Paulo Jorge Freitas de Oliveira Novais is a Full Professor of Computer Science at the Department of Informatics, School of Engineering, Universidade do Minho, where he also holds a Habilitation in Computer Science. He leads the Synthetic Intelligence Lab at ALGORITMI Centre and coordinates the research line on Ambient Intelligence for Well-Being and Health Applications. His research spans Intelligent Systems, Machine Learning, Multi-Agent Systems, and their applications in Smart Cities, Health Informatics, and AI Ethics. PhD in Computer Science, Universidade do Minho, 2003 Habilitation in Computer Science, Universidade do Minho, 2011 Research interests include Ambient Intelligence, Ambient Assisted Living, Intelligent Environments, AI and Law, Conflict Resolution, and Explainable AI. His work focuses on enhancing system intelligence and reliability through novel architectures and ethical frameworks. Recent publications highlight applications in wastewater energy prediction, violence detection, student risk modeling, and urban logistics. Awards include multiple Best Paper and IBM Excellence recognitions across 2015–2023, plus a 2022 Career Recognition Award from the Ibero-American Society of Artificial Intelligence. Senior IEEE Member Chair of IEEE Computational Intelligence Chapter, Portugal IFIP TC 12 Artificial Intelligence Working Group Leadership He has supervised 132 PhD and Master’s students and contributed to editorial boards of journals like JAISE and ComSIS . His leadership roles include coordinating LASI – Intelligent Systems Associate Laboratory and serving as former president of APPIA.
Michael Hyland is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on the modeling, analysis, and optimization of smart urban transportation systems, with particular emphasis on shared autonomous vehicles, microtransit integration with fixed-route transit, and sustainable mobility solutions. He employs methodologies from operations research (optimization, Markov decision processes), statistical modeling (discrete choice, regression), and economic analysis to address challenges in urban mobility. Education: Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering (Transportation), Northwestern University, 2018 M.Eng., Civil and Environmental Engineering (Transportation), Cornell University, 2013 B.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Magna Cum Laude, 2013 His recent research explores emerging mobility paradigms through topics such as dynamic fleet management, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) impacts, equity in job accessibility, electricity demand implications of e-bikes, and human-machine collaborative planning frameworks. The work often combines large-scale simulation with interpretable modeling techniques. Hyland leads the Hyland Lab , which develops computational tools for evaluating integrated transportation systems. The lab's work spans theoretical modeling (e.g., state-space representations, decomposition heuristics) and applied policy analysis (e.g., assessing Senate Bill 1 infrastructure projects, AV-era parking reforms, and micromobility deployment strategies).
Fajar Juang Ekaputra is a Tenure Track Assistant Professor at the Institute of Data, Process, and Knowledge Management (DPKM), WU Vienna and a part-time Postdoctoral Researcher at the Data Science research unit, TU Wien . With a focus on Semantic Web , Knowledge Graphs , and their integration with Machine Learning in Neurosymbolic AI systems, his work spans domains like Cyber-Physical Systems and Materials Engineering . Education: Dr.techn. (2018), TU Wien M.T. (2010) and S.T. (2008), Institute Teknologi Bandung (ITB) Research Interests center on hybrid AI systems combining Semantic Web and Machine Learning , with applications in Cyber-Physical Systems (e.g., smart grids, smart buildings), data privacy in smart cities, and materials engineering . His 102+ publications include frameworks like SWeMLS-KG and SHACL4Protege . Recent Articles (2024) address explainable AI in cyber-physical systems, privacy trust in data infrastructures, and neurosymbolic frameworks . Earlier works (2023–2022) explore ontology-based data management , auditable AI , and hybrid system architectures . Scientific Awards: Best Paper Awards (ICoDSE 2023, ICoDSE 2016) Best Poster Nomination (SEMANTiCS 2019) PhD Scholarship (Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation, 2012) Advising includes supervising PhD students (e.g., Majlinda Llugiqi, Katrin Schreiberhuber) and master’s theses on topics like knowledge graph characteristics and data quality assessment . He leads projects such as FAIR-AI (FFG-funded, 2024–2026) and SENSE (Horizon Europe, 2023–2025).
Syrielle Montariol is a Researcher and Course Lecturer at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), affiliated with the Natural Language Processing Lab (NLP) under the School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC). She holds a postdoctoral position and teaches courses related to computational linguistics and AI applications. Her research focuses on advancing NLP, medical language models, multimodal learning, and AI ethics. She works in the INR 240 office and maintains collaborations across EPFL's academic divisions. Research Interests: Her work spans interpretability of AI systems, cross-modal reasoning, medical domain adaptation, sustainability text analysis, and the societal impact of AI. Recent projects include developing explainable models (e.g., global mixture-of-experts frameworks) and benchmarking tools like Vinabench for visual narratives. Publications: Her recent work addresses critical challenges in AI, including vulnerability of higher education to LLMs, medical language model adaptation (Meditron), and robust geo-localization systems. Key themes include ethical AI, multimodal learning, and domain-specific NLP applications. Labs & Teams: She contributes to the NLP lab's initiatives on visual-language models and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on projects like PAN-RSVQA for remote sensing and PICLe for low-resource NER systems.
Steffen Becker is a Professor at the University of Stuttgart's Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, affiliated with the Institute for Software Engineering's Software Quality and Architecture group. His work focuses on software engineering, cloud systems, model-driven engineering, and cybersecurity. He leads research in architectural modeling tools like Slingshot, GUI testing frameworks (ViMoTest), and hardware security analysis. Recent studies explore AI integration in testing, education, and automotive systems (CARISMA). Research interests include elasticity modeling, self-adaptive systems, and educational technology. His 2025 publications address issues like end-user hardware comprehension, FPGA security, and LLM-driven test generation. Notable tools developed include the Slingshot Simulator for cloud-native systems and Gropius for cross-component issue management. Becker contributes to both theoretical advancements and practical implementations in software quality, security, and cloud infrastructure. Key Areas: Software Architecture, Cyber-Physical Systems, Testing, Reverse Engineering Tool Developments: ViMoTest, Slingshot, Gropius Education Focus: Online programming pedagogy and curriculum innovation His work bridges foundational research with industry applications, addressing challenges in automotive computing, cloud elasticity, and human-centric security awareness. Recent efforts emphasize explainable hardware (XHW) and AI's role in qualitative analysis automation.
Anna Monreale is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pisa and a key member of the Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Laboratory (KDD-Lab), a joint research group with the Information Science and Technology Institute of the National Research Council (ISTI-CNR) in Pisa. Her academic career is rooted in the University of Pisa, where she completed her Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. in Computer Science. Her research focuses on privacy-preserving data analytics, with core interests in big data analytics, social network analysis, spatio-temporal mining, and explainable AI. She is particularly known for her work on privacy-by-design in data mining and evaluating privacy risks in analytical processes. Her research bridges technical innovation with ethical and legal considerations in data science. Her recent publications reveal a strong trend toward explainable AI, privacy in federated learning, and risk assessment in mobility and health data. She actively contributes to developing methods for explaining black-box models, assessing privacy exposure, and balancing privacy, utility, and fairness in AI systems. Privacy by Design Ambassador (2014) ISTI-CNR Young++ Researcher Award (2014) Monreale has advised and co-chaired several international workshops, including PriSMO, PinSoDa, and MoKMaSD, and serves on editorial boards such as Transactions on Data Privacy. She teaches advanced data mining, big data ethics, and database systems across multiple graduate and undergraduate programs. She is involved in major EU projects like SoBigData, XAI, TAILOR, and HumMingBird, reflecting her leadership in data science and AI ethics. She is affiliated with the KDD-Lab, a prominent research group focused on knowledge discovery, social mining, and big data analytics, contributing to both theoretical advances and real-world applications in privacy-aware data science.
Professor Asif Gill is Head of Discipline for Software Engineering at the School of Computer Science, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where he was promoted to Professor of Computer Science in January 2024. He also serves as Director of the DigiSAS Research and Innovation Lab and is actively involved in the Global Big Data Technologies Centre at UTS. As a founder of both the DigiSAS Lab and the Future Generation Enterprise Architecture Community of Practice (FGEA CoP), he has established integrated teaching-research-engagement frameworks that translate academic research into practical applications while enhancing graduate employment opportunities. Professor Gill's research interests span Adaptive Enterprise Architecture , Agile Software Development , and Design Science Research & Innovation , with a particular focus on architecting large-scale data-intensive enterprise software systems. His work addresses challenges across academia, industry, government, and society, with significant contributions to AI systems architecture, digital identity management, and enterprise knowledge graphs. His applied research has resulted in numerous collaborations with organizations including the Reserve Bank of Australia, Revenue NSW, Capsifi, Data Zoo, and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. His publication record includes 3 books and over 190 articles in major academic journals such as IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Information and Management, and Information Systems. His recent work demonstrates a consistent focus on cutting-edge topics in enterprise architecture, AI systems, and digital identity, with multiple publications appearing in 2024-2025. His research trajectory shows a clear evolution from foundational work in agile software development toward more sophisticated integration of AI, enterprise architecture, and data governance. Fellow of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Fellow of DSE (ESCP Center for Design Science in Entrepreneurship) Senior Member IEEE Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Technology & Society Associate Editor, Springer Nature Discover Data journals Member, Data Sharing Committee, IFIP Technical Committee 8.1 Member, Standards Australia Software and Systems Engineering Committee IT-015 Professor Gill has successfully secured numerous research grants from 2019-2026, totaling significant funding for projects related to digital identity, enterprise architecture, and AI systems. His approach emphasizes industry-academia collaboration, with many projects involving direct partnerships with government agencies and industry organizations. He has supervised multiple PhD and Master's students through industry-sponsored scholarships and maintains active collaborations with researchers across multiple institutions. Leading the DigiSAS Research and Innovation Lab, Professor Gill has created an environment that bridges theoretical research with practical implementation. The lab focuses on developing frameworks and tools for adaptive enterprise architecture, with particular emphasis on AI-enabled systems, data governance, and digital identity solutions. His work on the Data Satellite Architecture represents a significant contribution to combating data pollution in federated digital ecosystems.
Bradley Hayes is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Collaborative AI and Robotics (CAIRO) Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder. His work focuses on enabling autonomous agents and robots to collaborate safely and effectively with humans through techniques in human-robot interaction, explainable AI, and learning from demonstration. PhD in Computer Science, Yale University (2015) Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Interactive Robotics Group Research interests span collaborative robotics, dependable AI systems, and imitation learning for human-robot teaming, with applications in manufacturing, healthcare, and autonomous vehicles. His lab develops methods for task planning, motion prediction, and trust calibration in human-machine partnerships. Recent publications emphasize explainable sequential decision-making, neuromorphic learning architectures, and augmented reality interfaces for robotic training. Awards include Sustainability Recognition (2025) for motion planning efficiency Best Student Paper Runner-up (AAMAS 2022) Best Technical Paper Runner-up (HRI 2019) As lab director, he has mentored 12 PhD/Master students to completion, including Matthew Luebbers, Aaquib Tabrez, and Christine Chang. Funding sources include NSF grants and industry partnerships like Circadence, where he serves as Chief Technology Officer.
Grzegorz Chrupała is an Associate Professor at the Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence , Tilburg University, where he leads research in computational approaches to multimodal communication. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Saarland University's Spoken Language Systems group and earned his PhD from Dublin City University's School of Computing. His research bridges biological and artificial computation , focusing on enabling machines to learn language from multimodal data (speech, gestures, visual-auditory stimuli) as children do naturally. This involves developing and interpreting deep learning architectures, analyzing emergent representations, and advancing speech technology for under-resourced languages. Key themes include Visually grounded speech modeling Feature attribution and model interpretability Human-inspired learning paradigms BlackboxNLP workshop leadership His recent publications examine speech model reliability , lexical tone encoding , and contextual dependencies in NLP systems. He mentors a team of PhD candidates and alumni working on topics like user-centric interpretability, bioacoustics, and disentangled speech representations. He also serves on the board of the Dutch Open Speech Technology Foundation, chairs Interspeech 2025 tutorials, and contributes as an Action Editor for TACL.
Federico Fraboni is a Senior Assistant Professor (fixed-term) at the Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari' of the University of Bologna. His research focuses on human factors, cognitive ergonomics, and the integration of advanced technologies such as collaborative robotics, AI systems, and exoskeletons into industrial and healthcare contexts. He leads projects like the STEPbySTEP initiative for exoskeleton benchmarking and the H-WORK platform for workplace mental health. Key research areas include: human-robot interaction safety, AI explainability in aerospace manufacturing, strategic foresight for home care innovation, and ergonomic design of collaborative robotics systems. He has collaborated with industries like Calzedonia for automation studies and contributed to EU-funded safety initiatives in energy sectors. His recent work emphasizes workplace well-being through digital tools, occupational safety training for homecare organizations, and the psychological impacts of emerging technologies. He has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and participates in interdisciplinary teams addressing human-centered design challenges across healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation domains.
Hongxin Hu is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY). His research spans security, networking, and machine learning, with publications across top conferences including security (S&P, CCS, USENIX Security, and NDSS), networking (SIGCOMM and NSDI), machine learning (NeurIPS, ICML, and EMNLP), and human-computer interaction (CHI and CSCW). His work has been funded by NSF (SaTC, CNS, IIS, OAC, SOC), USDOT, VMware, Amazon, Google, and Dell. Dr. Hu earned his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from Arizona State University in 2012. His academic journey has led him to become a prominent researcher in cybersecurity with a strong publication record and significant research impact. Dr. Hu's research interests encompass a wide range of topics at the intersection of security, networking, and artificial intelligence. His work focuses on Emerging Network Technologies and Security (5G/Future-G, NFV, SDN, Edge computing), Machine Learning for Security and Privacy , Security and Privacy in IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems , and AI for Social Good (addressing online abuse, unsafe children's games, and cyberbullying). His interdisciplinary approach has enabled him to tackle complex security challenges through innovative solutions that combine networking expertise with machine learning techniques. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward applying large language models and advanced machine learning techniques to security challenges, particularly in content moderation, vulnerability detection, and privacy protection. The research spans multiple domains including voice assistant security, IoT security, network security, and social media safety, showing a consistent pattern of addressing real-world security problems with cutting-edge technical approaches. IEEE Big Data Security Senior Research Award (2025) ACM SACMAT Test-of-Time Award (2024) NSF CAREER Award (2019) Multiple Best Paper Awards from ACM ASIACCS (2022), ACSAC (2020), IEEE ICC (2020), and ACM SIGCSE (2018) Amazon Faculty Research Award (2022) First Place Award in ACM SIGCOMM 2018 Student Research Competition Dr. Hu has successfully advised multiple PhD students, including Nishant Vishwamitra who joined UT San Antonio as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. His research has been generously funded by major agencies and industry partners. As an active member of the academic community, he serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing and Computers & Security, and has held numerous leadership roles in major security conferences including TPC Co-Chair for ASONAM 2025 and IWSPA 2024/2025. Dr. Hu leads a vibrant research group that has produced significant contributions in network security function virtualization, intrusion detection systems, and privacy-preserving technologies. Current projects include developing LLM-assisted vulnerability detection systems, defenses against jailbreak attacks on large language models, and security mechanisms for emerging networking technologies. His team's work on IoT security, voice assistant applications, and online content moderation has received wide recognition and press coverage.
Vinh Nguyen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Michigan Technological University, where he directs the Michigan Tech Center for AI and coordinates the NIST-PREP program. His research focuses on advanced manufacturing through Industry 4.0, human-robot-machine interaction, and physics-based/data-driven modeling. He has developed solutions for machining, additive manufacturing, metal forming, and robotic assembly to promote smart and sustainable manufacturing. Prior to joining Michigan Tech in 2022, he was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at NIST (2020–2022). Dr. Nguyen earned his PhD (2020), MS in Mechanical Engineering (2017), and MS in Electrical & Computer Engineering (2017) from Georgia Institute of Technology. He received dual bachelor’s degrees in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2014). His research portfolio spans Advanced Manufacturing Industry 4.0 and 5.0 Human-Robot Interaction Physics-Based/Data-Driven Modeling Industrial Automation based on his lab’s interdisciplinary focus on human-centric, resilient solutions. His recent publications address trends in Machine Learning for Manufacturing Autonomous Vehicle Sensors Hybrid Additive/Subtractive Manufacturing Augmented/Mixed Reality Interfaces Industrial Robot Diagnostics Material-Specific Machining with keywords spanning Robotics, Data Science, and Industrial Engineering.
Prof. Mehdi Dastani is a Professor and chair of the Intelligent Systems group within the Department of Information and Computing Sciences at Utrecht University's Faculty of Science. He leads the Master's program in Artificial Intelligence and focuses on formal and computational models in AI, particularly multi-agent systems. His research integrates insights from philosophy, psychology, and law to develop autonomous agents that reason about social and cognitive concepts like norms, emotions, and responsibility. Dastani has held academic roles at Utrecht University since 2001, including postdoctoral research and faculty positions. Education: M.Sc. Computer Science (University of Amsterdam, 1991), M.Sc. Philosophy (University of Amsterdam, 1992), Ph.D. in Humanities (University of Amsterdam, 1998). His work spans theoretical and applied projects, including grants for initiatives like Golden Agents (simulating Golden Age creative industries) and traffic control systems using virtual organizations. He is actively involved in academic committees, editorial boards, and organizing international conferences like AAMAS and PRIMA. Research Interests: Multi-Agent Programming, Normative Systems, Autonomous Agents, Cognitive Robotics, and Human-Centered AI. His projects address challenges like norm enforcement, decision-making in complex systems, and ethical AI integration with societal needs. Advising & Grants: Supervised numerous PhD students (e.g., Birna van Riemsdijk, Bas Testerink) and secured grants for projects such as 'Controllable AI: Human-Centered Approach'. His work includes collaborations on urban governance, autonomous driving, and AI tools for literacy support in children. Labs & Teams: Leads the Intelligent Systems group, contributing to agent-based simulations, ethical AI frameworks, and interdisciplinary collaborations with social scientists and urban planners.
Gwenn Englebienne is an Assistant Professor at the Digital Society Institute and Human Media Interaction group of Utrecht University. Their research focuses on Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, and Human-AI Interaction, with applications in robotics, health, and social computing. They have contributed to over 80 research outputs since 2007, emphasizing embodied AI, social robotics, and explainable machine learning. Research interests span activity recognition, teleoperation systems, and ethical AI design. Notable work includes developing GNN-based group detection algorithms and evaluating chatbot reliability through automated question-answering frameworks. Their studies often bridge technical innovation with human-centered design, such as measuring embodiment via pupil dilation or addressing asymmetry in video-conferencing interactions. Key collaborations include work on social robotics, telepresence systems, and health monitoring using ambient sensors. Publications span conferences like IDA, CogMI, and LREC-COLING, reflecting interdisciplinary impact. A dataset on robot social positioning behavior is publicly accessible via 4TU.Centre for Research Data. Current work explores semi-supervised domain adaptation, spiking neural networks, and the psychological dimensions of AI trustworthiness. They lead initiatives in the Digital Society Institute to align technological advancements with societal needs.
Giuseppe Desolda is an Associate Professor at the Computer Science Department of the University of Bari Aldo Moro , where he has been since July 2, 2022. He leads research at the Interaction, Visualization, Usability & UX (IVU) Lab , focusing on Novel Interaction Techniques , Internet of Things development, and Usable Security . His work includes coordinating the PRIN PNRR DAMOCLES project (2022-2025) on human-centric cybersecurity and leading Work Package 1 of PNRR SERICS. PhD in Computer Science from University of Bari Co-author of over 110 publications Associate Editor for IEEE Access Journal Research interests span Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), End-User Development (EUD) for IoT, and Usable Security systems. His recent work explores AI-driven usability evaluation, voice-based 3D modeling, and GDPR-compliant software frameworks. Article trends show focus on phishing mitigation , smart environment customization , and privacy-by-design methodologies. Publications appear in TOCHI , FGCS , IJHCS , and BIT . Scientific achievements include: Selected for Heidelberg Laureate Forum (2019) LARE spin-off grant (EUR 50,000, 2013) He supervises PhD students Andrea Esposito and Francesco Greco, and has advised multiple funded research projects (PRIN DAMOCLES, DevProDev, PNRR SERICS). Teaching roles include courses on Human-Centered AI, IoT Security, and Web Programming across undergraduate and graduate programs.
