Prof. Alois Christian Knoll is a full professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in the School of Computation, Information and Technology. His academic career includes roles at Bielefeld University and leadership in major EU initiatives like the Human Brain Project and ECHORD++. He specializes in robotics, AI, and autonomous systems, with a focus on medical robotics, sensor-based systems, and neuromorphic engineering. Knoll has supervised over 100 doctoral theses and authored/co-authored over 1,000 publications. Education: Diploma in Electrical Engineering (University of Stuttgart, 1985); PhD in Computer Science (Technical University of Berlin, 1988); Habilitation (TU Berlin, 1993). He has been at TUM since 2001, leading the Robotics, AI, and Real-Time Systems department. Research interests span autonomous systems, neuro-IT integration, and traffic simulation. Key projects include fortiss (Bavarian State Institute for Computer Science) and TUM-CREATE (Singapore collaboration). Awards include IEEE Fellow, University of Tokyo Fellow, and the Carl-Ramsauer-Prize (1990). Current roles include editorships in robotics journals, leadership in EU flagship projects, and teaching across multiple programs. His work bridges computer science, neuroscience, and engineering, with applications in healthcare, automotive systems, and urban mobility.
Barbara Caputo is a Full Professor at Politecnico di Torino, leading the VANDAL Laboratory and directing the AI@PoliTo Interdepartmental Lab. She holds a double affiliation with the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and has held roles at Idiap-EPFL and Sapienza University. Her research focuses on AI, computer vision, domain adaptation, and federated learning. She contributes to national AI policy, including the Italian Strategy on AI and the National PhD on AI for Industry 4.0. She is an ERC Laureate and ELLIS Fellow, co-founding ELLIS society. Her work spans visual place recognition, action recognition, and cross-domain learning. Education: PhD in Computer Science from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (2005). Major roles include Rector’s Advisor on AI at PoliTo, Board Member of ELLIS, and coordinator of the AI & Industry 4.0 vertical in the National PhD program. Awards include ERC Laureate (2017), ELLIS Fellow (2019), and Inspiring Fifty Italy (2018). Her research emphasizes federated learning, domain adaptation, and AI ethics. Recent articles explore domain generalization, resource-efficient federated models, and AI-environment interactions. She collaborates with institutions like MUR, CNR, and the European Commission on AI policy and tech initiatives.
Granger Morgan is the Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, holding joint appointments in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, and the H. John Heinz III College. His research focuses on science, technology, and public policy, particularly energy systems, climate change, risk analysis, and regulatory frameworks. He co-directs the NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making and the Electricity Industry Center. Education: Ph.D., Applied Physics and Information Science, University of California, San Diego (1969) M.S., Astronomy and Space Science, Cornell University (1965) B.A., Physics, Harvard College (1963) Research Interests: Energy decarbonization and electric power resilience Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies Risk assessment and policy analysis Hydrogen and nuclear energy systems Global technology adoption dynamics Awards and Affiliations: FAS Public Service Award (2016) Member, National Academy of Sciences Fellow, AAAS, IEEE, and Society for Risk Analysis National Academies Report Review Committee Co-Chair Advisory roles at DOE, PNNL, and international energy councils Advisory and Grants: Leadership in national studies on electric grid resilience and hydrogen infrastructure Recipient of NSF and industry-funded research grants Guidance on global energy policy and regulatory frameworks Labs and Teams: NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making (co-director) Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center Interdisciplinary energy policy research groups
Dr. Enrica Dall'Ara serves as the Associate Dean of Planning and Landscape Architecture and an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary's School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. Her work bridges academic research and professional practice, exemplified through her firm PARC, which specializes in public space design, urban renewal, and the rehabilitation of industrial sites. She emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating fields like environmental engineering and biology into landscape architecture. Education: Laurea in Architettura (Master Degree equivalent in Architecture), University of Ferrara, Italy Master in Landscape Architecture, ETSAB, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain PhD in Landscape Design, University of Florence, Italy Research Interests: Dr. Dall'Ara focuses on practice-based research, public space design, service landscapes, and the integration of cultural advocacy into landscape architecture. Her work explores site-specific design solutions, the role of agriculture in urban-rural dynamics, and the preservation of traditional rural landscapes. She advocates for designs that serve life through poetic, functional, and culturally sensitive approaches. Contributions: Through her teaching, Dall'Ara encourages students to view design as research, fostering critical thinking and interdisciplinary dialogue. Her firm’s projects, such as the roundabout gardens in Imola, Italy, demonstrate her commitment to merging ecological, functional, and aesthetic considerations in landscape interventions. Professional Affiliations: Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) Alberta Association of Landscape Architects (AALA) Associazione Italiana di Architettura del Paesaggio (AIAPP) Ordine degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori (Province of Forlì-Cesena, Italy)
Ronald McGarvey is a Full Professor at IÉSEG School of Management since 2022, with prior roles including Associate Professor with Tenure at the University of Missouri (2013-2022) and Senior Operations Researcher at RAND Corporation (2002-2022). He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Pennsylvania State University and an H.D.R. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Paul Sabatier, France. Education : H.D.R. (2024), Industrial Engineering, University of Paul Sabatier Ph.D. (2002), Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Pennsylvania State University His research focuses on Operations Research and Robust Optimization applied to diverse domains: Healthcare Logistics : Modeling access disparities in rural obstetric care for American Indian populations Environmental Sustainability : Analyzing biomass energy systems, forest carbon impacts, and waste management frameworks Network Design : Developing optimization models for supply chain resilience, military logistics, and urban transit safety Policy Analysis : Evaluating multi-state environmental collaborations and localized food systems His publications demonstrate strong interdisciplinary applications of mathematical programming and spatial optimization to real-world challenges in healthcare access, energy sustainability, and transportation systems. Key Collaborations : Working with researchers in public health (Thorsen, Noble), environmental science (Aguilar), and engineering (Mirzaee, Gutierrez-Lopez)
Jennifer Wilcox is the Presidential Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science. She holds the James H. Manning Chair and directs the Clean Energy Conversions Lab, which focuses on carbon management strategies to mitigate climate change. Wilcox also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy from January 2021. Her research spans carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), direct air capture (DAC), mineral carbonization, life cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis of carbon management technologies. Wilcox's work examines both mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize negative climate impacts associated with society's dependence on fossil fuels. She takes a multi-perspective approach that includes experimental work, materials characterization, geo-spatial analyses, systems modeling, and techno-economic analysis while considering environmental and social contexts. Wilcox's research has been featured in major publications including the first textbook on Carbon Capture and Storage, the California Getting to Neutral report, the CDR primer, Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies, the State of CDR Volume 2, and the Roads to Removal report. Her work has received recognition including the DOE Secretary's Achievement Award for contributions to the Getting to Neutral report. Secretary's Achievement Award for work on the Getting to Neutral Report Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (2021) Author of the first textbook on Carbon Capture and Storage Lead contributor to the California Getting to Neutral report Co-author of the CDR primer with nearly 40 subject matter experts Wilcox mentors several PhD candidates and research associates including Maxwell Pisciotta, Shelvey Swett, Hélène Pilorgé, Shrey Patel, Aline Uwase, Katherine Vaz Gomes, and Abby Lunstrum. Her lab examines various carbon management strategies from technology development to deployment optimization, with a focus on maximizing climate change mitigation while minimizing adverse social and environmental impacts. The Clean Energy Conversions Lab tracks public funding for carbon management projects across the United States and analyzes lessons from recent legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to identify opportunities for carbon management.
Tim G. J. Rudner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Toronto, a Faculty Member at the Vector Institute, and a Title A Fellow at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He was previously an Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow at New York University. University: University of Toronto School: Faculty of Arts and Science Department: Department of Statistical Sciences Affiliation: Vector Institute, Trinity College (Cambridge) He holds a PhD in Computer Science and an MSc in Statistics from the University of Oxford, where he was advised by Yee Whye Teh and Yarin Gal, and a BS in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Yale University. PhD: Computer Science, University of Oxford MSc: Statistics, University of Oxford BS: Applied Mathematics and Economics, Yale University His research focuses on building robust, transparent, and trustworthy machine learning systems, particularly for high-stakes applications. He develops probabilistic models that improve generalization under distribution shifts, provide reliable uncertainty estimates, and enable fair and interpretable predictions. His work spans generative models, large language models, healthcare, and biomedical discovery. The recent publications highlight a strong trend toward function-space modeling, Bayesian regularization, and AI safety. Tim's work emphasizes principled uncertainty quantification, robustness to subpopulation and semantic shifts, and the development of frameworks for AI governance and specification. His research bridges theoretical advances with real-world applications, especially in safety-critical domains like medicine and defense. Tim has received numerous accolades including being named a Rhodes Scholar, Qualcomm Innovation Fellow, and 2024 Rising Star in Generative AI. He was awarded a $700,000 Foundational Research Grant and a $30,000 Apple Seed Grant for improving LLM trustworthiness. Rhodes Scholar Qualcomm Innovation Fellow AISTATS Notable Paper Award (2024) Outstanding Paper Award, ICLR GenAI4DM Workshop (2024) Apple Seed Grant ($30,000) Foundational Research Grant ($700,000) NeurIPS Spotlight Talk 2024 Rising Star in Generative AI He actively mentors students, particularly first-generation and low-income scholars, and has contributed to major policy frameworks including the OECD AI Classification Framework and a series of CSET issue briefs on AI safety. His work demonstrates a strong commitment to responsible AI development, combining technical rigor with societal impact. Tim leads research efforts at the intersection of machine learning theory and practical deployment, with ongoing projects in generative modeling, reliable LLMs, and AI governance. His lab produces high-impact work regularly published at top-tier conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, and AISTATS.
B. L. Turner II is a Regents' Professor and Gilbert F. White Professor of Environment and Society at Arizona State University, affiliated with the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the School of Sustainability. His work focuses on human-environment relationships, land system science, urban sustainability, and ancient Maya studies. Education: PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1974), MA and BS from the University of Texas at Austin. Research Interests: Land system architecture, tropical deforestation, urban heat islands, and sustainability science. His research has been supported by NSF, NASA, USDA, and others. Key contributions include studies on land change in the Southern Yucatán, vulnerability frameworks, and urban climate adaptation. Major Awards: Preston E. James Award, Sustainability Science Award, Fellowships from AAAS and NAS. Turner has advised over 50 doctoral students and contributed to interdisciplinary initiatives like the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) and the Global Land Project.
Christopher Turbill is an Associate Professor in Animal Science at Western Sydney University's School of Science, where he maintains an active research program focused on animal physiological ecology. He is affiliated with the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment and serves as a Principal Investigator on multiple research projects while accepting HDR candidates for supervision. PhD from University of New England (2006) Thesis: Thermoregulatory Ecology of Tree-roosting Bats Supervised by Prof. Fritz Geiser Postdoctoral fellowships from Austrian Science Fund and Australian Research Council (DECRA) Former ecologist with NSW Government Professor Turbill's research integrates thermal and metabolic physiology with behavioral ecology to understand animal-environment interactions. His work has revealed significant ecological consequences of controlled body temperature variation in mammals and birds, linking these processes with metabolic energy expenditure, activity patterns, and life-history strategies. He specializes in bat biology and investigates conflicts between human environmental change and animal conservation requirements. His research keywords include ecophysiology, thermoregulation, energy expenditure, life-history ecology, body temperature, torpor, hibernation, and wildlife conservation. Analysis of Turbill's recent publications reveals a strong focus on thermal biology and conservation physiology, particularly regarding bats and birds. His work examines how animals manage energy through torpor, respond to climate change through thermal regulation, and adapt to anthropogenic disturbances. The research spans field studies of flying-foxes, microbats, and passerine birds across Australian ecosystems, with increasing emphasis on conservation applications related to white-nose syndrome, fire impacts, and wind energy development. Turbill leads significant research projects including the Ecology of the eastern horseshoe bat and its sensitivity to fire impacts (2024-2027), Vulnerability of Australian bats to white-nose syndrome (2021-2026), and Torpor use and burrowing behaviour in an arid zone passerine (2024). His work attracts funding from diverse sources including the Australian Research Council, Department of Planning and Environment, and various conservation organizations. Professor Turbill directs the BatsLab research group, which maintains a virtual hub for bat research at Western Sydney University. His team employs advanced methodologies including thermal imaging, GPS tracking, and physiological monitoring to study animal responses to environmental challenges. Current work focuses on developing conservation interventions for heat-stressed flying-foxes and assessing vulnerabilities of Australian bat species to emerging diseases.
Xiaowei Jia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (supervised by Prof. Vipin Kumar) and B.S./M.S. degrees from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and SUNY Buffalo. His research focuses on integrating scientific theory with machine learning to address societal and environmental challenges, such as climate modeling, hydrology, and fairness in AI. Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota (2020) M.S., State University of New York at Buffalo B.S., University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) Research Interests: Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning Spatiotemporal Data Mining Fairness in AI for Social Good Applications in Environmental Science and Healthcare Publications showcase his work on physics-integrated neural networks, spatiotemporal modeling (e.g., water temperature prediction), and fairness-aware algorithms. His work has been recognized with Best Paper awards at SIAM SDM (2022, 2023). Awards include the Best Applied Data Science Paper Award at SIAM SDM in 2022 and 2023. He teaches advanced machine learning courses, emphasizing theory integration with real-world applications.
Ting Lu is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the School of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, focusing on microbial synthetic biology and systems biology. Their research bridges biology, engineering, and physics to reprogram cellular functionalities through gene regulatory networks. Ph.D. in Biophysics, University of California at San Diego (2007) B.S. in Physics, Zhejiang University (2002) Ting Lu's work explores microbial ecosystems, synthetic gene circuits, and their applications in biotechnology and medicine. By combining experimental approaches with mathematical modeling, they investigate bacterial communication networks, metabolic pathways, and spatial dynamics in microbial communities. Selected research trends include microbial consortia engineering for bioremediation and bioproduction, complexity reduction in microbiomes, and predictive modeling of synthetic gene networks. Their publications span high-impact journals such as Nature Communications , Nature Chemical Biology , and eLife . Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2022) Future Insight Prize (2021) Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar (UIUC) (2020) NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (2019) NSF CAREER Award (2015) AHA National Scientist Development Grant (2012) Ting Lu's lab has received grants from NIH, NSF, ONR, and industry partners. They offer undergraduate research opportunities in synthetic and systems biology, and teach advanced courses such as BIOE 430 - Intro Synthetic Biology and BIOE 432 - Systems Biology .
Shauna Brail is Professor and Director at the Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga, with cross-appointments at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. As an economic geographer and urban planner, her research examines urban transformation through economic, social, and technological change, particularly focusing on platform economy impacts, mobility innovation, and governance shifts in 21st-century cities. Education: PhD in Geography (University of Toronto), MA in Urban Planning (University of British Columbia), BA in Urban Studies/Geography (University of Toronto). Leadership Roles: Former Associate Director of Mobility Network, Director of Urban Studies Program, Associate Director of Partnerships & Outreach at School of Cities, and Interim Director of Master of Urban Innovation. Her work appears in top journals across geography, urban planning, and urban studies . Recent publications analyze pandemic impacts on cities, platform economy regulation, public housing finance models, and autonomous vehicle governance. She advises governments and civic organizations on housing, transportation, and digital platform policy while serving on editorial boards for Applied Geography , Progress in Economic Geography , and Canadian Geographies . Academic partnerships include collaborations with researchers like Tara Vinodrai, Ben Donald, and international scholars. Her current projects examine post-pandemic urban recovery, mobility-as-a-service business models, and equitable transportation technology implementation across Canadian cities.
Dr. Olle Järv is an Academy Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki's Department of Geosciences and Geography. As Docent in Human Geography and holder of a joint PhD from University of Tartu and Ghent University, his research focuses on leveraging big data sources like mobile phone records and social media for analyzing human mobility patterns across European cross-border regions. Key research areas: Spatial segregation, urban diversity, transnationalism, and pandemic-induced mobility changes Current projects: BORDERSPACE (2020-2025) – Mapping transnational spaces through mobility data MOBI-TWIN (2023-2026) – Regional mobility patterns in twin transitions WinWin4WorkLife (2024-2027) – Sustainable cross-border remote work His methodological innovations include developing tools for analyzing social media data and mobile phone records to study urban dynamics. Recent recognitions include the 2024 Research Council of Finland Award and 2021 Best Paper Award from Journal of Location Based Services.
Haibin Ling is the SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University, part of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His research focuses on computer vision, medical image analysis, augmented reality, and AI applications in science. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland (2006) and prior degrees from Peking University. Previously, he worked at Temple University (2008–2019) and held roles at Siemens Corporate Research, UCLA, and Microsoft Research Asia. Professor Ling's work spans biomedical imaging, AI for science, and human-computer interaction. He leads the CV Lab and collaborates with the AI Institute at Stony Brook. Awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2014), Best Student Paper (ACM UIST 2003), and IEEE Fellow (2020). He serves on editorial boards for IEEE Trans. PAMI, Pattern Recognition, and CVIU, and chairs major conferences like CVPR. His research group includes over 50 students and alumni, with active projects in tracking benchmarks (LaSOT), Leafsnap, and medical imaging tools. Notable publications address OCTA flow estimation, backdoor attacks on vision models, and topology-guided medical learning. Collaborations involve institutions like Temple University and Stony Brook's Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.
Kevin Manaugh is an Associate Professor at McGill University, specializing in Urban Planning with a focus on sustainable transportation and spatial justice. His research examines how decision-making processes in urban development balance environmental, economic, and social equity goals, particularly through transport systems. He holds a PhD in Urban Planning from McGill University (2013). His key research interests include integrating social equity into land use policies, analyzing accessibility impacts on socioeconomically diverse populations, and studying behavior change related to sustainable transportation. Current projects explore equitable transit accessibility, responses to local mobility policies, and health/well-being effects of sustainable transport choices. Manaugh has published extensively on transportation equity, urban form analysis, and GIS applications. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical policy implementation, emphasizing participatory approaches to urban planning. Notable contributions include studies on pandemic street reallocation equity and cycling infrastructure prioritization strategies. His research has been supported by interdisciplinary collaborations and applied to Canadian urban contexts. Despite prolific output, Manaugh maintains an active engagement with public discourse on urban mobility challenges and equitable urban futures.
