Rodrigo Carril is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics and Business at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and an Affiliated Professor at the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE). His research focuses on Public Economics and Industrial Organization, particularly examining public procurement policies and their economic impacts. He holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University (2020) and is a Juan de la Cierva Researcher. Education: PhD in Economics, Stanford University (2020). His work explores topics such as pharmaceutical market dynamics, defense contracting efficiency, and regulatory frameworks for public procurement. He has received prestigious awards including the Claire and Ralph Landau Prize (2020) and the Young Economists' Essay Award (2022). Key research trends include analyzing procurement policies' effects on competition, evaluating preference programs for disadvantaged groups, and methodological contributions to econometric techniques like regression discontinuity designs. Awards: Claire and Ralph Landau Prize 2020 Young Economists' Essay Award 2022 Advising and Grants: While specific grants aren’t listed, his collaborative work involves co-authors like Claudia Allende, Mark Duggan, and Andres Gonzalez-Lira, indicating active academic partnerships. He is affiliated with the BSE and contributes to policy-oriented research initiatives. Labs/Teams: Engaged in interdisciplinary projects at UPF and BSE, focusing on public sector efficiency and regulatory economics.
Nicolò Cesa-Bianchi is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Milan, where he serves as head of the Computer Science programs. He is also associated with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) at Politecnico di Milano. Cesa-Bianchi holds significant leadership roles including Board member, Fellow and co-director of the Milan unit of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), and membership in the prestigious Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He is also involved with The European Lighthouse on Secure and Safe AI (ELSA), The European Lighthouse of AI for Sustainability (ELIAS), and The FAIR foundation. Professor Cesa-Bianchi's research focuses on the theoretical foundations of machine learning, with special emphasis on sequential decision making and online learning algorithms. His work spans multiple areas including multi-armed bandit problems, regret analysis, prediction with expert advice, and learning on graphs. He has made significant contributions to understanding the theoretical limits of learning algorithms and developing efficient methods for various learning scenarios. His research has important applications in online markets, social networks, and bioinformatics. His monographs 'Prediction, Learning, and Games' and 'Regret Analysis of Stochastic and Nonstochastic Multi-armed Bandit Problems' are considered seminal works in the field. His recent publications demonstrate continued leadership in advancing the theoretical understanding of machine learning, with 2024-2025 papers covering cooperative online learning, multitask learning, fair trade mechanisms, and refined analyses of bandit algorithms. The research shows increasing focus on practical economic applications while maintaining strong theoretical foundations. Google Research Award Xerox Foundation UAC Award Member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei ELLIS Fellow Cesa-Bianchi has been deeply involved in academic service, having served as action editor for the Machine Learning Journal, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, and the Journal of Machine Learning Research. He currently serves as associate editor for the Journal of Information and Inference and TheoretiCS. He has held leadership positions including President of the Association for Computational Learning and member of the steering committee for the EC-funded Network of Excellence PASCAL2. He was program chair of the 13th Annual Conference on Computational Learning Theory and the 13th International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory. He leads the Laboratory for AI and Learning Algorithms (ALGA) at the University of Milan, which focuses on theoretical and applied research in machine learning. His international collaborations are extensive, with visiting positions at UC Santa Cruz, Graz Technical University, Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Google, and Microsoft Research. As an educator, he teaches advanced courses including Reinforcement Learning and Statistical Methods for Machine Learning, and has supervised numerous students through the years.
Bryon Aragam is an Associate Professor of Econometrics and Statistics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on the intersection of causality, statistical machine learning, and probabilistic modeling, with particular emphasis on applications to artificial intelligence systems including large language models like ChatGPT and generative models like DALL-E. Dr. Aragam completed his PhD in Statistics and a Masters in Applied Mathematics at UCLA, where he was an NSF graduate research fellow. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, he was a project scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Research Focus: Causal structure learning in probabilistic generative models Key Areas: Causal machine learning, deep generative models, latent variable models, statistical learning theory Applications: AI interpretability, ethics, and fairness in artificial intelligence systems Teaching: Business Statistics, Econometrics and Statistics Colloquium His recent publications demonstrate a strong theoretical foundation combined with practical applications, particularly in understanding and improving AI systems. His work spans causal discovery, graphical models, deep learning, and latent variable modeling, with particular attention to the theoretical properties of these methods and their applications to real-world AI challenges. The research shows a progression toward increasingly complex problems in causal representation learning and AI interpretability. Scientific Awards: Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar NSF Graduate Research Fellow Dr. Aragam's work has been published in top statistics and machine learning venues including the Annals of Statistics, Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS), the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), and the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR). His research group publishes broadly across both statistical and machine learning communities, demonstrating the interdisciplinary nature of his work at the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and causal inference. As a data science consultant for technology and marketing firms, Dr. Aragam has applied his expertise to problems in survey design, customer retention, logistics, and ranking, bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical applications.
Marta Casanellas is a full professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and a researcher at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica. She teaches at the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics, ETSEIB, and FIB. She earned her PhD in mathematics from the University of Barcelona under RM Miró-Roig, focusing on algebraic geometry and liaison theory. After completing a postdoc at UC Berkeley with a Fulbright Scholarship, she shifted her research to applications of algebraic geometry in computational biology, particularly phylogenetics. Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of Barcelona (2002), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley (2002-2003) supported by a Fulbright Scholarship. She obtained a prestigious Ramón y Cajal contract at UPC in 2003, which marked her transition to interdisciplinary research at the intersection of mathematics and biology. Casanellas' research focuses on applying algebraic and geometric techniques to phylogenetics, with particular emphasis on evolutionary models, phylogenetic invariants, and computational methods for genomic data analysis. Her work bridges pure mathematics (particularly algebraic geometry) with biological applications, developing mathematical frameworks to reconstruct evolutionary histories and understand genomic relationships. She has published extensively in both mathematics journals like Advances in Mathematics and biology journals like Molecular Biology and Evolution. Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on developing algebraic methods for phylogenetic analysis, with increasing attention to heterogeneous evolutionary processes across lineages, time-reversible models, and computational implementations of theoretical results. The trend shows progression from theoretical foundations in algebraic geometry toward increasingly sophisticated and applicable computational methods for biological data. Fulbright Scholarship for postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley Ramón y Cajal contract (2003) Casanellas has supervised PhD students including A. Kedzierska (co-supervised with R. Guigó of the CRG). She has served as principal investigator for three competitive Spanish government projects involving fifteen researchers each. She has held significant academic leadership roles including Deputy Director of Research of the Department of Mathematics at UPC (2015-2018), head of studies for the Degree in Data Science and Engineering at UPC (2018-2022), and currently coordinates UPC's PhD in Bioinformatics program and Bachelor's Degree in Bioinformatics. She leads the BIO-GEOMAP research group focused on applying mathematical techniques to biological problems.
Miguel Ángel Sotelo Vázquez is a full Professor at the University of Alcalá, leading the INVETT Research Group (Intelligent Vehicles and Traffic Technologies). He holds the Department of Automatic Control and specializes in autonomous systems, particularly in path planning, sensor fusion, and human-vehicle interaction. His research integrates machine learning, robotics, and control theory to address challenges in intelligent transportation systems. He earned his Ph.D. in 2001 with a thesis on autonomous vehicle navigation in partially known environments. His work emphasizes real-world deployment, explainable AI, and safety-critical systems. Recent projects focus on lane change prediction, pedestrian behavior modeling, and cybersecurity for autonomous systems. Key contributions include neuro-symbolic frameworks for decision-making, real-time multi-physics field reconstruction, and cross-cultural studies of pedestrian interactions. He collaborates internationally on urban mobility resilience and hydrogen refueling infrastructure. Research Highlights : Development of knowledge graph-based prediction architectures Experimental validation of human-vehicle interaction in VR environments Creation of the SCOUT trajectory prediction framework
Nicholas Polson is the Robert Law, Jr. Professor of Econometrics and Statistics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His academic career centers on Bayesian statistics with applications in financial econometrics and machine learning. Polson's research interests span Bayesian statistics, financial econometrics, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, particle learning, and deep learning applications in finance. His work has significantly contributed to understanding stochastic volatility models and developing new algorithms for Bayesian inference. He has pioneered applications of deep learning in asset pricing, portfolio management, and financial prediction, demonstrating how neural networks can detect complex patterns invisible to traditional financial models. His recent publication trends reveal a strong focus on integrating deep learning with financial econometrics, particularly in developing characteristics-sorted factor models, portfolio optimization techniques, and explaining the performance differences between active and passive investment strategies. His work consistently bridges theoretical statistical methods with practical financial applications, with a particular emphasis on nonlinear modeling and high-dimensional data analysis. His article 'Bayesian Analysis of Stochastic Volatility Models' was named one of the most influential articles in the 20th anniversary issue of the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics Polson teaches courses including 'Bayes, AI and Deep Learning' and 'Business Statistics' at Chicago Booth, with scheduled offerings for both 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 academic years. His work has been featured in Chicago Booth Review, where he has contributed insights on statistical analysis in chess, machine learning applications in money management, and the odds of cheating in competitive settings. His research demonstrates the powerful intersection of Bayesian statistics, financial modeling, and modern machine learning techniques.
Alejandro Sánchez Gracia is an Associate Professor at the Universitat de Barcelona's Faculty of Biology, affiliated with the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics. He leads the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics research group and directs the advanced course in 'Phylogenomics and Population Genomics: Inference and Applications.' Education: Llicenciat in Biology (Universitat de Barcelona, 1998), PhD in Biology (Universitat de Barcelona, 2006) Research Focus: Molecular mechanisms of chemosensory gene evolution in arthropods, development of bioinformatics tools for evolutionary and population genomics, and population genomics of adaptation in Drosophila. His work bridges computational methods with evolutionary biology, emphasizing genomic approaches to study adaptation. Key projects include analysis of chemoreceptor gene families across Panarthropoda, genomic studies of Canary Island endemic species, and development of tools like BITACORA for gene family annotation. He has contributed to major genomic resources such as DnaSP 6 and participated in initiatives like the Earth BioGenome Project. Active in collaborative networks like the European Drosophila Population Genomics Consortium and AdaptNET (Adaptive Genomics Network). Grants and Projects: 2021-2024: PID2020-113168GB-I00 (Ministry of Science, Spain) - Poligenic adaptation in Drosophila 2020-2021: Catalan blind scorpion genome project (Institut d'Estudis Catalans) Labs/Teams: Heads the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics group, collaborating on projects involving spider genomics, chemosensory evolution, and population-level adaptation studies.
Jose J. Muñoz is a Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), affiliated with the Department of Mathematics and the LACÀN research group. His work focuses on computational mechanics, mechanobiology, and inverse problems in biological systems. He holds a PhD in Aeronautics from Imperial College London (2004) and a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering from UPC and Civil Engineering from École Centrale Paris (1997). His research combines finite element methods, vertex models, and optimal control to study tissue morphogenesis, wound healing, and cancer mechanics. Current roles include leading the LACÀN research group and supervising PhD students in projects like optimal control of contractile systems and inverse mechanical analysis. Former students include Ashutosh Bijalwan and Cécilia Olivesi. He teaches Numerical Methods and Computational Mechanics at the UPC's Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics. His research interests span vertex and finite element modeling, cell rheology, and stability analysis of biological tissues. Notable contributions include models for epithelial wound healing, Drosophila embryo development, and mechanical oscillations in tissues. His work often integrates experimental data with computational frameworks to infer non-observable mechanical parameters.
Gaël Georges Marcel Le Mens is a Full Professor at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), holding a position in the Department of Economics and Business. He is also affiliated with the Barcelona School of Economics and serves as academic co-director of the Executive Master in Business Administration (EMBA) at the UPF Barcelona School of Management. His academic journey includes teaching roles at INSEAD, London Business School, ESADE, and the University of Lugano, alongside positions at the universities of Southern Denmark and New York. Education: Doctor in Business Administration, Stanford Graduate School of Business MSc in Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University Diploma in Engineering, Supélec Bachelor of Economics, University of Paris XI His research focuses on decision-making processes, information sampling, machine learning applications in semantics, and organizational behavior. Key themes include cognitive heuristics, social media impact on political expression, and the interplay between popularity and evaluation dynamics. He has explored how feedback mechanisms shape political communication and developed methodologies to compare human and machine conceptual judgments using models like BERT. His publications span journals such as PNAS , Psychological Review , and Industrial and Corporate Change , reflecting his interdisciplinary approach. Though no explicit awards are noted, his prolific output highlights sustained academic impact. He has advised multiple institutions on curriculum design and executive education, leveraging his cross-university teaching experience. Le Mens is affiliated with the Barcelona School of Management’s research teams and contributes to initiatives bridging artificial intelligence and social sciences. His work often addresses practical challenges in organizational decision-making and digital communication strategies.
Luo Mai is an Assistant Professor at the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics , with an upcoming promotion to Associate Professor (UK Reader) in August 2025. He leads the Large-Scale Machine Learning Systems Group and co-leads the UK EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Machine Learning Systems and an ARIA Project on Scaling AI Compute by 1000X . PhD in Computer Science (Imperial College London, 2018) MRes in Advanced Computing (Imperial College London, 2012) His research focuses on the intersection of computer systems , machine learning , and data management . Key contributions include award-winning systems like WaferLLM (wafer-scale LLM inference), Tenplex (elastic ML), and ServerlessLLM (serverless LLM serving), published at top venues (OSDI, SOSP, ICML, NeurIPS, JMLR). Recent publications demonstrate trends in GPU-based distributed systems , LLM optimization , and adaptive machine learning . His team has developed groundbreaking open-source projects including TensorLayer , TorchOpt , and ServerlessLLM . Awarded Microsoft Research StarTrack Scholar (2024) , secured ARIA grant (2024) with Imperial College & Cambridge University, and received Google Fellowship during PhD (2012-2016). As an educator, he designed Edinburgh's popular Machine Learning Systems course (150+ students). His group supervises multiple PhD students including Yao Fu (recognized as 2024 Rising Star in ML & Systems) and Leyang Xue .
Gonzalo Manzano Paule is a Ramón y Cajal tenure-track researcher at IFISC (Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos), a joint research institute of CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) and UIB (University of the Balearic Islands), where he has been working since January 2023. He previously held a Juan de la Cierva Incorporation fellowship (2021-2023), was an ESQ Postdoc at IQOQI Vienna (2020-2021), and a Postdoc at ICTP Trieste (2018-2020) funded by Scuola Normale Superiore. He obtained his PhD in Physics from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in July 2017, followed by a short Postdoc at IFISC (2017-2018). His research interests focus on quantum and stochastic thermodynamics, open quantum systems, information theory, and the foundations of nonequilibrium statistical physics and quantum mechanics. He is particularly interested in applying concepts from nonequilibrium thermodynamics to understand classical and quantum complex systems. While his work is primarily theoretical, he actively seeks collaborations with experimentalists. His research has been featured in popular science journals including Physics, Quanta Magazine, and Diario de Mallorca. He has also collaborated with artist Evarist Torres to merge art and science and has written a popular science article for Investigación y Ciencia (Scientific American). Manzano Paule's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on quantum thermodynamics, fluctuation theorems, and quantum information processing. His work spans theoretical foundations of quantum thermodynamics to applications in quantum heat engines and molecular motors. A notable pattern in his research is the exploration of how quantum effects can enhance thermodynamic processes and the relationship between information theory and thermodynamics. His scientific achievements have been recognized through prestigious fellowships including the Ramón y Cajal program, Juan de la Cierva Incorporation fellowship, and ESQ Postdoc fellowship. His work has also garnered attention in popular science media, indicating its broader impact beyond academic circles. As an educator, Manzano Paule supervises Master's students and teaches advanced courses including Open Quantum Systems for the Master's Degree in Advanced Physics and Applied Mathematics and the Master's Degree in Physics of Complex Systems. His teaching portfolio also includes Quantum Collective Phenomena, Quantum and Nonlinear Optics, Thermodynamics, and Atomic and Molecular Physics. He currently leads the research project 'QTD-InFlexity Quantum thermodynamics: information, fluctuations and complexity' and participates in the 'CoQuSy Complex Quantum Systems' project. He is also part of the María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence at IFISC, which has received continuous funding since 2008.
David Rossell is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, Spain. He is affiliated with the Statistics@UPF research group and directs the Master in Data Science at the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE). Previously, he held positions at IRB Barcelona as head of the Biostatistics Unit and at the University of Warwick's Statistics Department. He obtained his PhD in Statistics from Rice University, Houston (USA), and conducted postdoctoral research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center under Professors Valen Johnson and Veera Baladandayuthapani. Research Interests: Rossell specializes in high-dimensional statistical inference, Bayesian methods, computational statistics, and applications in biomedicine and social sciences. His work emphasizes methodology for complex data integration, variable selection, graphical models, and experimental design. Key areas include non-local priors, scalable Bayesian computation, and the development of R packages for statistical analysis (e.g., casper , chroGPS , gaga ). Publications: His recent work focuses on advancing Bayesian variable selection, graphical models with external data, and causal inference. Themes include leveraging external datasets for improved model accuracy, robustness to model misspecification, and applications in healthcare and complex mixture analysis. His contributions span methodological innovation and computational tools for high-dimensional problems. Funding & Grants: Rossell has secured funding through Spanish and European grants, including Juan de la Cierva Fellowships, AGAUR fellowships, and Marie Slodowska-Curie Actions. He supports PhD and postdoctoral researchers through programs like La Caixa InPhD and Beca Beautriu de Pinós. Labs & Teams: He leads the BSE Data Science Center and contributes to interdisciplinary collaborations at UPF and IRB Barcelona, bridging statistical theory and practical applications in genomics, epigenomics, and health data analysis.
Josep Llach is a Senior Lecturer at the Barcelona School of Management, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and a part-time Professor Agregat in the Department of Business Administration, Management and Product Design at the University of Girona. He is an active researcher in innovation management, organizational innovation, sustainability, and operations, with extensive involvement in European and national research projects. University: University of Girona Department: Department of Business Administration, Management and Product Design Secondary Affiliation: Barcelona School of Management, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Academic Rank: Senior Lecturer Part-Time: Yes His research focuses on the intersection of innovation, quality, and sustainability in manufacturing and service firms. He studies how lean practices, digital transformation, circular economy strategies, and green technologies impact firm performance. His work often employs advanced statistical methods such as structural equation modelling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The recent publications highlight a strong trend toward sustainability, digital transformation, and methodological robustness in empirical models. His work spans industries including manufacturing, hospitality, and education, with a methodological emphasis on survey-based research and configurational analysis. Scientific Awards: Emerald Literati Awards – Most Outstanding Paper in 2018 for 'Creating value through the balanced scorecard: how does it work?' Top Downloaded Paper 2018–2019: 'Socially responsible companies: Are they the best workplace for millennials?' Josep Llach has directed five doctoral theses and actively mentors PhD students. He collaborates with the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU) as a methodological secretary in accreditation processes. His research is supported by multiple national and European grants, particularly through participation in the European Manufacturing Survey. He is a member of the Grup de Recerca Avançada sobre Dinàmica Empresarial i Impacte de les Noves Tecnologies a les Organitzacions (GRADIENT), a research group focused on organizational dynamics and the impact of new technologies.
Frank NIELSEN is a Professor at École Polytechnique with expertise in information geometry, data science, and machine learning. He holds a PhD (1996) and HDR (2006) in computer science and has established himself as a leading researcher in geometric approaches to information science. His educational background includes a PhD in computer science (1996) followed by a Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) in 2006, the highest academic qualification in France that qualifies one to supervise doctoral candidates. Dr. NIELSEN's research focuses on the Geometric Science of Information , where he develops theoretical frameworks for understanding data through geometric and information-theoretic lenses. His work bridges Computational information geometry Statistical manifold theory Bregman divergences and their applications Machine learning with geometric foundations High-dimensional data analysis He aims to address the challenge of inappropriate data representation in current Data Science by building a theory of Computational Information Geometry to enable Intrinsic Data Science with principled distances. His extensive publication record shows a clear trend toward developing geometric frameworks for understanding statistical divergences, with recent work focusing on Bregman geometry, Fisher-Rao metrics, and their applications in machine learning. His research spans theoretical developments in information geometry to practical implementations like the pyBregMan Python library, demonstrating both theoretical depth and practical relevance. Dr. NIELSEN has made significant contributions through his teaching and publications. He has taught courses at École Polytechnique including INF442, INF517, and INF591. His authored textbooks include Introduction to HPC with MPI for Data Science (2016), A Concise and Practical Introduction to Programming Algorithms in Java (2009), and Visual Computing: Geometry, Graphics, and Vision (2005). He has also edited influential volumes such as Computational Information Geometry for Image and Signal Processing (2016) and Geometric Theory of Information (2014). He actively organizes and participates in academic events, serving on program committees for major conferences including GSI (Geometric Science of Information), CVPR, and ICCV. His work has established him as a key figure in the growing field of geometric approaches to information science.
Christian B. Hansen is the Wallace W. Booth Professor of Econometrics and Statistics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He serves as the academic coordinator for Booth's Sokolov Executive MBA Program and is co-editor of the Journal of Political Economy - Microeconomics. Hansen joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 2004 after completing his PhD at MIT. Education: PhD in Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2004) Bachelor's degree in Economics, Brigham Young University (2000) Professor Hansen specializes in applied and theoretical econometrics, with research focusing on high-dimensional statistical methods in economic applications, panel data models, clustered standard errors, quantile regression, and weak instruments. His most recent work explores the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques to estimate causal and policy effects. Hansen teaches courses including Applied Econometrics, Machine Learning, and Statistics at Chicago Booth. Scientific Awards and Honors: Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow at Booth NSF research grant recipient National Science Foundation graduate research fellow during PhD studies Hansen has published in leading journals including the American Economic Review, Annals of Statistics, Econometrica, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of Econometrics, Review of Economics and Statistics, and Review of Economic Studies. He is currently working on a book titled "Applied Causal Inference Powered by ML and AI" with Victor Chernozhukov, Nathan Kallus, Martin Spindler, and Vasilis Syrgkanis.
