Yao Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on developing multimodal operando electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray methods to probe electrochemical dynamics at solid-liquid interfaces for energy materials. PhD, Cornell University (2021) Miller Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley (2021-2024) Research interests span fundamental electrochemistry and energy material interfaces, particularly CO2 reduction, clean H2 production, and rechargeable batteries. The Yang group specializes in operando electrochemical liquid-cell scanning transmission electron microscopy (EC-STEM) and correlative synchrotron X-ray methods at Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) and Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). Recent publications highlight atomic-scale imaging of catalyst dynamics, Tafel slope analysis, and epitaxial growth techniques for enhanced electrocatalysts. Articles demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches combining electrochemistry, nanoscience, and advanced characterization. Scientific Awards: 2025 ACS Materials and Interfaces Outstanding Presentations by Young Investigators Award 2024 Journal of Materials Research Distinguished Invited Speaker Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021-2024) 2023 Best Early Career Presentation at MRS Spring 2022 ACS AC/DC Rising Stars in Analytical Chemistry Contact: yaoyang@cornell.edu
Dr. Emily Wall is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Emory University, leading the CAV Lab (Cognition and Visualization). She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech (2020) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University before joining Emory. Ph.D., Computer Science, Georgia Tech (2020) Postdoctoral Researcher, Northwestern University Current: Assistant Professor, Emory University Her research focuses on enhancing human decision-making through data visualization and visual analytics by addressing cognitive limitations and biases. Key areas include metacognition promotion, computational strategies for bias mitigation, and human-AI collaboration in data analysis. She combines cognitive psychology principles with technical implementation using tools like D3.js and Tableau. Recent publications highlight her work on LLM applications in visual analytics, cognitive bias interventions, and trust calibration in AI systems. Current students like Mengyu Chen, Shiyao Li, and Zhongzheng Xu are presenting at top conferences such as CHI and IEEE VIS. She also explores educational applications through interactive visualization pedagogy and innovative assessment methods. Dr. Wall actively engages in academic service through graduate mentorship, conference judging, and diversity initiatives. Her lab emphasizes both technical proficiency and social justice implications in visualization design, reflected in course projects that merge artistic expression with data-driven storytelling.
Joydeep Biswas is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas at Austin, where he serves as the Director of the Autonomous Mobile Robotics Laboratory (AMRL). He is also affiliated with Texas Robotics, the UT Machine Learning Laboratory, and UT Good Systems. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Biswas earned his PhD in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014 and his B.Tech in Engineering Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2008. His educational background has provided him with a strong foundation in both theoretical and applied aspects of robotics and artificial intelligence. Dr. Biswas's research focuses on enabling long-term autonomy for mobile robots operating in human environments. His work spans robot perception, motion planning, control systems, and AI, with the ultimate goal of creating self-sufficient autonomous mobile robots that can perform tasks accurately and robustly in real-world settings. He is particularly interested in perception, planning, and failure recovery for autonomous mobile robots, which supports his vision of having autonomous service mobile robots deployed at campus-to-city scale, both indoors and outdoors, performing assistive tasks over deployments spanning years. His IJCAI 2019 Early Career Spotlight talk summarizes much of his research to date and ongoing interests. His recent research has shown a strong trend toward social navigation, human-robot interaction, and the application of machine learning techniques to robotics problems. There's a clear progression from fundamental robotics research toward more complex, real-world applications that require robots to understand and navigate human social spaces effectively. His work increasingly integrates large language models and other advanced AI techniques with traditional robotics approaches, as evidenced by his recent publications on topics like preference-conditioned navigation, social navigation benchmarks, and instruction-following navigation systems. Dr. Biswas has received numerous prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER Award (2021), J.P. Morgan Faculty Research Award (2019), Amazon Research Award (2019), and a grant from Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (2018). These awards recognize his innovative contributions to the field of robotics and autonomous systems. As a dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Biswas actively supervises PhD and master's students, with his PhD student Sadegh Rabiee winning the student poster award at the Northrop Grumman University Symposium 2019. He has secured significant grant funding from the National Science Foundation for projects including 'Introspective Perception and Planning for Long-Term Autonomy' and 'Interactive Synthesis and Repair For Robot Programs,' demonstrating his ability to secure competitive research funding and his commitment to advancing the field. Dr. Biswas leads the Autonomous Mobile Robotics Laboratory (AMRL), which serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research in mobile robotics. The lab has developed notable resources such as the UT Campus Object Dataset (CODA) for 3D perception research and SOCIALGYM, a framework for benchmarking social robot navigation. His team regularly deploys robots on the UT Austin campus and in urban environments to test and refine their approaches in realistic settings, bridging the gap between simulation and real-world application.
Dr. Yogambha Ramaswamy is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Sydney and a member of the Sydney Nano Institute. She holds a Master’s in Biotechnology from the University of Queensland and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Sydney (2009). Her postdoctoral career began as a Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, followed by a Peter Doherty Early Career Fellowship in 2013 before joining the University of Sydney in 2015. Dr. Ramaswamy’s research focuses on biomaterials, tissue engineering, and mechanobiology, with a particular emphasis on developing calcium silicate-based ceramics and biopolymers for orthopedic and regenerative applications. Her recent work explores the role of physical cues in modulating stem and cancer cell behavior. She teaches courses such as AMME1961 (Introduction to Biomedical Engineering B) and AMME5962 (Introduction to Mechanobiology). Her research has been supported by grants including the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship and collaborations with institutions like the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and the University of Otago. Her publications span biomaterials, nanotechnology, and mechanobiology, with recent work addressing atherosclerosis, hydrogel design, and nanomedicine. She currently supervises PhD students Frank (biomaterials) and Alexander (atherosclerosis research).
Dina Verdín serves as Assistant Professor in Engineering Education Systems and Design at Arizona State University's Polytechnic School, where she leads research on broadening participation in engineering through critical analysis of access and persistence barriers for first-generation, minoritized, and women students at intersectional identity junctions. Her educational foundation includes: Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Purdue University M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University B.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from San José State University Verdín's research program employs asset-based frameworks to examine how funds of knowledge and identity development influence engineering pathways. Her access strand investigates high school exposure barriers through culturally responsive activities that foster engineering interest and agency, while her persistence strand analyzes undergraduate institutional structures affecting identity negotiation and degree completion. This work centers intersectional methodologies to redefine engineering identity beyond traditional norms. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2020-2024) reveals consistent focus on first-generation Latinx students, classroom belonging mechanisms, and funds of knowledge applications. Her work predominantly utilizes mixed-methods approaches within Hispanic Serving Institutions, with growing emphasis on migratory student populations and critical engineering agency development. Her accolades include: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship IEEE Frontiers in Education Best Diversity Paper Award College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award AGEP Distinguished Scholar Award AERA Division D Top 3 In-Progress Research Verdín currently directs multiple NSF-funded initiatives including SAFE Teams (Student Asset-based Approach to Equitable Teams) and Reconceptualizing Community Cultural Wealth in engineering design. Her grants portfolio exceeds $1.3 million as PI/Co-PI, focusing on mastery learning implementation, engineering discipline disparities, and migratory student empowerment through gamified curricula. She teaches core courses in engineering statistics and research methods while mentoring graduate researchers. Her work actively shapes engineering education through community-engaged scholarship that centers student assets and challenges deficit-oriented paradigms in STEM persistence research.
Reed Maxwell is the William and Edna Macaleer Professor of Engineering and Applied Science in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University. He serves as Director of the Integrated Groundwater Modeling Center (IGWMC) and leads a research group comprising graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff. His academic appointments include concurrent roles in both the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the High Meadows Environmental Institute. Maxwell's research focuses on understanding connections within the hydrologic cycle and how they relate to water quantity and quality under anthropogenic stresses. His work centers on hard problems in hydrology including groundwater, evapotranspiration and snow. His research group uses integrated hydrologic modeling, field observations, and remote sensing products to study terrestrial freshwater systems. Key research areas include surface water and the terrestrial hydrologic cycle; interactions of the land-surface, surface water and groundwater; and human health risk assessment. Maxwell has authored more than 185 peer-reviewed journal articles with an H-Index of 66 and over 19,000 citations. His recent work emphasizes machine learning applications in hydrology, continental-scale modeling, and physically rigorous scenario generation through projects like HydroFrame and HydroGEN. He teaches courses including CEE 306/ENV 318 Hydrology: Water and Climate and CEE 586/ENV 586 Physical Hydrology. 2020 Distinguished Henry Darcy Lecturer American Geophysical Union Fellow (2019) 2018 Boussinesq Lecturer Belle van Zuylen Chair (visiting), University of Utrecht 2017 School of Mines Research Award recipient Maxwell has mentored 17 PhD students and 20 MS thesis students throughout his career. His current research group includes multiple postdocs, research software engineers, and graduate students working on projects spanning continental-scale hydrologic modeling, groundwater-stream interactions, and machine learning applications in hydrology. The IGWMC maintains an active education and outreach program including STEM fairs, school visits, and digital educational tools like the HydroFrame Education Team's virtual sandtank aquifer model.
Paulo Blikstein serves as Associate Professor of Communications, Media and Learning Technology Design at Columbia University. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Education and (by courtesy) Computer Science at Stanford University and co-founded the Lemann Center for Brazilian Education (2008-2018). Education: Ph.D. in Learning Sciences, Northwestern University (2009) M.A. in Media Arts & Sciences, MIT Media Lab (2002) M.Eng. in Electronic Engineering, University of São Paulo (2000) B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering, University of São Paulo (1998) His research pioneers constructionist learning environments through digital fabrication, educational robotics, and tangible interfaces—focusing on equitable access for underserved communities. Inspired by Paulo Freire and Seymour Papert, he develops open-source tools like the GoGo Board robotics platform and leads the global FabLab@School initiative establishing fabrication labs in schools across four continents. Current work emphasizes multimodal learning analytics to study student interactions in maker-centered classrooms. Publications reveal strong focus on democratizing invention through maker education, with recurring themes in constructionist theory application, multimodal assessment, and context-specific technology adaptation. Brazilian education reform and low-cost computational solutions form significant threads, particularly in 2016-2017 publications. Scientific Awards: Two Google Faculty Awards National Science Foundation Early Career Award (highest U.S. government honor for early-career scientists) Blikstein directs the Transformative Learning Technologies Lab (TLTL) and co-founded Stanford's Center for Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazil. His FabLearn conference established the first academic forum on Maker Movement applications in education. While specific grant details aren't listed, the NSF CAREER Award signifies major federal research funding. He spearheads the FabLab@School project deploying advanced fabrication labs in K-12 institutions worldwide and founded the FabLearn conference series. His work integrates teams of engineers, educators, and designers to create scalable solutions for resource-constrained learning environments.
Edgar Troudt, Ph.D., is the Assistant Dean for Research and Strategic Partnerships at Long Island University Brooklyn, where he serves on the entrepreneurship faculty. His work focuses on integrating entrepreneurship concepts into STEM fields through programs like the CUNY Community College Innovation Challenge and the Brooklyn Science Innovation Initiative. Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science), CUNY Graduate Center Master of Philosophy (Computer Science), CUNY Graduate Center Master of Arts (Computer Information Systems), CUNY Brooklyn College Dr. Troudt’s research explores the intersection of STEM and entrepreneurship education, emphasizing virtual enterprise models, innovation in community colleges, and technology-driven curriculum development. His recent publications highlight strategies for embedding business skills into technical education. Scientific awards include the 2015 Homer Saunder’s Outstanding Paper Award, the 2011 CUNY Michael Ribaudo Award for technology innovation, and the 2008 Best of New York Award for creative technology applications. He has also received recognition for teaching excellence and NSF grant leadership.
Dr. Pedro Nava is an Associate Professor and Director of Educational Leadership in the School of Education and Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University. His scholarship centers on educational equity for Chicanx/Latinx and immigrant communities, combining critical race theory, participatory action research, and community-engaged methodologies. Education Ph.D. in Urban Schooling – University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Ed.M. in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy – Harvard University, 2003 B.A. – California State University, Fresno, 1996 Research Interests Dr. Nava’s research interrogates systemic inequalities in urban and rural schooling, emphasizing critical pedagogy and critical race theory . He investigates how immigration status intersects with educational opportunity, and he collaborates with families and communities to co-construct transformative practices through participatory action research . His work also explores family-school-community engagement , leveraging community cultural wealth frameworks to amplify migrant and undocumented voices in educational policy and practice. Publication Trajectory Across more than two decades, Dr. Nava’s publications trace the evolution of critical scholarship in education. Early works examine institutional barriers for Chicano students, while recent studies integrate quantitative ethnography and testimonio methodologies to illuminate intersectional experiences of Latinx youth, undocumented graduate students, and farmworker families. Scientific & Community Awards No formal awards are enumerated in the provided text. Advising & Grants While specific grants and advisees are not listed, Dr. Nava’s leadership role as Director of Educational Leadership implies extensive mentoring of master’s and doctoral students, as well as oversight of grant-funded initiatives that advance equity-focused leadership preparation. Labs, Teams & Centers Dr. Nava directs the Educational Leadership programs within the School of Education and Counseling Psychology, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and community-engaged research teams that partner with local schools, nonprofits, and migrant organizations.
Sara Gallini is an Assistant Professor at EPFL, leading the Gallini Lab within the ISREC Department of the School of Engineering (SV). Her research focuses on understanding how healthy and oncogenic cells compete in skin epithelium, aiming to identify therapeutic targets for skin cancer prevention. She holds a Tenure Track position and teaches in the Life Sciences Engineering program. Her lab employs advanced in vivo imaging and single-cell analysis techniques. Education details are not explicitly provided, but her career includes a postdoctoral fellowship with the HFSP. Her research integrates molecular, cellular, and systems-level approaches to study cancer initiation and tissue homeostasis, particularly in injury-driven dynamics. Lab Members: Includes PhD student Mustafa Öztürk and technical staff Mélanie Sipion. Key Research Themes: Oncogenic cell competition, epidermal regeneration, EGFR/ERK signaling, and therapeutic target discovery. Her lab collaborates with clinical teams and uses models like mouse skin to study tumor suppression mechanisms. Future work aims to leverage healthy cell dynamics for cancer treatment strategies. Contact: SV 2527 office, +41216936764, sara.gallini@epfl.ch .
Noah J. Cowan is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering, with secondary appointments in Computer Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Neuroscience. He is the founder and director of the Locomotion in Mechanical and Biological Systems (LIMBS) Laboratory, part of the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics. His research focuses on neuromechanics, robotics, and control theory, bridging neuroscience, biomechanics, and engineering. Cowan's work investigates how organisms achieve precise locomotion and applies these insights to advance robotics, neuroprosthetics, and rehabilitation technologies. Education: B.S. Electrical Engineering (Ohio State, 1995), M.S. and Ph.D. Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (University of Michigan, 1997/2001). Postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley (2001–2003) before joining Johns Hopkins. Research Interests: Neuromechanics of motion, bio-inspired robotics, multisensory integration in animals (e.g., electric fish, Drosophila), and sensorimotor control in clinical contexts like cerebellar ataxia. His lab studies how neural circuits interact with biomechanics to produce movement, with applications to robotic design and neurological disorder treatments. Awards & Recognition: Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2010), IEEE Fellow, NSF CAREER Award (2009), and multiple teaching and research excellence awards at Johns Hopkins. His work has been published in top journals like Nature , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , and IEEE Transactions on Robotics . Outreach & Mentorship: Longtime mentor for high school and undergraduate students in STEM, leading programs like the Baltimore Ingenuity Project and WISE. Served as team leader for the STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) initiative. Key Projects: Development of the LIMBS Lab’s VR systems for animal studies, bioelectric navigation technologies for medical devices, and collaborations with clinicians on upper limb movement disorders. His team’s research on electric fish and fruit flies has revealed principles of adaptive control applicable to robotics and AI.
Andrew D. White is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of Rochester. He holds a PhD from the University of Washington (2013). His research focuses on automating scientific discovery through AI, particularly leveraging large language models (LLMs) and deep learning techniques in chemistry. His lab develops agents that integrate literature analysis, hypothesis generation, and experimental design to advance fields like molecular dynamics and drug discovery. Education: PhD in Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, 2013 BS/MS (not explicitly stated in text, inferred from career timeline) Research Interests: Large language models for scientific automation Deep learning applications in chemistry and materials science Molecular dynamics simulations Scientific agents and autonomous systems Publications: His work includes groundbreaking studies on closed-loop AI systems for chemistry, federated learning in molecular property prediction, and multi-agent systems for drug discovery. Recent highlights include the Robin system and ChemCrow tools. Awards: Recipient of the NSF Career Award (2018), NIH Outstanding Investigator Award (2020), and the Curtis Teaching Award (2019). He also advises biotech companies and serves on the National Academy of Sciences' Chemical Sciences Roundtable. Grants & Funding: Supported by DOE, NSF (multiple grants including CBET-1751471), NIH (R35GM137966), and LLNL projects. Collaborates with institutions like Argonne National Lab and Qubit Pharmaceuticals. Labs & Teams: Leads the White Lab at Rochester and co-founded FutureHouse, a nonprofit advancing AI-driven scientific discovery. Supervises a multidisciplinary team of PhD students and postdocs in computational chemistry, AI, and biophysics.
Ricardo Sabates is a Professor of Education and International Development at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Faculty of Education and the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre . He is a Fellow at Hughes Hall and serves as Deputy Director of Research at the Faculty of Education. His career spans institutions including the University of Sussex, Institute of Education London, and Hughes Hall, Cambridge. PhD in Development (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) MSc in Economics (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) BA Honours (ITAM, Mexico) Ricardo is a development economist with expertise in educational inequalities , particularly in low-income countries. His work focuses on quantitative methods , maternal education impacts , and equity in educational access and learning . He collaborates with international agencies such as the OECD , UNICEF , UNESCO UIS , DFID , and the World Bank . His recent research trends include large-scale educational reform in Ethiopia , community-school participation in India , disability and learning outcomes , and teacher effectiveness in Africa . Projects often involve experimental/quasi-experimental designs and policy evaluation in Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Ricardo also supervises postgraduate doctoral and masters students and contributes to core research training courses at Cambridge. He is actively involved in multiproject collaborations funded by the DFID-ESRC , MasterCard Foundation , and CAMFED , addressing topics like girls' secondary education , teacher effectiveness , and equity in educational interventions .
Professor Kay O'Halloran serves as Chair Professor and Head of Department of Communication and Media within the School of the Arts at the University of Liverpool since August 2019. She concurrently holds the position of Co-Director for the Digital Media and Society Institute (DMSI), demonstrating significant leadership across academic and research domains. Her career spans prestigious institutions including Curtin University (2013-2019) and National University of Singapore (1998-2013), where she directed the Multimodal Analysis Lab and served as Deputy Director of the Interactive & Digital Media Institute. PhD from Murdoch University (1996) Postdoctoral position at Martin Luther University (1997-1998) Visiting Distinguished Professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University (2017-2020) Professor O'Halloran's research focuses on multimodal discourse analysis, particularly the interaction of language with visual and mathematical resources. Her pioneering work in systemic functional multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA) has significantly impacted mathematics education and digital communication studies. Current research emphasizes digital tools for multimodal analysis and mixed methods approaches to big data analytics, addressing contemporary challenges in misinformation and public health communication. Her recent publications reveal strong thematic concentration in pandemic-related communication analysis, misinformation resistance mechanisms, and multimodal argumentation across social and cultural contexts. The 15 most recent articles demonstrate consistent application of multimodal frameworks to urgent societal issues including public health crises, political discourse, and digital literacy challenges. Founding editor of Routledge Studies in Multimodality book series (57+ volumes) Over 150 publications in leading international journals 50+ plenary/keynote presentations globally Competitive funding from National Research Foundation, MOE Singapore, US Air Force, ARC, NHMRC, and others Professor O'Halloran has directed interdisciplinary research teams comprising social scientists, computer scientists, and designers. Her leadership extends to developing commercial multimodal analysis software (Multimodal Analysis Image and Video) adopted internationally. Current projects include Eurovision 2023 wellbeing evaluation and COVID-19 misinformation immunity development, demonstrating continued relevance to contemporary societal challenges.
Ross L. Levine, MD, is a distinguished Professor and Physician-Scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), holding the Edward P. Evans Endowed Chair for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). As Senior Vice President of Memorial Hospital’s Translational Research division, he leads groundbreaking work in hematologic malignancies, particularly leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). His research integrates clinical care with genomic and molecular studies to develop targeted therapies. Levine received his MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, followed by residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Education: MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Residencies: Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Fellowships: Hematology/Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Levine’s research focuses on the genetic and epigenetic drivers of myeloid cancers, including JAK-STAT pathway mutations in MPNs and AML. His team explores therapeutic strategies targeting CXCL8/CXCR2 signaling and clonal hematopoiesis. Key contributions include identifying JAK2 mutations in MPNs and advancing single-cell mutation analysis for clonal evolution studies. His clinical expertise includes treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), polycythemia vera, and myelofibrosis, performing bone marrow biopsies, and leading clinical trials for targeted therapies. Levine has pioneered translational research programs linking lab discoveries to patient care, emphasizing precision medicine. Awards & Honors: Pershing Square Sohn Prize (2014), Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Award (2007), and multiple Leukemia & Lymphoma Society accolades. He holds leadership roles in professional societies, including co-chairing the American Society of Hematology’s 2016 Scientific Program. Levine’s lab, part of the Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program (HOPP), collaborates with institutions globally. His work has been published in high-impact journals like Cancer Cell , Nature , and Blood , advancing understanding of cancer genetics and therapeutic innovation.
