Dr. Edyta Chlebowska is an Assistant Professor at the Cyprian Norwid Research Center, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. Specializing in the visual art and literary legacy of Cyprian Norwid, she explores intersections between Polish Romanticism, art history, and cultural studies. Her work extends to album art analysis and interdisciplinary connections with music (e.g., Pink Floyd, Czesław Niemen). Her research focuses on Norwid's self-portraits, eschatological themes in his drawings, and comparative studies with 19th-century Warsaw painting. She reconstructs lost artworks, documents private collections (e.g., Konstancja Górska, Victor Gomulicki), and examines Norwid's reception in Florence and Odessa. Key projects include translating Studia Norwidiana and critical editing of Norwid's complete works. As editor-in-chief of multiple On Cyprian Norwid. Studies and Essays volumes and organizer of conferences like Niemen Non Stop and Colloquia Norwidiana , she bridges academic rigor with public engagement. Her publications span peer-reviewed books, journal articles, and popular science pieces, emphasizing Norwid's unpublished works and symbolic programs.
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.
Professor Hanumant Singh leads the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Northeastern University, with a joint appointment in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , and serves as Program Director for the Master of Science in Robotics. He earned his Ph.D. from MIT/WHOI Joint Program in 1995 and has conducted over 60 expeditions globally, focusing on marine geology, polar studies, and coral reef ecology. His research emphasizes field robotics , including SLAM, underwater manipulation, and imaging in extreme environments. He developed the Seabed AUV and Jetyak ASV , widely used in scientific research. His labs include the Field Robotics Lab and the Institute for Experiential Robotics . Research Interests: Machine Learning for Fisheries SLAM with dynamic objects Underwater imaging and manipulation Autonomous surface and aerial systems Polar and marine robotics Awards: ICRA Best Student Paper Award, IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Distinguished Faculty Award (2025), Lifetime Achievement Award (2022), and IEEE Fellow status. His work has been featured in Nature Geoscience , Polar Biology , and media outlets like WGBH. Students & Collaborations: Advises students like Srinidhi Pattala (MS Robotics) and Dennis Giaya (PhD Computer Engineering). Collaborates with institutions on projects such as Antarctic sea ice thickness estimation and deep-sea submersible missions.
Dr. Soonja Choi is a Research Professor in the Comparative Psycholinguistics Group at the University of Vienna and Director of the Korean Studies Program at San Diego State University (SDSU), where she holds the title of Professor Emerita of Linguistics. She earned her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Buffalo (1986) and holds advanced degrees from institutions in France and South Korea. Her research focuses on language and thought, semantics, spatial language, and Korean linguistics, with a particular emphasis on cross-linguistic studies of spatial categorization and its cognitive implications. Research Contributions: Her work has explored how language influences spatial perception and cognition, notably through long-term collaborations with the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the National Science Foundation. Key contributions include studies on spatial term development in Korean/English children and cross-linguistic comparisons of spatial semantics between German, Korean, and English. Grants & Awards: Secured over $1.4M in grants including a EUR 600,000 Vienna Science Fund grant (2016-2020) and multiple NSF awards. Elected to the Academy of Europe (2019) as an Ordinary Member. Professional Roles: Served as Chair of SDSU's Department of Linguistics and Oriental Languages (1997-2000, 2001-2002), Graduate Advisor (multiple terms), and editorial board member for Language, Interaction, and Acquisition . Active in academic governance and international linguistic organizations.
Professor Jason Rentfrow is a Professor of Personality & Individual Differences and Director of Graduate Education at the University of Cambridge's Department of Psychology. His research focuses on geographical psychology, exploring how regional environments shape personality, cultural differences, and societal outcomes. He also serves as Director of Studies in Psychology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Key research interests include the psychological effects of geography on traits like openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism; the role of music preferences in personality expression; and the impact of socioeconomic status on self-concept. He has pioneered studies linking personality to political behavior, urban planning, and public health responses to crises like the 2020 pandemic. His work combines large-scale data analysis with spatial methodology, examining datasets from over 133 nations. Notable contributions include frameworks for measuring regional personality differences and their implications for innovation, entrepreneurship, and electoral outcomes. He has also developed psychometric tools like the Test of Attribute Preferences (TAP) for studying musical preferences. Recent research highlights include analyzing how Roman historical legacies influence modern German well-being disparities, the psychological roots of Brexit and Trump voter behavior, and the link between childhood trauma and adult empathy levels. His interdisciplinary approach spans psychology, sociology, economics, and geography. Professional activities include supervising graduate students, reviewing for top journals, and advising on cultural policy. He maintains an active lab focused on personality-environment interactions and their societal consequences.
Cyrill Stachniss is a Full Professor at the University of Bonn , where he heads the Lab for Photogrammetry and Robotics and is affiliated with the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence . He was previously a Visiting Professor in Engineering at the University of Oxford until 2025. His academic journey includes positions at the University of Freiburg, University of Zaragoza, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. University: University of Bonn School: Faculty of Engineering Department: Department of Photogrammetry Academic Rank: Professor His research spans robotics, photogrammetry, SLAM, autonomous navigation, perception systems, agricultural robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicles . He emphasizes probabilistic techniques for mobile robots and has made significant contributions to visual and LiDAR-based localization, scene understanding, and 3D reconstruction. The recent publications highlight a strong trend toward neural implicit representations, agricultural phenotyping, radar-based perception, and active learning . His team develops robust systems for real-world deployment in dynamic and unstructured environments, particularly in precision farming and autonomous vehicles. Scientific Awards: IEEE RAS Early Career Award (2013) Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow (2010) 7th EURON Georges Giralt Award (2008) Multiple Best Paper Awards at ICRA, IROS, RSS, and RAL Faculty Teaching Award, University of Freiburg He has advised numerous students and leads the DFG Cluster of Excellence PhenoRob and Research Unit FOR 1505 Mapping on Demand . His lab has co-founded three startups, reflecting strong industry and societal impact. He also runs the educational video series 5 Minutes with Cyrill , explaining key robotics concepts.
David Lindlbauer is an Assistant Professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) of Carnegie Mellon University, where he leads the Augmented Perception Lab and co-directs the CMU Extended Reality Technology Center. His research bridges human perception, extended reality (AR/VR), and computational interaction techniques, focusing on developing systems that dynamically adapt interface elements based on environmental context, user cognition, and task requirements. He completed his PhD at TU Berlin under Prof. Marc Alexa and held a postdoctoral position at ETH Zurich's Advanced Interactive Technologies lab. His work has been published extensively at top venues including ACM CHI, UIST, and IEEE VR, with research themes spanning gaze tracking, spatial audio optimization, haptic feedback, and multimodal notification systems. Media outlets like MIT Technology Review and Fast Company Design have featured his innovations. Dr. Lindlbauer has received prestigious grants from Meta, NSF, and ETH Zurich, and serves on program committees for CHI, UIST, and ISMAR. He has been recognized with Best Paper awards at ISS 2023 and CHI 2016, and his lab develops tools like MineXR for personalized XR interfaces and RealityReplay for temporal change visualization in mixed reality environments.
Claudio Sillero is a Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Oxford and Section Head of Ecology & Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). He leads global efforts to conserve endangered species, particularly the Ethiopian wolf, and chairs the IUCN Canid Specialist Group. His work integrates behavioral ecology, disease mitigation, and transfrontier conservation strategies. Since joining WildCRU in 1988, he has pioneered research linking fundamental biology to practical conservation solutions. As founder and director of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP), he focuses on safeguarding Afroalpine ecosystems through vaccination campaigns and habitat protection. His IUCN role oversees conservation strategies for all canid species worldwide. Research interests include carnivore behavioral ecology, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and the role of networks in conservation. Notable projects include resolving taxonomic ambiguities in wolf lineages and developing low-cost wildlife tracking technologies. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, combining ecological data with socio-political analysis to address conservation challenges. Key roles: Professor at University of Oxford, WildCRU Section Head, EWCP Director, IUCN Canid Specialist Group Chair Primary research sites: Ethiopian highlands, South American forests, African savannahs Key collaborations: Panthera, African Wild Dog Conservancy, local communities in Ethiopia and Bolivia Students and staff under his mentorship include Claire Marr (jaguar conservation), Dr. Sandra Lai (postdoctoral research on Ethiopian wolves), and Emily Madsen (conservation genetics). His work has led to breakthroughs in understanding canid disease dynamics and carnivore spatial ecology.
Yonatan Bisk is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University within the Language Technologies Institute (with courtesy appointment in Robotics Institute). His research bridges Natural Language Processing , Robotics , and Embodied AI , focusing on language grounding, theory of mind, and multimodal interaction. Education : Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Postdoctoral Experience : USC ISI, University of Washington, Allen Institute for AI Industry Appointments : Microsoft Research, Meta AI His research emphasizes embodied language systems and social intelligence in AI . Recent projects include WebArena for autonomous agents, SOTOPIA for social reasoning, and HomeRobot for open-vocabulary manipulation. He leads the REAL Center (Robotics, Embodied AI, and Learning) to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Key scientific awards include selection for the DARPA ISAT Study Group (2024). He teaches courses like "Talking to Robots" and "Multimodal Machine Learning" while serving as area chair/editor across NLP, Robotics, and ML communities.
Monica Trieu is an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue University, where she focuses on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and immigration with particular emphasis on children of immigrants. Her scholarly work bridges sociology and Asian American studies through critical examination of identity formation and systemic inequalities. Education: Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, Irvine (Asian American Studies emphasis) Master's in Sociology, University of California, Irvine Research Focus: Professor Trieu's expertise spans International Migration, Post-1960s Immigrants and Refugees, 1.5 and Second-Generation Identity, Transnational Ties, and Historical/Contemporary Asian American Experiences. Her scholarship critically analyzes internalized racism, regional identity formation (particularly in the Midwest), and the psychological impacts of anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. She employs intersectional frameworks to explore how refugee experiences, cultural adaptation, and transnational connections shape ethnic identity among Southeast Asian Americans and other immigrant communities. Publication Trends: Her 2013-2024 publications reveal evolving engagement with contemporary crises—from pandemic-induced mental health challenges and anti-Asian violence to structural invisibility of Midwest Asian American communities. While maintaining core focus on identity negotiation among second-generation immigrants, her recent work expands into comparative analyses of Asian American/Latina/o transnational patterns and refugee resettlement experiences, demonstrating methodological versatility across ethnographic, survey, and media analysis approaches. Professional Impact: As author of Identity Construction among Chinese-Vietnamese Americans: Being, Becoming, and Belonging (2009) and publications in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and Journal of Asian American Studies , Trieu has established herself as a key voice in Midwest Asian American scholarship. Her research directly informs institutional responses to rising anti-Asian sentiment and contributes foundational frameworks for understanding regional ethnic identity formation beyond coastal enclaves.
Yi Fang is an Associate Professor of Computer Engineering and an affiliated Associate Professor of Computer Science at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), and a Global Network Associate Professor at NYU Tandon. He is a core faculty member in the Division of Engineering, specializing in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research is centered at the intersection of Embodied AI, Robotics, and AI-driven assistive technologies, with strong support from agencies such as the US NSF, UAE ADEK, and ASPIRE. PhD, Purdue University Yi Fang's research interests span 3D Computer Vision, Multimedia Processing, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Embodied AI . He focuses on AI-driven perception, learning, and real-world applications, particularly in engineering, medicine, and accessibility. His lab, the Embodied AI and Robotics (AIR) Lab, develops intelligent robotic systems that integrate perception, learning, and decision-making to solve complex societal challenges. His work emphasizes large-scale visual computing, deep visual learning, and cross-domain/multimodal foundation models , with recent innovations in assistive AI for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community. The 15 most recent publications reflect a consistent focus on 3D vision, sketch-based 3D retrieval, point cloud learning, and assistive computer vision . His work leverages deep learning, adversarial training, metric learning, and generative models to bridge modalities such as sketches, depth images, and 3D models. There is a clear trend toward cross-modal understanding, unsupervised representation learning, and real-world assistive applications , especially for visually impaired individuals. Yi Fang actively contributes to the academic community as an Area Chair for top-tier conferences including CVPR, ECCV, ICCV, IJCAI, and IROS. He also serves in peer review and mentoring roles, shaping the future of AI and robotics research. As a dedicated educator, he teaches foundational and advanced courses such as Computer Vision, Applied Machine Learning, Data Structures, and Capstone Design . He mentors students through research seminars and honors projects, fostering innovation and technical excellence. His research is supported by major grants from US NSF, UAE ADEK, and ASPIRE, enabling high-impact interdisciplinary collaborations. He founded and directs the Embodied AI and Robotics (AIR) Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, a dedicated research space for developing intelligent systems that seamlessly integrate perception, learning, and decision-making. The lab promotes interdisciplinary collaboration across engineering, medicine, and social sciences, advancing the frontiers of Embodied AI.
Kären Wigen is the Frances and Charles Field Professor in History at Stanford University, specializing in Japanese history and the history of cartography. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley (1990). Her research spans: Historical geography of East Asia Early modern Japanese regional economies Geographies of the imagination Transnational maritime histories Critical cartography and spatial analysis Her publications include eight major works from 1992-2025 analyzing spatial transformations in Japan and global metageography, with recent projects focusing on temporal dimensions in cartographic representation. She co-edited Seascapes (2007) and Cartographic Japan (2016), and serves as Director of Stanford’s Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities since 2022.
Stephen Billings is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder, where he holds the Global Real Estate Capital Markets Chair position. He serves as the faculty director of the MS in Real Estate program and research director for the CU Real Estate Center. His work spans multiple research centers including the Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and the Michael A. Klump Center for Real Estate. Billings received his PhD in Economics from the University of Colorado, a MS in urban planning from the University of North Carolina, and a BS in economics from Georgetown University. Prior to joining CU Boulder in 2016, he was faculty at the University of North Carolina Charlotte with appointments in both economics and public policy, where he also served as faculty director for the real estate center. His research focuses on the intersection of housing, schools, neighborhoods and crime, addressing critical policy issues including the impact of public investment in light-rail transit on neighborhoods, school segregation's influence on academic achievement and crime, neighborhood gentrification causes, lead-based paint in low-income housing, and the effects of sea level rise and natural disasters on neighborhood sorting and household finances. Billings employs sophisticated analysis of large micro-datasets with studies based on data and policies in Charlotte, NC and Denver, CO. His work connects urban economics with public policy, demonstrating how neighborhood environments shape individual outcomes across multiple dimensions. Billings' recent publication record demonstrates a consistent focus on neighborhood effects, school choice impacts, crime economics, and housing market dynamics. His work frequently examines the intersection of race, housing, and economic outcomes, with particular attention to policy implications. He has developed innovative methodological approaches to studying residential amenities and neighborhood spillovers, with increasing attention to climate change impacts on housing markets. His research appears in top journals including The Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review: Insights, and Journal of Urban Economics. As an educator, Billings teaches undergraduate and masters classes in real estate finance and economics, as well as doctoral and masters level courses on cost-benefit analysis and statistical methods. He has extensive consulting experience conducting economic impact studies, including assessments of North Carolina's public higher education system, affordable housing needs in Colorado communities, and the economic effects of marijuana legalization on property markets. His practical policy work complements his academic research, creating a bridge between theoretical insights and real-world applications. Billings leads significant research initiatives through the CU Real Estate Center, where he directs studies examining the impact of business improvement districts and other urban development policies. His work bridges academic research with practical policy applications, making substantial contributions to our understanding of how housing, education, and neighborhood environments shape individual outcomes and community development. His December 2023 memo on the HUD Officer Next Door Program exemplifies his engagement with current housing policy issues.
Georgia Gkioxari is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Caltech , with a part-time affiliation at Meta AI . Her work focuses on extending visual perception models through advanced 2D and 3D representation learning, spatial reasoning, and generative models. Education: Not explicitly mentioned in the text Research interests span 3D perception , spatial reasoning , and vision-language integration , with projects like Visual Agentic AI for Spatial Reasoning and Token-by-Token Multimodal Alignment . Her publications emphasize 3D object detection , reconstruction , and generative modeling techniques including diffusion models and transformers . Scientific recognition includes the Meta LLM Evaluation Research Grant , Okawa Research Grant , Google Faculty Scholar Award 2024 , and Amazon Research Award . She teaches courses like Large Language & Vision Models (EE/CS 148) and Learning & 3D (CS 101) at Caltech. Labs & Teams: Leads Glab with members including Ilona Demler, Ziqi Ma, and Damiano Marsili
Massimo Piccardi is a Professor of Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision, and Machine Learning at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) , where he has been since 2002. He currently serves as the Head of the School of Electrical and Data Engineering and leads the Big Data Analytics program at the Global Big Data Technologies Centre. His research focuses on advancing NLP, machine learning applications in healthcare, and cybersecurity in IoT systems. He has authored over 200 journal papers and conference proceedings, secured significant ARC and CRC grants, and holds the IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Contributor Award (2022). Education & Professional Roles: Joined UTS in 2002, progressing from Associate Professor (2002–2007) to Professor (2008–present). Serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Big Data and Editor for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. Active in professional societies including IEEE, ACL, and ALTA (President, 2023–2024). Research Interests: Core areas include NLP (translation, summarization, adversarial attacks), healthcare informatics (clinical NLP, health service analysis), and cybersecurity (IoT security, privacy-preserving systems). Cross-cutting themes include generative models, cross-lingual systems, and ethical AI. Grants & Projects: Principal Investigator on ARC Discovery/Linkage projects and CRC grants. Recent projects include controllable machine translation (Amazon), privacy-preserving digital agriculture, and STEM innovation (ASTRID project with NBN Co). Labs & Collaborations: Leads the UTS Global Big Data Technologies Centre, collaborating on projects like adversarial NLP attacks, medical machine translation, and secure IoT frameworks.
