El Mahdi Chayti is a doctoral researcher at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), affiliated with the School of Computer and Communication Sciences and the Department of Computer Science. He works under the Machine Learning and Optimization (MLO) lab, focusing on advanced optimization techniques and machine learning theory. Contact: el-mahdi.chayti@epfl.ch . Current Roles: Doctoral Assistant and PhD Student in Computer and Communication Sciences Research Interests: Machine Learning, Optimization Algorithms, Meta-learning, Second-order Optimization, Energy Forecasting His publications highlight expertise in stochastic and cubic Newton methods, hybrid deep learning models, and personalized collaborative learning. Recent works include Improving Stochastic Cubic Newton with Momentum (2025) and Hybridization of Deep Learning with Physical Knowledge for Energy Forecasting (2019) . Key trends in his research span optimization efficiency , meta-learning frameworks , and integration of domain knowledge into AI models. He emphasizes theoretical guarantees and practical scalability in algorithm design.
Cathryn Mitchell is a Professor of Radio Science and Royal Society Industry Fellow at the University of Bath, specializing in ionospheric physics, position, navigation, and timing (PNT). She leads research in the Space & Telecoms Research Group (STAR), focusing on radio propagation, data assimilation, and space weather impacts on communication systems. Her work bridges theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches, with applications in satellite navigation, climate monitoring, and defense sectors. Her research interests include ionospheric tomography, HF communications, and the development of robust PNT systems. Mitchell collaborates extensively with industry partners like Spirent Communications on future navigation technologies and space weather resilience. She has held roles such as Academic Director of the Doctoral College and contributes to interdisciplinary projects like the DRIIVE initiative exploring ionospheric variability with EISCAT-3D radar. Recent work emphasizes ionospheric effects during geomagnetic storms (e.g., the 2024 Gannon Storm) and cooperative autonomous systems under communication constraints. Her projects are funded by the Royal Society, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and ESA, addressing challenges in space weather forecasting and PNT system reliability. Awards: Royal Society Industry Fellow (2022–present) Key Projects: Royal Society Industry Fellowship on Future PNT Technologies DRIVERS (DRIIVE): Ionospheric Variability Studies EISCAT-3D FINESSE: Ionospheric Structuring Analysis Mitchell’s lab, STAR, integrates academic and industrial partnerships to advance space weather applications and sustainable navigation systems, contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to climate action and innovation.
Ben Seiyon Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at George Mason University's College of Science. His work bridges computational statistics, climate modeling, and environmental risk assessment. Education: PhD in Statistics, Pennsylvania State University (2020) Lee specializes in computational methods for high-dimensional spatiotemporal data and uncertainty quantification in climate models. His research explores climate change impacts on extreme hydrological events, wildfire emissions, and medical decision-making. Recent publications focus on Bayesian spatiotemporal frameworks for extreme precipitation analysis, zero-inflated spatial models, and multisector uncertainty quantification. His work addresses challenges in flood risk assessment, agricultural yield projections, and healthcare compliance metrics.
Dr. Joshua New is a Distinguished R&D Staff Member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and holds a Joint Faculty Position at The University of Tennessee since 2012. He leads research in building energy modeling, climate change science, and supercomputing. His work focuses on urban-scale energy systems, AI-driven analytics, and high-performance computing applications. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (University of Tennessee, 2009), M.S. in Computer Systems, B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics (Jacksonville State University). His research interests include optimizing building energy efficiency, simulating climate impacts on urban infrastructure, and developing tools like AutoBEM and ModelAmerica to model 122.9 million U.S. buildings. He has over 150 peer-reviewed publications and led 45+ projects involving supercomputing, visual analytics, and AI for big data. Awards include the R&D 100 Award (2016), ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award (2018), and Lab-Corps (2015). His teams prioritize utility use cases and validate models against real-world data. He is a Senior IEEE member, Certified Energy Manager (CEM), and holds certifications in project management and energy efficiency. Key contributions include the Roof Savings Calculator Suite, AutoGen/AutoSim tools, and the ModelAmerica initiative. His work addresses national energy policy, heatwave resilience, and sustainable city design through interdisciplinary collaborations.
Jaime Peraire is the H.N. Slater Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, affiliated with the School of Engineering. He leads research in computational mechanics, aerodynamics, and numerical methods for partial differential equations, with key roles as former Department Head (2011-2018) and Director of the Aerospace Computational Design Lab (1993-2011). His expertise spans finite element methods, shock capturing algorithms, and high-order numerical techniques applied to hypersonic flows, space weather, and metamaterials. Education includes a Ph.D. from the University of Wales (1986) and engineering degrees from the University of Barcelona (1983, 1987). He holds prestigious awards like the T.J. Hughes Medal (2015) and the Ildefons Cerdá Medal (2015). His work bridges computational science and engineering, with contributions to discontinuous Galerkin methods, mesh adaptivity, and GPU-accelerated simulations. Research interests emphasize high-fidelity modeling of compressible flows, plasma dynamics, and terahertz spectroscopy. Notable projects include MIT’s space weather modeling initiative and metamaterial fabrication using atomic layer lithography. His labs collaborate across MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing, IDSS, and CCSE to advance computational tools for aerospace and environmental systems. Awards: Over 10 major prizes, including NASA Exceptional Achievement (1997) and IACM Young Researchers Award (1998). Grants/Advising: Led NSF-funded space weather projects and advised numerous PhD students in computational engineering. Labs: Aerospace Computational Design Lab, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing collaborations.
Anders Karlström is a Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, specializing in Transport Modelling and Economics. His research focuses on sustainable transportation systems, emissions reduction, and energy efficiency. Key interests include activity-based modelling, dynamic discrete choice frameworks, and policy analysis for urban mobility. He has contributed to studies on travel behavior, infrastructure planning, and environmental impacts of transport systems across multiple international cities. His work integrates advanced methodologies such as recursive logit models, spatial regression, and machine learning for predictive analytics. Notable research areas involve evaluating weather variability effects on travel patterns, optimizing traffic state estimation with sensor data, and developing scenario-based models for future employment growth. Karlström collaborates with industries to enhance the competitiveness of sustainable transport solutions globally.
Dr. Tim Busker is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, specializing in flood and drought early-warning systems and impact-based forecasting. He holds a PhD from VU Amsterdam (2024) and advanced degrees in Earth Surface and Water (Utrecht University) and Earth & Economics (VU Amsterdam). Education: Bachelor’s (cum laude) in Earth & Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2012–2015) Master’s in Earth Surface and Water, Utrecht University (2015–2017) His research focuses on translating forecasts into actionable warnings for regions like East Africa and Europe. Key interests include: Flood and drought forecasting methodologies Impact-based early action frameworks GIS/remote sensing applications in water management Recent work emphasizes machine learning for food security crises and transboundary flood risk assessments in NW Europe. Projects include JCAR-ATRACE and Resilience nEtwork of Smart Innovative cLImate-adapative rOoftops (RESILIENT). Grants/Projects: 6 active/funded projects, including EU-funded CoastMove ERC (2020–2026) Awards: EGU OSPP Award (2023), IWA-ASPIRE Poster Prize (2019)
Johanna Ziegel is a Professor of Statistics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, since 2024, and a Visiting Scientist at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). Previously, she held positions at the University of Bern, where she was promoted to Full Professor in 2023. Her research focuses on decision-theoretically sound methods for forecast evaluation, probabilistic forecasting, risk measures in finance, and applications in meteorology, medicine, and climate science. She is actively involved in editorial roles for journals like Bernoulli , JASA: Theory & Methods , and SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics . Education: PhD in Stereological Analysis of Spatial Structures from ETH Zurich (2010), supervised by Paul Embrechts and Eva B. Vedel Jensen. Postdoctoral research at the University of Melbourne and Heidelberg University. Research Interests: Forecast evaluation, elicitable functionals, risk measures, isotonic regression, statistical calibration, and applications in finance, climate science, and biostatistics. Her work bridges theoretical statistics with practical challenges in uncertainty quantification and decision-making under uncertainty. Advising & Collaborations: Supervised 7 PhD students and mentored several postdocs. Collaborates with the Computational Statistics group at HITS and the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research. Her group explores distributional regression under order constraints and novel methods for forecast comparison. Recognition: Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching (2022), H.I.T. Program for Academic Leadership (2021–2022). Active in professional service, including the Bernoulli Society Council and editorial boards.
Arthur Bousquet is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Lake Forest College, affiliated with the Math and Computer Science department. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) and a MS in Engineering in applied mathematics and scientific computing from SuP Galilee Engineering School (Paris, France). His research focuses on numerical methods for partial differential equations, including finite volume and finite element techniques, with applications to geophysical fluid dynamics, climate modeling, and biomedical problems like viral shell mechanics. Notable areas include shallow water equations, phase field modeling, and computational methods for atmospheric dynamics. Bousquet has published extensively on topics such as numerical weather prediction, electrokinetic equations, and virus nanoindentation modeling. His work often combines theoretical analysis with computational simulations to address complex systems in fluid dynamics and materials science. He has received the Rothrock Award for teaching excellence (2014) and held research fellowships including an NSF Graduate Fellowship (2009-2013). His teaching includes courses like Computational Mathematics, Multivariable Calculus, and Real Analysis.
Professor Anne Verhoef is a leading academic at the University of Reading, specializing in environmental and hydrological sciences. Her research focuses on soil-plant systems, climate change impacts, groundwater dynamics, and remote sensing applications in ecological modeling. She collaborates internationally on projects like GEWEX and AMMA, advancing understanding of global hydrological cycles and land-atmosphere interactions. Key Research Areas: Hydrological modeling and prediction Climate change adaptation in semi-arid regions Soil health and pedotransfer functions Evapotranspiration dynamics in tropical ecosystems Remote sensing for biodiversity and water resource assessments Her work integrates field observations, satellite data, and numerical models to address challenges in water resource management, flood mitigation, and sustainable agriculture. She has published widely in top journals such as Reviews of Geophysics , Water Resources Research , and Nature Reviews Earth & Environment . Professor Verhoef contributes to interdisciplinary initiatives, including climate adaptation strategies in transboundary regions and improving land surface models for global Earth system simulations. Her research emphasizes bridging gaps between observational data and predictive frameworks to inform policy and environmental decision-making.
Dr. Yongchao Huang is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the School of Natural and Computing Sciences at the University of Aberdeen, where he has been employed since August 2023. He also holds affiliations with the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge through past postdoctoral and collaborative roles. He is actively involved in research, teaching, and academic service, and is currently accepting PhD students. His educational background includes: DPhil in Engineering Science, University of Oxford (2013–2017) Additional training in Machine Learning at Oxford (2015–2019) Dr. Huang's research focuses on fundamental and physics-informed machine learning, with core interests in Bayesian inference, variational methods, generative modeling (especially score-based), reinforcement learning, and interdisciplinary AI applications in mechanics, biology, energy, climate, and finance. A central theme of his work is the inference and sampling of probability densities, particularly through innovative particle-based and physics-inspired computational frameworks. He founded the Computational and Physical Learning (CPL) lab at Aberdeen in 2023. His recent publications (2020–2025) reflect a strong trend in probabilistic machine learning, with increasing focus on physics-based inference methods such as electrostatics, fluid dynamics, and material point methods. These works bridge machine learning with applied mathematics and physical simulation, demonstrating a unique interdisciplinary approach. Topics span Bayesian neural networks, acoustic wave propagation, mortality modeling, and adversarial cybersecurity. Dr. Huang has received academic recognition through invitations to serve on program committees and editorial roles: Program Committee Member, ECAI 2024 Organizing Committee, Bioinference 2024 Guest Editor, Journal of Theoretical Biology Senior Scientific Advisor to a UK firm He has supervised 57 MSc theses independently and currently supervises one PhD student. He has secured research engagement through collaborations with institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, and industry partners. His teaching includes courses such as Introduction to Software Engineering , Software Process and Management , and Computational Intelligence at Aberdeen, as well as practicals in inference at Cambridge. Dr. Huang leads the Computational and Physical Learning (CPL) lab at the University of Aberdeen, a curiosity-driven research group focused on foundational advances in machine intelligence. Though currently a solo researcher due to limited resources, the lab emphasizes end-to-end research and open collaboration. He encourages student mobility and interdisciplinary exploration.
Dan Sheldon is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, holding a Five College joint faculty position with Mount Holyoke College. His research focuses on developing algorithms to address environmental challenges using large datasets, emphasizing computational sustainability. Key areas include spatial optimization for endangered species conservation, continent-scale bird migration modeling, and interpreting weather radar data for ecological insights. Methodologically, his work leverages probabilistic inference, network modeling, and machine learning. Sheldon earned a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University and an AB in Mathematics from Dartmouth College. His postdoctoral training at Oregon State University was supported by an NSF Bioinformatics Fellowship. He co-leads the BirdCast project, an NSF-funded initiative applying novel machine learning to avian migration studies. His research affiliations include the Center for Data Science and the Computational Social Science Institute. Research interests span computational biology, machine learning, and data privacy. Notable contributions include algorithms for ecological decision-making, differentially private synthetic data techniques, and Gaussian process applications in environmental forecasting. Awards include an NSF Fellowship in Bioinformatics. Current projects integrate radar data analysis, biodiversity tracking, and privacy-preserving statistical methods. Grants include the BirdCast NSF grant and collaborations in computational sustainability. His work bridges theoretical computer science with applied ecological challenges, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to global-scale environmental problems.
Professor Liz Stephens is a faculty member at the University of Reading's Department of Meteorology, specializing in flood forecasting, climate variability, and disaster risk management. Her work focuses on improving hydrological and meteorological models to enhance flood preparedness and climate adaptation strategies globally. Research Interests: Probabilistic flood forecasting Climate impacts on extreme events Enhancing forecast communication for decision-makers Applications in data-scarce regions like Kenya and Uganda Key Projects: Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) World Weather Attribution studies Probabilistic forecast evaluation frameworks Her research bridges academic analysis with practical implementation, collaborating with international organizations like ECMWF and humanitarian agencies to translate scientific insights into actionable disaster preparedness measures.
Bing Yan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), affiliated with the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. She holds a B.S. in Information Management from Renmin University of China (2010), and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Statistics from the University of Connecticut (2012–2017). Prior to RIT, she was an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Yan’s research focuses on power system optimization , including grid integration of renewables (wind/solar), microgrid operations, distributed energy systems, and manufacturing scheduling. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and secured grants from the National Science Foundation (including a CAREER Award), Department of Energy, and industry partners like Brookhaven National Laboratory and ABB. Her work emphasizes mixed-integer linear programming and machine learning applications in energy systems. Notable contributions include stochastic unit commitment models for wind farms, voltage control via deep reinforcement learning, and multi-layer weather models for PV prediction. She advises on projects involving grid resilience, smart manufacturing, and data-driven optimization. Awards: National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award Multiple NSF grants, DOE grants, and industry contracts Teaching: Courses include Circuits I , Electric Power Transmission & Distribution , and Advanced Power Systems . She also mentors students through co-op programs and independent studies. Labs/Teams: Leads the Intelligent Lab of Power and Manufacturing (ILPM), focusing on multidisciplinary solutions for energy and manufacturing systems. The lab emphasizes hands-on training and innovation in smart grid technologies and sustainable energy systems.
Dr. Patrick S. Market is a Professor of Atmospheric Science and currently serves as the Director of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. He also acts as Interim Co-Director of the Missouri Water Center. His research focuses on synoptic and mesoscale dynamics, particularly winter weather, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and severe local storms. He has contributed to advancements in precipitation efficiency studies and operational forecasting techniques. His work explores the role of artificial intelligence in weather prediction and communication, emphasizing the continued importance of human expertise in an automated forecast process. Dr. Market has secured grants for data stream maintenance and digital equity planning, and he has led educational initiatives integrating research into synoptic meteorology classrooms. Notable collaborations include projects with the National Weather Service and studies on the Ozark Plateau's topographical influence on weather systems.
