Josh Pasek is a Professor of Communication & Media and Political Science at the University of Michigan, with additional affiliations as a Research Professor at the Center for Political Studies (Institute for Social Research) and Core Faculty at the Michigan Institute for Data Science. His research focuses on the intersection of political communication, survey methodology, and data science, particularly examining how new media and psychological processes shape political attitudes, public opinion, and measurement accuracy. Co-author of Words That Matter and Democracy Amid Crises Maintainer of R packages anesrake and weights Key research areas include: Political Communication Survey Methodology Media Psychology Social Media Data Electoral Behavior Ballot Design His recent publications address topics such as: Vaccine hesitancy and information environments Phubbing and trust dynamics Supreme Court legitimacy post-Dobbs Partisan polarization during the pandemic Climate change perception and partisanship Measurement error in surveys He has collaborated with institutions like the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Georgetown University, and the Pew Research Center, and serves on the AAPOR Task Force for 2024 Pre-Election Polls.
Dr. Matteo Montecchi is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Marketing at King’s Business School, King’s College London, where he also serves as Theme Lead for Sustainable Consumption at the Centre for Sustainable Business and Programme Director for the Strategic Marketing (Open Executive) programme. He teaches core modules such as Consumer Behaviour, Digital Marketing, and Research Methods, and leads executive education initiatives. Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer at the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, and has held visiting positions at Milan Politecnico, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and Università Federico II. Montecchi earned his PhD in Marketing from King’s College London, an MRes in Marketing from Birkbeck College, an Executive Master in Marketing and Sales from SDA Bocconi and ESADE, and a Bachelor’s in Business Economics from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He also holds a PgCert in Academic Practice and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). His research focuses on the digital transformation of marketing, particularly the role of artificial intelligence and blockchain in enhancing transparency and trust. He investigates ethical engagement with diverse consumer groups, inclusion, and corporate responsibility, with a special interest in marginalized communities. His work integrates consumer behavior, digital interactions, and decision-making with technological innovation, offering actionable insights for sustainable and responsible business strategies. The most recent 15 publications reflect a strong trend in AI in retail, brand transparency, consumer trust, ethical data use, voice technologies, and social sustainability. His research spans journals in marketing, psychology, interactive marketing, and business ethics, demonstrating interdisciplinary impact. Scientific Awards: KingsCAT: Capture and Analysis Tool for Social Media Research at King’s College London (2024) – Recognized as part of a collaborative team for advancing digital research infrastructure and media analysis. Montecchi is actively involved in PhD supervision and is accepting new students. He has led research projects using social media analytics (KingsCAT) and has contributed to strategic debates on grand challenges in marketing. His work connects academic research with real-world managerial applications, particularly in digital strategy and ethical innovation. He is a key contributor to interdisciplinary research through tools like KingsCAT, which supports collaborative social media analysis, and his publications often involve co-authorship with experts in data science, psychology, and organizational behavior.
Sarah Ebling is a Full Professor of Language, Technology and Accessibility at the University of Zurich's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She leads the Language, Technology and Accessibility research group within the Institute for Computational Linguistics. Her work focuses on computational linguistics applications for assistive technologies targeting disabilities such as hearing impairments, visual impairments, and cognitive disorders. Key areas include sign language technologies, automatic text simplification, and audio description systems. She directs the large-scale Swiss innovation project 'Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies' (2022-2026, CHF12 million budget) and collaborates on EU H2020 and SNSF Sinergia projects. Education: Holds a doctoral degree (summa cum laude, 2016) from the University of Zurich with research on automatic translation to Swiss German Sign Language. Completed studies in German Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, and English Linguistics at Universities of Zurich and Heidelberg, with research stays in Dublin, Chicago, and Rochester. Research emphasizes multimodal accessibility solutions, including sign language fluency assessment, gesture-based interaction, and AI-driven text adaptation. Current projects explore audio description translation systems (SwissADT), sign language corpus development (SwissSLi), and digital tools for comprehensibility assessment in simplified texts. Her work bridges computational linguistics with ethical considerations in assistive technology deployment. Grants and Leadership: Principal Investigator on major accessibility-focused grants, including the CHF12M Swiss innovation project. Supervises PhD candidates in areas like sign language assessment tools and text simplification algorithms. Active in international collaborations, publishing extensively in computational linguistics and accessibility journals/conferences. Technology Development: Created the 'DigiSpon' benchmark for language sample analysis and developed open-source tools for sign language translation baselines. Her team's innovations include the SignCLIP model connecting text and sign language via contrastive learning, and pose estimation frameworks for sign language recognition.
John W. Du Bois is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), within the College of Letters and Science. His work focuses on the interplay between discourse, grammar, and sociocultural contexts. Specializing in dialogic syntax, he explores how linguistic structures emerge from interactional dynamics, particularly in conversational coherence and stance-taking mechanisms. His research integrates corpus linguistics, computational methods, and ethnographic approaches to study languages like Mayan and Kazakh. Key research areas include: Discourse and grammar integration Dialogic resonance and affective alignment Corpus design and analysis Ritual language and cognitive models Mayan linguistic systems Recent studies emphasize computational tools like Rezonator for dialogue coherence visualization and remote corpus development methodologies. His work bridges theoretical linguistics with applied research in language documentation and education. Du Bois has contributed to foundational texts on discourse transcription standards and maintains active involvement in the Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English project. His publications span over four decades, reflecting sustained engagement with linguistic complexity across multiple levels—from micro-level syntactic interactions to macro-level sociocultural frameworks. Current projects investigate dialogic syntax in autism and the evolutionary niche of language within social interaction.
Xiaofeng Liu is an Assistant Professor at Yale University School of Medicine in the Departments of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging and Biomedical Informatics & Data Science. He is also an Associate Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Previously, he held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and research roles at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. PhD in Mechatronics from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Dual Bachelor's degrees in Automation (Wang-Daheng Elite Class) and Communication from University of Science and Technology of China His research integrates trustworthy AI, medical imaging, and data science to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring for neurological disorders, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Key focus areas include domain adaptation techniques, diffusion models, and interpretable AI systems. Led special issues in IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Medical Image Analysis Developed novel frameworks like Ordinal UDA and Memory-Consistent Adaptation Scientific accolades include the Trailblazer R21 Award (NIBIB), OpenAI Research Award, and National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot Award. He serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems and actively contributes to MICCAI and NIH review panels. His lab at Yale (XLiu Lab) investigates neural basis of intelligence to inspire AI development, with applications in brain tumor segmentation, cardiac imaging, and cross-modal medical diagnostics.
Michel Laroche serves as Professor of Marketing and holds the Royal Bank Distinguished Professorship at Concordia University's John Molson School of Business. He maintains active research leadership through editorship of the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences and extensive scholarly contributions across global marketing domains. His educational background includes a Diplôme d'ingénieur from École Centrale de Paris, M.S.E. from Johns Hopkins, and M.Ph./Ph.D. from Columbia University, complemented by an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Guelph. This multidisciplinary foundation underpins his research approach. Consumer behavior modeling Social media/digital marketing analytics Cross-cultural retailing dynamics Advertising effectiveness in global contexts Internet of Things consumer adoption Artificial intelligence in marketing systems His publication portfolio demonstrates consistent innovation in digital consumer behavior, with recent work examining social commerce cultural dynamics, TikTok authenticity metrics, and pandemic-driven media consumption patterns. Articles consistently integrate technological advancement with deep cultural analysis. Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Recipient of the Jacques-Rousseau Medal for multidisciplinary research Living Legend of Marketing Award (HEC-Montreal) Hans B. Thorelli Award for international marketing research JBR Outstanding Associate Editor Award (namesake) Laroche has supervised 64 M.Sc. and 27 Ph.D. theses while securing major funding from SSHRC and FQRSC. His editorial leadership spans 16 years as Managing Editor of the Journal of Business Research and current Editor-in-Chief role at CJAS , establishing significant infrastructure for marketing scholarship. Professional service includes presidential roles in ASAC and AMS, plus extensive journal editorial board participation.
Joss Wright is an Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute , University of Oxford. He co-directs the Oxford EPSRC Cybersecurity Doctoral Training Centre and the Oxford Martin Programme on the Wildlife Trade, focusing on computational approaches to social science questions about information control and privacy. Education : PhD in Computer Science from the University of York (research on anonymous communication systems), postdoctoral work at the University of Siegen (cloud computing security). His research spans internet censorship , privacy-enhancing technologies , and cyber-enabled crime (notably the online illegal wildlife trade ). He bridges technical analyses of security systems with their social and political implications, advising the European Commission and UK Parliamentary Science Committee on digital policy. Recent work includes machine learning applications to detect patent filing trends related to wildlife trade and analyzing Chinese smart city surveillance for human rights risks. He has contributed to media outlets like the Guardian and New Scientist. Notable projects include the Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade and studies on discriminatory effects of internet filtering . He supervises students like William Lugoloobi (DPhil in Social Data Science) and former advisee Samantha Bradshaw (now Assistant Professor at American University).
Daniel Hershcovich is a Tenure Track Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science (Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen) specializing in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning . His research focuses on cross-cultural adaptation of language models, integrating human values into AI, and analyzing food-related cultural narratives for sustainable diets. Education: Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from Hebrew University of Jerusalem B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Open University of Israel Recent publications highlight his work on multimodal models (haptic captioning, visual assistants for the blind), historical text analysis (Danish/Norwegian literature, euphemism detection), and cross-cultural NLP (recipe adaptation, cultural value alignment, climate awareness). His projects frequently combine AI ethics with domain-specific applications like food studies, historical linguistics, and accessibility research. Key collaborative networks include institutions in Denmark, Israel, and international partnerships through conferences like ACL, EMNLP, and workshops on cross-cultural NLP. The NLP section at DIKU serves as his primary affiliation for these efforts.
Michael Brito is a Lecturer in Mass Communications and Social Media at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, College of Humanities and the Arts, San José State University. He is also a seasoned industry leader, currently serving as the Global Head of Data + Intelligence at Zeno Group, where he leads a 50-member analytics team supporting global clients in B2B, consumer, technology, and healthcare sectors. His academic and professional work bridges digital marketing, brand strategy, and data-driven communications. Michael’s research interests include digital marketing, social media strategy, brand communications, narrative intelligence, audience segmentation, and AI applications in PR. He is a recognized thought leader with extensive publications and blog posts exploring brand archetypes, earned media, customer engagement, and the future of digital storytelling. His work emphasizes the integration of data analytics into strategic communications to enhance brand visibility and audience connection. The trends in his recent articles reflect a strong focus on artificial intelligence in public relations, media intelligence, narrative analysis, and the evolution of digital customer journeys. His writings analyze tools like Pulsar and Cision, explore generative AI in search, and critique traditional metrics like earned media value, advocating for more sophisticated, insight-driven approaches. Top 50 Social Intelligence Pioneers by The Social Intelligence Lab Dashboard 25 Class of 2022 by PRWeek Top 25 Digital PR Innovators by PRovoke Media Michael Brito mentors students in digital communications and advises on strategic brand development. He has led major initiatives in media monitoring, social intelligence, and data-informed PR outreach. He founded and contributes to a widely-read blog on social media marketing and is a frequent speaker at industry events, including TEDx. He is also a proud U.S. Marine veteran, bringing leadership and discipline to his academic and professional roles. He is actively involved in the COMM+ lab at SJSU and supports student media through his teaching and mentorship. His work continues to influence both academic curricula and industry best practices in digital communications and brand analytics.
Caner ÇAKI is an Assistant Professor at Mucur Vocational School, Erciyes University, specializing in communication sciences with a focus on historical propaganda analysis. His academic journey includes a PhD from Erciyes University's Institute of Social Sciences in Communication Sciences (2020), an MSc from İnönü University's Institute of Social Sciences (2016), and a BA from Karadeniz Technical University's Faculty of Communication (2012). PhD: Erciyes University, Institute of Social Sciences, Communication Sciences (2016-2020) MSc: İnönü University, Institute of Social Sciences, Communication Sciences (2013-2016) BA: Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Communication, Public Relations and Advertising (2007-2012) ÇAKI's research primarily focuses on semiotics and propaganda studies, with particular expertise in analyzing historical political cartoons, wartime propaganda, and visual communication across different eras and political systems. His work spans multiple historical periods including World War I, World War II, the Cultural Revolution in China, and Cold War dynamics. His extensive publication record (over 150 publications) demonstrates a consistent focus on propaganda mechanisms across different historical contexts and political systems. His recent work (2023-2025) shows a continued emphasis on visual propaganda analysis, with particular attention to World War-era propaganda, Chinese Cultural Revolution materials, and historical political cartoon analysis across multiple national contexts including German, French, British, and Ottoman/Turkish media. Collaborating with researchers such as Mehmet Ozan Gülada, Mehmet Ali Gazi, Mustafa Karaca, and Abdülhakim Bahadır Darı, ÇAKI has established himself as a significant contributor to the field of historical propaganda analysis with a strong focus on visual communication methods. He teaches courses including Advertising Film, Effective Speaking and Communication, Public Relations Concepts and Theories, Popular Culture and Media, and Basic Information Technology Usage at the vocational school level, demonstrating his commitment to both theoretical research and practical education in media studies.
Dr. Eva Cetinic is a DSI Bridge Postdoc Fellow at the University of Zurich, conducting research at the intersection of deep learning, explainable AI, and digital art and humanities. Previously, she held postdoctoral positions at Durham University and the Center for Digital Visual Studies at the University of Zurich, and worked as a Professional Associate and Postdoc at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute in Croatia from 2015 to 2021. Her educational background includes: PhD in Computer Science, University of Zagreb (2019) Dr. Cetinic's research focuses on computational image understanding and multimodal learning for visual art and culture, investigating how text-image models encode socio-cultural patterns and impact artistic creation. Her work critically examines ethical and societal implications of AI while bridging computer science, digital humanities, and art history through interdisciplinary methodologies. Her publication trends (2019-2025) reveal concentrated analysis of generative AI's cultural impact, particularly text-to-image systems. She systematically investigates bias propagation (gender, cultural), user interaction dynamics, and creative processes while developing technical frameworks for art analysis - moving beyond technical capabilities to address real-world implications in artistic and cultural contexts. She currently leads the UZH-funded project 'From Hype to Reality: Artificial Intelligence in the Study of Art and Culture' in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, establishing cross-institutional frameworks for responsible AI adoption. Her research methodology emphasizes practical implementation within humanities workflows through international networks like DARIAH. As a DSI Bridge Postdoc Fellow, Dr. Cetinic operates within the University of Zurich's Digital Society Initiative ecosystem, connecting computational research with the Center for Digital Visual Studies and global digital humanities infrastructures to examine AI's transformative role in cultural production and interpretation.
Gaia Rubera is a Full Professor at Bocconi University and SDA Bocconi School of Management, where she serves as Head of the Marketing Department and Director of the online program Fundamentals of Python . Her research focuses on Business Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Innovation, and Strategic Marketing. Education: PhD in Business Administration and Management from Bocconi University Her academic contributions include publications in top-tier journals such as Marketing Science , Journal of Marketing , and Strategic Management Journal . She also holds leadership roles in editorial boards, including Associate Editor at the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science . Recent research trends emphasize Generative AI applications in marketing, data-driven innovation , and social media analytics . Her work bridges advanced technologies with traditional marketing frameworks. Scientific Awards: Excellence in Research Award (Bocconi, 2024) Teaching Award (Bocconi, 2022) AMA Best Paper Award (2017) Emerald Citations of Excellence (2017) Rubera's career spans roles at Marshall School of Business (University of Southern California) and Michigan State University, reflecting her global academic impact.
Eleni Bozia is an Associate Professor of Classics and Digital Humanities at the University of Florida. She leads the Data-Driven Humanities Research Group and serves as Associate Director of the Digital Epigraphy and Archaeology Project, focusing on 3D digitization of cultural heritage and AI integration in humanities. Her research explores linguistic/cultural diversity in Imperial Greek/Latin literature and its intersections with modern globalism. Bozia holds dual doctorates from the University of Florida (2009) in Classical Studies and Universität Leipzig (2018) in Digital Humanities. Her scholarly work bridges classical studies with digital innovation, including computational analysis of ancient texts, virtual reality for experiential learning, and collaborative global preservation initiatives. Recognized with awards from La Fondation Hardt and the American Academy in Rome, her contributions span peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and public engagements like TEDx talks. She actively promotes interdisciplinary collaboration through roles in the Florida Digital Humanities Consortium and the Literary Encyclopedia. Bozia’s research portfolio includes groundbreaking books on Lucian’s works, multilingual practices in antiquity, and digital epigraphy. She advocates for reimagining classical pedagogy through technology, emphasizing accessibility and relevance for younger generations. Her lab’s projects like the Digital Rosetta Stone and 3D artifact preservation redefine how ancient knowledge is studied, shared, and experienced in the digital age.
Felix Gomez Marmol is an Associate Professor at the University of Murcia's Faculty of Informatics, Department of Information and Communication Engineering. His research focuses on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, network security, and IoT security. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Murcia (2010), supervised by Dr. Gregorio Martínez Pérez. Key research interests include adaptive intrusion detection systems, dark web analysis, and AI-driven cybersecurity frameworks. He leads the Intelligent Systems and Telematics research group and previously contributed to the Sistemas Inteligentes group. His work emphasizes practical applications such as the SCORPION Cyber Range platform for cybersecurity training and gamification. Recent projects involve detecting hate networks on social media, optimizing malware defense using transfer learning, and developing SIEM systems for IoT environments. His contributions span technical papers on cybersecurity education, ethical hacking fundamentals, and blockchain-based security solutions. Prof. Gomez Marmol has collaborated on initiatives like the COBRA framework for simulating advanced persistent threats (APTs) and the COnVIDa dashboard for pandemic-related data analysis. His research bridges theoretical advancements with real-world cybersecurity challenges.
Janille Smith-Colin is the J. Lindsay Embrey Trustee Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where she leads the Smith-Colin Research Group. As a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) and Jr. Editor for the ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems, her work bridges infrastructure management with social equity. She serves on the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Transportation Planning Analysis and Application (AEP15). Her educational background includes: Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Studies from Lafayette College Smith-Colin's research centers on sociotechnical systems modeling to advance equity, sustainability, and resilience in transportation infrastructure. She employs system dynamics and spatial analysis to examine transportation as a social determinant of health, with emphasis on underserved communities. Her engineering education work integrates community-based participatory research and design thinking to develop inclusive pedagogical approaches. Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward data-driven equity assessment, utilizing social media mining, mobile trajectory data, and spatial analytics to investigate infrastructure deserts, micromobility access, and health impacts. She pioneers social return on investment (SROI) frameworks for transportation solutions, connecting civil engineering with public health and disaster resilience through interdisciplinary methodologies. Scientific recognition includes: Best Poster Award, International Conference on Transportation & Development (2023) Golden Mustang Teaching Award, SMU (2023) National Academies Gulf Coast Research Program Early Career Fellowship (2021) ASCE ExCEED Teaching Fellow (2019) Her research is funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, with grants supporting equity-focused transportation projects. While student advisees aren't explicitly listed, her community-based research approach indicates active mentorship in solving civil engineering challenges for marginalized groups. She also contributes to transportation policy through regional collaborations. The Smith-Colin Research Group develops evidence-based tools for infrastructure equity, conducting spatial analysis of transportation systems and health outcomes. Current projects involve system dynamics modeling for social sustainability, Twitter-based crisis response monitoring, and partnerships with Dallas-area agencies to map infrastructure deficiencies and mobility barriers.
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