Paul Lu is a Professor in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Science. His research focuses on high-performance computing, parallel and distributed systems, cloud computing, and bioinformatics. He holds a B.Sc. (1991), M.Sc. (1993) in Computing Science from the University of Alberta, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto (2000). His research explores software systems, including operating systems, virtual machines, and parallel programming. Recent work emphasizes high-performance data transfers and IaaS cloud computing. He teaches courses such as MINT 706: Internet Application and Programming, covering internet protocols and client-server programming. Publications highlight contributions to network optimization, machine learning-driven protocol selection, and distributed systems. His work bridges theoretical advancements with practical applications in cloud infrastructure and wide-area networks.
Kristofer Pister is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He co-directs the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC) and the Ubiquitous Swarm Lab. His career spans groundbreaking innovations in Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Control Systems, and Low-Power Circuits, with a focus on Smart Dust and synthetic insects. Education: Ph.D. and M.S. in EECS from UC Berkeley (1992, 1989); B.A. in Applied Physics from UC San Diego (1986). His research areas include MEMS , Control Systems , Robotics , and Integrated Circuits , with recent work on self-powered micro-sensors, crystal-free radios, and interplanetary swarm networks. Key awards include the ISA Albert F. Sperry Founder Award (2009) , Alexander Schwarzkopf Prize (2006) , and the NSF CAREER Award (1996) . He has authored numerous influential publications in wireless sensor networks and microrobotics. His lab, Ubiquitous Swarm Lab , explores distributed robotics and swarm intelligence. Pister emphasizes open collaboration in research, ethical conduct in academia, and efficient resource utilization for graduate students.
Morteza Fayazi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah, with an adjunct position in the Kahlert School of Computing. His research focuses on Electronic Design Automation (EDA), applying machine learning to automate analog and mixed-signal circuit design, and developing high-performance computing systems. He holds a B.Sc. from Sharif University of Technology, and M.S.E./Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. His research interests include AI-driven EDA, RF/circuit automation, and energy-efficient processors. Key achievements include the MEDAL lab’s work on terahertz radars, systolic-array processors (e.g., DAP and Versa), and open-source frameworks like FASCINET and Tablext. He has received awards such as the 2024 College of Engineering Dean’s ETR Fund and the 2017 Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award. Teaching responsibilities include multiple iterations of the Digital System Design course (ECE/CS 3700). His work spans over 15 peer-reviewed articles in IEEE Transactions, ACM, and top conferences like ICCAD and VLSI-SOC, emphasizing automation, efficiency, and AI integration in hardware design.
Fred B. Schneider is the Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University , where he has been a faculty member since 1978. His career spans foundational work in trustworthy systems , fault-tolerant distributed systems , and system security . He served as department chair from 2014–2018 and previously earned a B.S. in Engineering from Cornell (1975) and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stony Brook University (1978).
Chita R. Das is a Professor at Pennsylvania State University, known for extensive contributions in computer architecture, machine learning, and high-performance computing. Their research focuses on optimizing hardware-software co-design for edge computing, cloud infrastructure, and energy-efficient systems. Key areas include FPGA acceleration, GPU optimization, and serverless computing frameworks. Das collaborates frequently with institutions like AMD and Intel, addressing challenges in parallel computing and distributed systems. Their work bridges theoretical advancements with practical applications in recommendation systems, bioinformatics, and real-time video processing. Research interests span across hardware acceleration techniques, cloud resource management, and sustainable computing. Notable projects include adaptive training frameworks for intermittent power environments and neural-augmented game streaming for mobile platforms. Das's publications often address performance bottlenecks in modern architectures and propose novel solutions for latency and energy efficiency. Recent articles highlight innovations in serverless computing cost optimization, low-bandwidth VR streaming, and FPGA-based bioinformatics tools. Their contributions are characterized by interdisciplinary approaches combining computer architecture with machine learning and embedded systems.
Prof. Bryan Ford leads the Decentralized/Distributed Systems (DEDIS) lab at EPFL. He focuses on secure decentralized systems, including blockchain technology, privacy, and systems security. He earned his Ph.D. from MIT and held faculty positions at Yale University and EPFL. His work spans distributed consensus protocols, peer-to-peer networking, and privacy-preserving systems. Key projects include QuePaxa (timeout-free consensus), UIA (global connectivity for mobile devices), and MedCo (secure healthcare data sharing). He advises numerous PhD students and contributes to open-source projects like Bitcoin collective signing and privacy networks like Riffle. Education: Ph.D., MIT; Postdoctoral work at Yale Research interests include blockchain scalability, consensus algorithms, and cryptographic privacy. His lab develops systems like TRIP for coercion-resistant voting and F3B to mitigate blockchain front-running. His work on NAT traversal and peer-to-peer protocols (e.g., STUN/ICE) remains foundational in network architecture. He emphasizes practical, auditable security solutions such as CertiKOS and atomic cross-chain transactions (Atom). Notable contributions: CoSi (collective signing), OmniLedger (sharded blockchain), and privacy-preserving protocols like PURBs (Protected Unsealable Recursive Boxes). His lab collaborates with Swiss Post to audit e-voting systems and designs democratic cryptocurrencies like PoPCoin.
Prof. Liam Murphy is a Full Professor of Computer Science & Informatics at University College Dublin (UCD) and Director of the Performance Engineering Laboratory. He holds a B.E. from UCD, M.Sc. and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. His research focuses on performance engineering of networks, software systems, and multimedia transmissions. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers and is an IEEE member and Fellow of the Irish Computer Society. Education: B.E. in Electrical Engineering, UCD (1985) M.Sc. & Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, UC Berkeley (1988, 1992) Research Interests: Dynamic resource allocation in networks Cloud computing efficiency Software performance engineering Wireless multimedia systems Quality of Service (QoS) optimization Recent work emphasizes energy-efficient cloud workflows, multi-objective data center optimization, and decentralized traffic simulation. Grants & Awards: Fellow of the Irish Computer Society (2007) Conference Paper Awards (2004, 2002, 2001) Principal Investigator in multiple funded projects (e.g., EU-funded traffic simulation, cloud resource allocation) Advising & Labs: Directed 24 Ph.D. and 8 M.Sc. students. Leads the Performance Engineering Laboratory (PEL), focusing on distributed systems, cloud efficiency, and network performance. Collaborates on industry-relevant projects like crovan (UCD/DCU campus company). Teaching: Coordinates courses on computer science fundamentals, distributed systems performance, and software engineering at UCD.
Professor Peter F. Driessen is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Victoria, with a cross-appointment in the School of Music. He holds a BSc and PhD from the University of Victoria and is a Professional Engineer (PEng). His research focuses on communication systems, signal processing, control, and interdisciplinary projects in computer music and wireless technologies. Key areas include audio/video signal processing, radio propagation, sound recording, and multimedia systems. He leads the University of Victoria Propagation Laboratory, which explores radio wave propagation and Amateur radio integration with engineering education. His work spans theoretical research and applied projects like ECOSat satellite systems, software-defined radio (SDR), and innovative musical instruments such as the Radio Drum. He supervises undergraduate and graduate projects in these domains through ELEC 499 courses. Notable contributions include the APEGBC Editorial Board Award for Best Paper (2002) and patents in wireless networking and signal processing. His teaching includes courses in signal analysis and electromagnetics, and he collaborates on interdisciplinary programs like the Music/Computer Science degree. Education: BSc in Electrical Engineering, University of Victoria PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of Victoria Research Interests: Audio and video signal processing for music and media Software-defined radio and Amateur radio technologies Satellite communication and ground station development Gesture-based interfaces and musical instrument design Error mitigation in streaming audio/video Optical and microwave-photonic systems Labs & Collaborations: Propagation Laboratory (radio wave research) UVic Experimental Radio Group (Amateur radio club) UVic Satellite Design Team (ECOSat projects) UVic Centre for Aerospace Research Grants & Awards: APEGBC Editorial Board Award (2002) Multiple US patents in wireless systems and signal processing
Massimo Mischi is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and chairs the Signal Processing Systems (SPS) Division , the largest division at TU/e with over 250 researchers. He founded the Biomedical Diagnostics (BM/d) Lab in 2012, which now includes 180 researchers and clinical/industrial advisors, focusing on biomedical signal processing for diagnostics and monitoring.
Jelle Hellings is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computing and Software at McMaster University , Canada. His research focuses on high-performance large-scale data management systems with a strong theoretical and algorithmic component, including resilient systems (blockchains) , graph databases , and external-memory algorithms . He previously worked as a Postdoc Scholar at the University of California, Davis and earned his PhD from Hasselt University in Belgium. Education: Doctor of Sciences in Computer Science (2018), Hasselt University Master of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (2011), Eindhoven University of Technology His research interests include scalable resilient systems with Byzantine fault tolerance, database theory, graph query languages, constraints on graph data, and external-memory algorithms for large graph datasets. He has authored numerous high-impact publications on blockchain-based resilient systems, query optimization in graph databases, and theoretical advancements in relation algebra expressiveness. Hellings actively contributes to academic service through program committee memberships and tutorial organization, and he currently teaches courses on future resilient databases and foundational computer science topics.
Aggelos Kiayias FRSE is Chair in Cyber Security and Privacy and Director of the Blockchain Technology Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh. He is also Chief Scientist at blockchain technology company Input Output. His academic work spans over two decades with more than 200 publications in cryptography, blockchain, and security. Dr. Kiayias received his Ph.D. from the City University of New York and was an undergraduate at the University of Athens Mathematics department. His research focuses on computer security, privacy, applied cryptography, and foundations of cryptography with particular emphasis on blockchain technologies, distributed systems, e-voting, secure multiparty protocols, and identity management. His recent work demonstrates continued innovation across multiple dimensions of blockchain technology, with publications spanning theoretical foundations, practical implementations, economic modeling, and privacy-preserving techniques. The research output shows strong emphasis on security analysis, consensus protocols, transaction processing, and economic incentives within decentralized systems. His work bridges theoretical cryptography with real-world blockchain applications. Among his notable recognitions are an ERC Starting Grant, Marie Curie fellowship, NSF Career Award, Fulbright Fellowship, election as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2021, and the BCS Lovelace Medal in 2024. He has served as program chair for major conferences including the Cryptographers' Track of RSA (2011), Financial Cryptography (2017), Real World Crypto Symposium (2020), and Public-Key Cryptography Conference (2020), and as general chair of Eurocrypt 2013. Professor Kiayias has supervised over 20 PhD students, many of whom have gone on to academic positions at institutions including Imperial College, Stanford University, Royal Holloway University London, University of Glasgow, University of Sydney, and Virginia Commonwealth University. His current advisees include Yu Shen, Amirreza Sarencheh, and Christina Ovezik with expected graduations between 2025-2026. He leads the Blockchain Technology Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh and is involved in several major blockchain research projects including Panoramix and Fentec. His research has received significant funding from the European Union (Horizon 2020, ERC), UK research councils (EPSRC), US agencies (NSF, DHS, NIST), and Greek research bodies.
Michael Feeley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC), affiliated with the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems (ICICS). His research focuses on operating systems, distributed systems, and their applications in scalable file systems, cloud storage, and mobile computing. He leads projects such as the Unico file system, Parallax storage system, and Remus virtual machine replication framework. His research interests include peer-to-peer file systems, mobile ad hoc networks, interference mitigation in wireless networks, and system software for workstation clusters. He has supervised numerous graduate students, contributing to advancements in distributed systems and networking. His work often addresses challenges in resource management, fault tolerance, and performance optimization. Publications span topics like interference detection in WiFi networks, dynamic program analysis (Tralfamadore), and distributed storage solutions. Feeley teaches courses such as CPSC 213, emphasizing operating systems fundamentals. His office is located in CISR 393, with contact details available via email and phone.
Seddik M. Djouadi is a Professor in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He holds a PhD from McGill University (1999), an M.A.Sc. from École Polytechnique (1992), and a B.Sc. from École Nationale Polytechnique (1989). His research focuses on robust control, distributed systems, wireless communication, model reduction, and power networks. He has authored over 100 publications and received awards including recognition as an outstanding reviewer by Automatica (2006-2007, 2003-2004) and the Tibbets Award (1999). Education: PhD in Electrical Engineering, McGill University, 1999 M.A.Sc., École Polytechnique, 1992 B.Sc., École Nationale Polytechnique, 1989 Research Interests: Robust and distributed control Wireless communication systems Model reduction for fluid flows Power network dynamics and renewable integration Biological systems modeling Cyber-physical systems security Awards: Outstanding Reviewer, Automatica (2006-2007, 2003-2004) Best Paper Award, Mediterranean Conference on Intelligent Systems (2008) Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award (2005) Tibbets Award (1999) Students and Advising: Djouadi has mentored over 20 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, including current advisees Yichen Zhang and Ehsan Raoufat. Notable past students include Jin Dong (now at Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and Xiao Ma (Western Digital). Projects: Current research includes distributed control of large power networks, data-driven nonlinear model reduction, and stochastic modeling of wireless systems. Collaborations involve ORNL and TVA on energy systems and cybersecurity.
Raj Rajkumar is the George Westinghouse Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), with a courtesy appointment in the Robotics Institute. He holds leadership roles as Director of the USDOT Mobility21 and Safety21 National University Transportation Centers, and Director of the Metro21: Smart Cities Institute. His work focuses on cyber-physical systems, autonomous driving, and vehicular networking. Education: Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from CMU (1989). Research interests include connected/autonomous vehicles, cyber-physical systems, embedded systems, and vehicular networking. Key projects include the General Motors-CMU Collaborative Research Lab and the development of autonomous vehicle protocols like Ballroom Intersection Protocol. Notable awards include the 2016 National Academy of Inventors Fellowship and the 2017 Pittsburgh Business Times Innovation Award. His publications span real-time systems, sensor networks, and automotive cyber-physical frameworks. Rajkumar advises on autonomous vehicle safety, energy efficiency, and societal impacts, with frequent media engagements on self-driving technologies.
Klaus Mølmer is a Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, specializing in Quantum Optics and Photonics. His research spans quantum information, entanglement, and cavity QED, leveraging machine learning and Grover's algorithm for quantum state engineering. His recent work focuses on spin squeezing, Rydberg atom interactions, and mechanical resonator cooling. A leader in quantum simulation and superradiance, he collaborates on cavity-mediated emission and quantum network design. The 15 most recent articles highlight advancements in quantum state manipulation, entanglement protocols, and robust differential phase sensing. These studies bridge theoretical frameworks with experimental applications in cavity QED, Rydberg arrays, and zero-photon detection.
