardware for epileptic seizure detection , spiking neural networks in robotic painting , and scalable processors with on-chip learning . These works explore biologically plausible neurons , delay lines , and memory arrays for temporal processing, with applications in healthcare , edge computing , and adaptive control . Scientific Awards & Recognitions: 2021 IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Best Paper Award Senior Member of IEEE Society ERC Fellow with three European Research Council grants Indiveri's group at the Institute of Neuroinformatics develops event-based systems for real-world validation of brain-inspired computing. His work includes multi-core processors , feedback optimizers , and dynamic routing architectures , supported by grants for advancing neuromorphic technologies .
Jeannette Bohg is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, directing the Interactive Perception and Robot Learning Lab. Previously, she was a group leader at the Autonomous Motion Department (AMD) of the MPI for Intelligent Systems (2012-2017). She holds a PhD from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm) and degrees from Chalmers University and TU Dresden. Her research focuses on perception, learning, and real-time multi-modal methods for autonomous robotic manipulation and grasping, aiming to bridge principles of human sensorimotor coordination with robotic implementation. Education: PhD in Robotics (KTH), MSc in Art & Technology (Chalmers), Diploma in Computer Science (TU Dresden) Research interests include developing goal-directed, real-time robotic systems capable of meaningful feedback for execution and learning. Key areas are dexterous manipulation, imitation learning, and cross-embodiment policy transfer. Notable contributions include the TidyBot platform and work on force-aware surgical robotics. Awards include the 2019 IEEE ICRA Best Paper Award, 2019 IEEE RA Early Career Award, and 2020 RSS Early Career Award. Her lab explores intersections of robotics, ML, and computer vision. Advising: Actively mentoring students/postdocs in manipulation, perception, and learning. Grants and collaborations span NSF, Stanford AI Lab, and industry partnerships. Future work emphasizes robust real-world deployment and human-robot collaboration. Labs/Teams: Leads the Interactive Perception and Robot Learning Lab, contributing to Stanford’s AI ecosystem. Previously managed the MPI AMD group, fostering interdisciplinary research in autonomous systems.
Nima Mesgarani is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia Engineering, Columbia University, affiliated with the Sense, Collect and Move Data Committee. His research bridges engineering and neuroscience through reverse-engineering neural signal processing mechanisms, leading to advancements in brain-machine interfaces, neural prosthetics, and speech processing algorithms. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland and completed postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Language and Speech Processing and UC San Francisco's Neurosurgery Department. Research Focus Professor Mesgarani's lab integrates computational neuroscience and engineering to study acoustic signal processing. Key areas include: Neural decoding of speech and auditory attention in multi-talker environments Development of brain-controlled hearing technologies Novel speech separation and synthesis algorithms inspired by cortical processing Cross-modal learning between auditory and visual systems Applications of large language models in neural signal interpretation Publication Trends Analysis of his 15 most recent articles (2025) reveals dominant themes: neural decoding techniques using intracranial EEG, brain-inspired speech separation models (e.g., Mamba architectures), applications of large language models in auditory neuroscience, cross-modal distillation methods, and clinical translation of audio processing algorithms. A strong emphasis emerges on real-time brain-computer interfaces and noise-robust speech processing. Laboratory and Collaborations Mesgarani directs an interdisciplinary lab developing neurotechnology for hearing restoration. His team collaborates with neurosurgery departments and speech processing centers, focusing on translating theoretical models into clinical brain-machine interfaces. The lab's work has yielded patents for brain-informed speech separation systems and attention-decoding frameworks.
Andrea Tagliasacchi is an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University's School of Computing Science, holding the Visual Computing Research Chair. He is also a part-time (20%) staff research scientist at Google DeepMind (Toronto) and an associate professor (status-only) at the University of Toronto's computer science department. His research focuses on 3D visual perception at the intersection of computer vision, graphics, and machine learning. Education: EPFL – Postdoc Simon Fraser University – PhD (NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Fellow) Politecnico di Milano – MSc (Gold Medalist) Research Interests: His work emphasizes 3D reconstruction, neural fields, and applications in robotics, autonomous systems, and augmented reality. Recent advancements include scalable 3D Gaussian splatting, robust neural rendering techniques, and diffusion models for 4D generation. Notable Articles: Recent work spans real-time differentiable ray tracing, stochastic rasterization for 3D Gaussian splats, and generative image composition using neural fields. His publications often blend theoretical contributions with practical applications in CVPR, SIGGRAPH, and NeurIPS. Awards: 2015 SGP Best Paper Award 2020 CVPR Best Student Paper Award 2024 CVPR Best Paper Honorable Mention Advising & Grants: Advised 14+ PhD/MSc students (e.g., Baptiste Angles, Sara Sabour) and co-advised with notable figures like Geoffrey Hinton. Active in grants involving neural field compression, robotic perception, and generative AI. Labs & Teams: Leads a lab at SFU focused on 3D vision and neural fields, collaborating with industry partners like Google Brain and Samsung Research.
Kevin M. Lynch is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering, where he also serves as Director of the Center for Robotics and Biosystems. His research spans multiple domains of robotics, with particular expertise in dynamics, motion planning, and feedback control of mechanical systems. Dr. Lynch received his Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in 1996, with a thesis on "Nonprehensile Robotic Manipulation: Controllability and Planning" under advisor Prof. Matthew T. Mason. He earned his B.S.E. with honors in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University in 1989. His research interests focus on robotics, particularly dynamics, motion planning, and feedback control of mechanical systems. He investigates mechanics, planning, and control of robotic manipulation (juggling, throwing, pushing, rolling, vibration, etc.) and locomotion. His work also explores self-organizing systems, particularly decentralized control of mobile sensor networks and swarm robotics, underactuated dynamic systems, and physical human-robot interaction with industrial applications. Recent research has expanded into bio-inspired active electrosense, underwater robotics, control and optimization for robot swarms, swarm shape control, and functional electric stimulation. Dr. Lynch's recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward rehabilitation robotics and human-robot interaction, particularly in lower-limb exoskeletons for gait training and rehabilitation. His work bridges fundamental robotics research with practical applications in healthcare, showing increasing integration of swarm robotics principles with human-centered design. The publications also reveal continued strong contributions to fundamental robotics theory, particularly in swarm formation control and manipulation dynamics. George Saridis Leadership Award in Robotics and Automation (2022) Harashima Award for Innovative Technologies (2017) IEEE Fellow (2010) Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence (2007-10) Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (2007) Early Career Award in Robotics and Automation (2001) McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Teacher Of The Year Award (1998-1999) NSF Career Award (1998) As Director of the Center for Robotics and Biosystems, Dr. Lynch oversees significant research grants and initiatives in robotics. He has made substantial contributions to robotics education through his "Modern Robotics" book and associated Coursera specialization, which has reached thousands of students worldwide. His professional service includes serving as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Robotics, where he oversaw a 90% increase in submissions during his tenure. Dr. Lynch leads research groups focusing on swarm robotics and rehabilitation robotics, with particular emphasis on the Center for Robotics and Biosystems at Northwestern University. His teams integrate expertise from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and rehabilitation medicine to develop innovative robotic systems for both industrial applications and healthcare solutions.
Seth Lewis Gilbert is a Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS), within the School of Computing . He holds the Dean's Chair Associate Professor title and focuses on algorithms for large-scale distributed systems , emphasizing scalability and fault-tolerance . His work spans wireless networks , contention resolution , dynamic networks , and blockchain protocols . Ph.D. in Computer Science, MIT (2007) M.S. in Computer Science, MIT (2003) B.S. in Electrical Engineering & Mathematics, Yale University (1999) His research explores trusted coordination in systems with untrusted and unreliable participants, addressing challenges like Byzantine agreement , load balancing , and contention resolution . He has pioneered formal frameworks for accountability in distributed protocols and developed novel algorithms for asynchronous task allocation . Recent publications include work on consensus protocols , leader election , and contention resolution , reflecting his focus on dynamic network environments . His research has earned recognition at venues like DISC, ICDCS, and CCS. Scientific Awards & Honors : Young Researcher Award (NUS, 2014) Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16) School of Computing Teaching Excellence Honour Roll (2016-2021) Best Paper Awards at DISC (2023, 2022), ICDCS (2022), IPDPS (2022) Best Student Paper Award at DISC (2022) He serves on the Steering Committee for DISC as Treasurer and has chaired program committees for DISC, OPODIS, and SPAA. His work bridges foundational algorithmic theory with practical applications in blockchains and dynamic networked systems .
Amir Ali Ahmadi is a Professor at Princeton University's Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE), with affiliations across multiple disciplines including PACM, Computer Science, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and the Center for Statistics and Machine Learning. He serves as Director of Princeton's Optimization and Quantitative Decision Science Certificate Program and has taken temporary roles at Citadel GQS (2021-2022) and Google Brain (2020-2021). His research bridges optimization theory , dynamical systems , and control theory , focusing on scalable algorithms for complex problems in robotics, autonomous systems, and machine learning. He has pioneered DSOS/SDSOS relaxations as alternatives to traditional sum-of-squares methods, enabling faster solutions through linear/second-order cone programming. Recent publications explore: Higher-order Newton methods for socially responsible investment Data-efficient learning of dynamical systems Computational complexity of local minima Robust-to-dynamics optimization frameworks Award highlights include: 2024 Egon Balas Prize in Optimization 2024 Princeton Engineering Council Teaching Award 2023 Distinguished Teaching Award (Princeton SEAS) 2019 NSF CAREER Award 2017 DARPA Young Faculty Award 2017 Sloan Fellowship in Computer Science He advises prominent researchers like Georgina Hall (Tucker Prize finalist) and Bachir El Khadir (Goldstine Fellow), and leads the Princeton Optimization Seminar and MURI project on Control-Oriented Learning on the Fly.
Zhonghai Lu is a Professor of Electronic Systems Design (specializing in Dependable and Autonomous Systems) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, part of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). He serves as Program Director for KTH's Embedded Systems master's program and Director of Studies at the Division of Electronics and Embedded Systems. His research focuses on Network-on-Chip (NoC), computer architecture, embedded systems, and Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) of power electronics. He leads a research group exploring in-network processing and embedded intelligence, transforming passive networks into active computational frameworks. Lu holds a BSc from Beijing Normal University (1989), MSc and PhD from KTH (2002, 2007), and an MBA in Innovation and Growth from the University of Turku (2012). He has authored over 240 scientific papers, including journal articles and peer-reviewed conferences, with notable recognitions such as Best Paper Awards at NOCS’2015 and EU HiPEAC, and a Featured Paper in IEEE Transactions on Computers (2020). He serves as Associate Editor for ACM Transactions on Architecture and Code Optimization (TACO) and has chaired major conferences like HiPEAC’2017 and NOCS’2018. His research group’s recent work includes integrating AI into hardware acceleration, fault-tolerant neural networks, and RUL estimation for power electronics using recurrent neural networks. Lu has secured grants from the Swedish Research Council and Intel Corporation and developed courses like IL2230 (Hardware Architectures for Deep Learning) and IL2233 (Embedded Intelligence), pioneering embedded AI education at KTH. Education: BSc (Beijing Normal University), MSc/PhD (KTH), MBA (University of Turku) Awards: Best Paper Awards (NOCS, EU HiPEAC), Swedish Research Council Grants, Intel Research Gifts Labs/Teams: Research Group on In-Network Processing and Embedded Intelligence
Marta Kwiatkowska is a Professor of Computing Systems at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Trinity College. Her research focuses on probabilistic verification , quantitative model checking , and formal methods for complex systems including autonomous robots, medical devices, and biological systems. She leads the development of the PRISM and PRISM-games probabilistic model checkers. Key research areas: Probabilistic systems, formal verification, autonomous robotics, medical device analysis, systems biology Grants: ERC Advanced Grant VERIWARE, EPSRC Programme Grant Mobile Autonomy Awards: 2024 ETAPS Test-of-Time Tool Award for PRISM Students: Current and former advisees in topics spanning formal methods, robotics, and quantitative verification The PRISM-games extension enables verification of stochastic multi-player games with applications in network protocols, autonomous systems, and game theory. Her work bridges theory, algorithms, and practical implementation, with real-world applications in ubiquitous computing and nanotechnology.
Frank L. Hammond III serves as Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech's Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering since April 2015, directing the Adaptation Robotic Manipulation (ARM) Laboratory. A Carnegie Mellon PhD graduate, he previously held postdoctoral positions at MIT and Harvard as a Ford Fellow. His interdisciplinary work bridges mechanical engineering, biomedical applications, and computational design. Education Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania B.S. in Electrical Engineering & Biomedical Engineering, Drexel University Hammond's research pioneers adaptive robotic manipulation (ARM) systems that operate in unstructured human environments through bioinspired computational design. His lab develops xenomorphic (non-biomorphic) robots using soft pneumatic actuation, flexible electronics, and machine learning to achieve biological-level versatility. Key application domains include wearable human augmentation devices , haptic-enabled surgical teleoperation , and autonomous soft platforms for medical and industrial use. The ARM methodology integrates empirical biomechanics characterization with simulation-driven optimization and rapid prototyping. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals three dominant trends: (1) Medical rehabilitation breakthroughs through intention-driven exoskeletons with soft bioelectronics, (2) Novel locomotion strategies for soft robots in complex environments (sand, water, cluttered spaces), and (3) Advanced haptic feedback systems leveraging multimodal sensory substitution for proprioceptive restoration. These works consistently bridge biomechanics, control theory, and human factors. Awards Ford Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Harvard School of Engineering Hammond actively mentors graduate researchers including PhD candidates Lucas Tiziani (soft actuators) and Bangyuan Liu (earthworm robotics), and Master's student Alex Hart (pediatric haptics). His lab secures research funding for projects like tunable mechanical interfaces for neuropathy treatment and cognition-focused wearable devices, with strong industry and clinical partnerships evident in co-authored medical device publications. The ARM Lab maintains robust collaborations across Georgia Tech's robotics, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering communities. The Adaptation Robotic Manipulation Laboratory operates from Whitaker Building Room 4102, housing specialized facilities for soft robot fabrication (3D printing, shape deposition manufacturing) and biomechanics testing. Current projects include pediatric haptic feedback displays, biomimetic swimming robots, and kirigami-skinned earthworm robots for subsurface locomotion. The lab emphasizes translational research with multiple pending medical device patents and active participation in K-12 STEM outreach programs.
Ronald Parr is a Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. He has been at Duke since 2000, progressing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure, and ultimately to Full Professor. From 2014 to 2017, he served as Department Chair and delivered graduation speeches in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Dr. Parr received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998, with a dissertation titled "Hierarchical Control and Learning in Markov Decision Processes" under advisor Stuart Russell. He earned his A.B. in Philosophy, cum laude, from Princeton University in 1990. His primary research focuses on methods for solving large stochastic planning problems using Markov Decision Processes and approximate dynamic programming techniques. His work spans reinforcement learning, value function approximation, game theory, sensing, and robotics. Dr. Parr's research has been consistently funded by major agencies including NSF, DARPA, and ARO, with recent projects focusing on feature encoding for reinforcement learning, neurosymbolic hierarchical reinforcement learning, and reasoning in large, structured, uncertain domains. His publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to top venues including NeurIPS, ICML, and AAAI, with work that bridges theoretical foundations and practical applications. Dr. Parr has received numerous honors including being elected as an AAAI Fellow in 2023, receiving an AAAI Outstanding Paper Honorable Mention in 2013, winning the IJCAI-JAIR Best Paper Award in 2007, receiving an NSF CAREER award in 2006, and being named an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow in 2003. He has advised ten graduate students to completion across various research areas within AI and robotics. His research has been supported by over $1.5 million in direct funding to his lab, with additional collaborative funding from multiple NSF, DARPA, and ARO grants. Dr. Parr has served extensively on program committees for major AI conferences including ICML, NeurIPS, AAAI, and UAI, and has held leadership roles such as Program Co-Chair and General Chair for UAI. Dr. Parr maintains an active research group focused on reinforcement learning and sequential decision making, with ongoing projects in neurosymbolic AI, hierarchical reinforcement learning, and interpretable machine learning models, continuing to bridge theoretical foundations with practical applications in robotics and AI systems.
