Professor Jo Barraket is a leading academic and researcher in social equity, social innovation, and public policy. As Director of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and member of the Dilun Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership, she focuses on improving social equity through organizational innovation, cross-sector collaboration, and policy design. Her research addresses social procurement, health equity, digital inclusion, and employment pathways for marginalized groups. Her work includes landmark projects such as the Australian Digital Inclusion Index and evaluations of Commonwealth Social Enterprise Development Funds. She has secured over $11M in research grants, including multiple ARC grants, and produced over 75 scholarly publications. Her current projects compare social procurement policies in Australia and Scotland, and study youth unemployment in construction via employment-focused procurement. Key research themes include: social enterprise scaling strategies, cross-sector partnerships for policy implementation, and the role of philanthropy in equitable housing. She advises governments and OECD on inclusive employment policies and chairs major research initiatives like the Social Enterprise Impact Lab. Prof Barraket’s transdisciplinary approach combines rigorous academic research with practical outputs like policy guides and digital tools to maximize societal impact. She previously founded the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne, now a global leader in social economy research.
Dr. Corey T. Callaghan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida . Based at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center , his research focuses on global change ecology using big data from citizen science platforms like eBird and iNaturalist, combined with geospatial analyses and macroecological theory . Ph.D. (2019) from UNSW Sydney M.S. (2015) from Florida Atlantic University B.S. + B.S. (2013) from Canisius College His work examines urban ecology , including how species traits influence urban tolerance across birds, amphibians, and butterflies. He develops adaptive sampling frameworks to optimize citizen science data collection while addressing biases. Current projects analyze human-nature interactions through citizen science participation, secondary data in photographs, and machine learning for biodiversity monitoring. He actively contributes to conservation strategies for urban biodiversity and data-driven restoration efforts . Recent publications highlight his expertise in cross-taxa comparisons , continental-scale analyses , and ecosystem service quantification . He leads the Global Ecology Research Group at the University of Florida, emphasizing collaborative science and open-source methodologies .
University of California , Santa Barbara (UCSB)United States
Elizabeth M. Belding is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She holds leadership roles as an Associate Dean and Faculty Equity Advisor in the UCSB College of Engineering, and serves as Associate Director of the Center for Information Technology and Society (CITS). Her research focuses on mobile/wireless networking, network measurement, and ICTD, with a focus on improving Internet accessibility in underserved regions globally. She has authored over 180 technical papers and led the development of the AODV routing protocol, foundational to standards like 802.11s and Zigbee. Education: Ph.D./M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UCSB (2000/1997). Awards include ACM and IEEE Fellowships, the 2018 ACM SIGMOBILE Test-of-Time Award, and mentoring accolades. She directs the MOMENT Lab, exploring broadband measurement, rural connectivity, and satellite networks. Recent projects include the NSF-funded PuebloConnect initiative and analysis of US broadband inequities via the Connect America Fund. Research emphasizes socially impactful solutions, including tribal community internet access, disaster communication (e.g., refugee camps), and combating gender-based violence via social media analysis. She has held leadership roles in the UCSB CS department and campus-wide initiatives, including the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on the Status of Women. Key grants include NSF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and industry partnerships (e.g., ViaSat). Notable students include Udit Paul (2024 SIGCOMM Dissertation Award) and Jiamo Liu. The MOMENT Lab's work spans technical innovations in mesh networks, cellular coverage, and policy-driven broadband analysis.
Abhishek Jain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Scientist at NTT Research. He is affiliated with the Data Science and AI Institute, the Information Security Institute, and the Algorithms and Complexity group. University: Johns Hopkins University Department: Computer Science Academic Rank: Associate Professor Institutional Roles: Co-director of the Advanced Research in Cryptography group, member of the Theory Group, and co-leader of the Cryptography Group Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California Los Angeles (2012), advised by Amit Sahai and Rafail Ostrovsky. Recipient of the Symantec Outstanding Graduate Student Award during his Ph.D. Research Interests Cryptography Secure computation Proof systems Program obfuscation Privacy Blockchain Theoretical computer science Research Trends: His recent publications emphasize cryptographic protocols for homomorphic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, and secure multi-party computation, alongside applications in blockchain and privacy-preserving systems. Key themes include scalability, verifiable evaluation, and adapting cryptographic techniques to dynamic and distributed environments. Scientific Awards 2020 NSF CAREER Award Best Paper Awards at Eurocrypt and the International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques Advising & Grants: Mentors Ph.D. students and interns/postdocs at NTT Research. Research funded by NSF, DARPA, JP Morgan, Ethereum Foundation, Stellar, Cisco, Samsung, and JHU Catalyst awards. Labs & Teams: Co-leads the Cryptography Group at Johns Hopkins, participates in the DC Area Crypto Day, and organizes the weekly Theory Seminar. Collaborates with institutions including MIT CSAIL, BUSEC, and Microsoft Research New England.
Sanjiv Singh is a Research Professor at the Robotics Institute within Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. His academic journey at CMU spans from Systems Scientist (1995-2001), to Senior Research Scientist (2001-2003), Associate Research Professor (2003-2007), and finally Research Professor since 2007. He also holds an adjunct faculty position in Mechanical Engineering since 2009. Singh serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Field Robotics, demonstrating his leadership in the robotics community. His educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.S. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University (1995, 1992), an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University (1985), and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Denver (1983). Dr. Singh's research focuses on three primary themes: Autonomous Navigation (developing motion planning and control for ground and air vehicles with applications in agriculture, exploration, and low-flying aircraft), Coordinated Multi-Robots (examining team-based tasks like structure assembly and search/rescue operations), and Forceful Interaction with the world (using physical models to enable robots to handle complex, high-force interactions). His work spans aerial robotics, agricultural and forestry robotics, mining robotics, 3D vision, sensing and perception, visual servoing, motion planning, and field service robotics. Analysis of his recent publications (2016-2020) reveals a strong focus on collision avoidance algorithms, sensor fusion techniques, and real-time navigation systems. His research demonstrates consistent advancement in SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technologies, particularly in GPS-denied environments, with increasing sophistication in handling complex aerial maneuvers and multi-robot coordination. Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Field Robotics Dr. Singh has advised numerous graduate students throughout his career, with current advisees including Matt Aasted (Ph.D), Andrew Chambers (M.S), Hugh Cover (M.S), Michael Dille (Ph.D), and Justin Haines (M.S). His past students include prominent researchers like Sebastian Scherer, Joe Djugash, Fred Heger, Geoff Hollinger, and Ji Zhang who have gone on to make significant contributions in robotics. His research has been supported through various projects including CASC (agricultural applications), Riverine, Transformer, Trestle, and Ember. His laboratory work focuses on developing practical robotic systems capable of operating in challenging real-world environments, with particular emphasis on agricultural applications, search and rescue operations, and coordinated multi-robot teams that can work effectively alongside humans.
Shweta Shinde is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich where she leads the Secure & Trustworthy Systems (SECTRS) research group. She is also a member of the Institute of Information Security and the ZISC Center at ETH Zurich. Her work bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementations in hardware and system security. Dr. Shinde's research focuses on the intersection of trusted computing, system security, and program analysis. Her group investigates both foundational aspects of security to protect phones, servers, and accelerators, as well as practical aspects of realizing these solutions through large-scale system building. Her work spans hardware security primitives, trusted execution environments, confidential computing, and secure system design across multiple platforms including mobile devices, cloud infrastructure, and blockchain systems. Her publication record demonstrates significant impact in the field, with numerous papers in top security venues including IEEE S&P, USENIX Security, CCS, and NDSS. Her research has uncovered critical vulnerabilities in major hardware security technologies like Intel SGX and AMD SEV-SNP while also proposing novel frameworks for building more secure systems. The work spans multiple domains including hardware security, cloud security, mobile security, and blockchain security, with a consistent thread of identifying and addressing fundamental security challenges in trusted computing. Among her notable achievements are multiple best paper awards including at SysTEX 2025 and nominations at DATE 2025, a Distinguished Paper Award at IEEE S&P 2024, and recognition as a Most Innovative Research Pwnie Award Nominee in 2024. Her work on WeSee received particular attention for breaking AMD SEV-SNP through novel interrupt-based attacks. Dr. Shinde actively mentors PhD students including Mark Kuhne, Supraja Sridhara, Mélisande Zonta-Roudes, Benedict Schlüter, Andrin Bertschi, and others. She teaches courses on Systems Security, Information Security Lab, Seminar on Systems Security, and Current Topics in Information Security at ETH Zurich. Her service to the community includes extensive program committee work for major security conferences including Oakland (S&P), NDSS, USENIX Security, and CCS, where she has served as track co-chair and program co-chair for several workshops.
Ameil Joseph is an Associate Professor at McMaster University's School of Social Work, where they contribute to critical scholarship at the intersection of mental health, race, and social justice. Their work examines how ideas about difference, normalcy, sexuality, eugenics, race, ability and mental 'illness' cohere and perform within policy, law and practice, with over a decade of professional experience in mental health settings including supportive housing, settlement services, crisis respite, and forensic community treatment. Education: Ph.D in Social Work, York University (2009-2014) MSW, Wilfrid Laurier University (2005-2007) BA in Psychology, University of Waterloo (1998-2003) Dr. Joseph's research engages with critical mental health, postcolonial theory, critical race theory, and critical disability studies to examine the historical production of ideas about difference. Their scholarship particularly focuses on how these ideas manifest in mental health systems, immigration policy, and criminal justice, with attention to issues of social justice, violence, ethics, and confluence. Their work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical implications, addressing the complex interplay of colonialism, racism, sanism, and eugenics in contemporary social systems. Analysis of Dr. Joseph's recent publications reveals a sustained focus on colonial and eugenic violence within mental health, immigration, and criminal justice systems. Their scholarship consistently examines how racism, sanism, and ableism intersect to produce particular forms of state violence, particularly against racialized immigrants with mental health conditions. Recent work has expanded to address temporal dimensions of oppression, data colonialism, and community responses to grief and loss during the pandemic, demonstrating both theoretical sophistication and practical relevance to current social issues. Scientific Awards: University Scholar 2025 - Recognized for research leadership and impact among eight McMaster professors honored as University Scholars Dr. Joseph has secured significant research funding, including nearly $75,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for community-engaged projects addressing social justice issues. Their teaching portfolio includes advanced courses on critical mental health perspectives, race and colonialism in Canadian society, and social justice theory. While specific graduate students aren't listed in available materials, their extensive co-author network suggests active mentorship and collaboration. Dr. Joseph contributes to community-based initiatives in Hamilton addressing racism in healthcare and mental health systems, connecting academic scholarship with practical community responses to systemic issues. Dr. Joseph maintains an active presence in community responses to contemporary challenges, particularly through initiatives addressing grief during the pandemic and systemic racism in healthcare. Their work exemplifies the integration of scholarly rigor with community engagement, demonstrating how academic research can inform and be informed by real-world social justice efforts.
Rui Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Delaware. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University (2013) and has held academic positions at the University of Hawaii and industry roles at UTStarcom. His research focuses on cybersecurity, wireless networks, and privacy-preserving technologies, with notable work on secure edge computing and mobile authentication systems. Education: PhD, Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University, 2013 M.E., Communication and Information Systems, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 2005 B.E., Communication Engineering, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 2001 Research Interests: Rui’s work spans secure wireless systems, mobile crowdsourcing, accessibility technologies for visually impaired users, edge computing, and social network privacy. He has led NSF-funded projects on trustworthy hierarchical edge computing and secure mobile cloud sensing. Grants & Awards: Recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2017) and multiple NSF grants totaling over $1M. Current focus includes NSF-funded research on edge computing security and privacy-preserving data aggregation. Teaching: Has taught courses in algorithms, network security, and computer networks at both University of Delaware and University of Hawaii. Labs & Teams: Leads research projects in secure edge computing and collaborates with Arizona State University on federally funded initiatives. Active in organizing academic conferences like ISC 2016 and serving on editorial boards of IEEE journals.
Institute of Hygiene and Tropical MedicinePortugal
Dr Peninah Murage is an Assistant Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the Department of Public Health, Environments and Society under the Faculty of Public Health and Policy. She specializes in environmental epidemiology with a PhD in Health Geography and focuses on health impacts of environmental changes, particularly climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Affiliation: Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health Her research explores climate change effects on health outcomes like heat-related mortality, cardiovascular diseases, and cognitive development in children. She integrates GIS/spatial analysis with public health and policy frameworks to identify nature-based solutions for sustainable development. Current work examines systemic inequalities in heat risk exposure and interventions such as tree-based strategies in low-income settings. Key grants include: Health Protection Research Unit on Climate Change and Health Security (2025-2030, NIHR) Climate Change and Non-Communicable Diseases in Senegal (2024-2027) Pathfinder 2: Accelerating Climate Action for Health (2023-2026) She actively contributes to the Lancet Pathfinder Commission and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology (African Chapter).
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in LausanneSwitzerland
Mathieu Salzmann is a Senior Scientist and Lecturer at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), affiliated with the Computer Vision Laboratory (CVLAB) in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC). He also holds a courtesy appointment with the EPFL College of Humanities and serves as Deputy Chief Data Scientist at the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC). He has held concurrent roles in teaching units including SIN, SODH, and SSC, reflecting his interdisciplinary engagement. His research focuses on the intersection of machine learning and computer vision, particularly in deep learning for 2D and 3D visual scene understanding, efficient and robust models, domain adaptation, and interpretable AI. These interests are evident across his extensive publication record in top-tier venues. His recent publications (2023–2024) show a consistent trend in advancing deep learning methods for visual recognition, with strong representation at CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICML, ICLR, and NeurIPS. Topics include domain generalization, 3D understanding, model robustness, and multimodal learning, often with applications in real-world systems. His editorial roles as Associate Editor for IEEE TPAMI and Action Editor for TMLR further highlight his leadership in the field. Area Chair: ICML 2023, CVPR 2023, ICCV 2023, NeurIPS 2023, AAAI 2024, ECCV 2024 Associate Editor: IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (TPAMI) Action Editor: Transactions on Machine Learning Research (TMLR) Mathieu Salzmann has supervised numerous PhD students at EPFL, both current and past, including Bouquet Yann Yanis, Javed Saqib, Li Shuangqi, and others. He has also been involved in research grants and collaborative projects, such as his work with S. Süsstrunk and R. Baroni on comics reconfiguration. His part-time role as Senior GNC Engineer at ClearSpace (2020–2024) illustrates his applied research engagement in aerospace systems. He is actively involved in EPFL’s data science and AI research ecosystem through SDSC and multiple labs.
Dr. Melanie Franklin is a pediatric psychologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with expertise in sleep disorders, treatment adherence, and pediatric psychology. She operates within the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and collaborates across multiple teams. BA in Psychology – Muhlenberg College PhD in School Psychology – Lehigh University Residency and Fellowship in Pediatric Psychology – Nemours/A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital Her research focuses on: Sleep behavior in chronic illness populations Mental health communication barriers ADHD functional outcomes Treatment adherence strategies Recent publications demonstrate expertise in ADHD comorbidities , Cystic Fibrosis sleep interventions , and academic functioning analysis . Key collaborations include: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Sleep Center Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Division
Anna S. Mattila is the Marriott Professor of Lodging Management and serves as Professor-in-Charge of the Graduate Program at the School of Hospitality Management, Pennsylvania State University. Her research spans social media, service recovery, servicescape, prosocial behaviors, cross-cultural studies, and wellness in hospitality contexts. Education : B.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University, M.B.A. from University of Hartford Mattila's work examines how emotions, cultural norms, and technological innovations like AI influence consumer decisions in hospitality. Her studies cover topics from robotic service interactions to sustainable food marketing and moral psychology in tourism. She has published extensively in journals such as International Journal of Hospitality Management and Journal of Consumer Marketing . Her recent articles focus on AI integration in hospitality, consumer trust in virtual influencers, upcycled food adoption, and the psychological effects of servicescape design. Key themes include ethical consumption, digital transformation, and cross-cultural consumer behavior. Advising : Supervised Anqi Luo's dissertation on service recovery in 2022 Mattila's office is located in 224 Mateer Building, University Park, PA. She contributes to advancing hospitality research through methodological consulting and the Penn State Biomarker Core Laboratory.
Alexandra Kennedy-Hanson is a Lecturer in Social Work at the School of Society and Community , University of Wolverhampton. She brings extensive professional experience in youth and community work, family support, and children’s safeguarding to her academic role. BA Hons Youth & Community Studies (2:1), University of Worcester MA Social Work (Merit), University of Wolverhampton Her research focuses on safeguarding children and young people, domestic violence, and its impact on families. She also explores social work practice in multicultural communities and issues affecting youth. Alexandra is a qualified social worker with 5 years of post-qualifying experience in child protection and a JNC-qualified youth worker. She transitioned to academia after a decade in statutory and community-based youth work, including projects on multiculturalism, anti-racism, and young women’s self-esteem. She currently teaches on the BA Social Work Programme and coordinates admissions for both BA and MA Social Work Programmes. Her professional memberships include: British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Social Work England
Dr. Elaine T. Jurkowski serves as Professor in Social Work at Southern Illinois University's College of Health and Human Sciences, holding multiple leadership roles including Graduate Program Director (2021-present) and Program Director for Gerontology Programs (2020-present). She maintains cross-appointments as Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine's Family Practice Residency Program and Professor in the Department of Health Education, demonstrating her interdisciplinary impact. B.S.W. (Industrial Social Work), University of Manitoba, Canada M.S.W. (Policy and Administration), University of Manitoba, Canada Ph.D., Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago M.B.A., Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2022) Dr. Jurkowski's research program centers on health disparities, access to mental health services, aging, and disability issues, with particular focus on rural populations. Her work bridges public health, social work, and gerontology through innovative approaches to program evaluation, technology-enhanced teaching, and culture change in long-term care settings. She has developed expertise in international health planning and inter-professional collaboration across diverse cultural contexts. Her publication portfolio shows consistent thematic development across decades, with recent work focusing on medical tourism during the pandemic, rural-urban health disparities, and technology applications in gerontology education. These publications reflect her commitment to addressing healthcare access challenges for vulnerable populations through both scholarly inquiry and practical interventions. Great Cities Research Fellow in Health Provost Faculty Fellow (2018) Provost Assessment Fellow (2016) Student Hotspotting certification (2018-present) A.P.M. Assessment Academy certification (2016, 2017) Dr. Jurkowski has successfully secured over $1 million in research funding from agencies including Health Resources and Services Administration, The Hartford Foundation, and Administration on Aging. Her grant portfolio demonstrates sustained commitment to improving services for older adults and people with disabilities, particularly in rural settings. She has served as Graduate Program Director twice (2003-2014, 2021-present), mentoring numerous social work students through their academic and professional development. Her professional activities extend beyond campus through international consulting in West Africa, Hong Kong, India, China, Russia, and Egypt, and community engagement via the "Dare to Care" radio show and board service with Caring Counseling Ministries, Supporting People in Need, and UNA/USA Southern Illinois Chapter.
Andrew Radin is a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation and Associate Director of the Master of National Security Policy Program at the RAND School of Public Policy. His work focuses on European security, military activities in space, and state-building, with expertise in NATO, Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Ph.D. in Political Science, MIT B.A. in Political Science and Mathematics, University of Chicago Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Southern California His research centers on European and Eurasian security , military strategy , and state-building in weak states . He emphasizes the role of local politics in institution-building and has conducted case studies in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Timor-Leste, and Ukraine. His work explores hybrid warfare, deterrence, security sector reform, and U.S. policy toward Russia and China. His recent publications reveal a strong trend in analyzing space as a domain of military competition , NATO deterrence strategies , and Russian gray-zone aggression . Topics frequently include escalation dynamics, allied cooperation, and the future of the liberal international order. His research combines policy relevance with academic rigor. Scientific Contributions and Recognition: Author of Institution Building in Weak States: The Primacy of Local Politics (Georgetown University Press) Published in Security Studies , Journal of Conflict Resolution , Washington Quarterly , and War on the Rocks Contributor to high-impact RAND reports on Ukraine, NATO, Russia, and international order Andrew Radin has advised on national security policy, including serving as Country Director for Afghanistan in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He previously taught as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He has not received mention of specific grants or student advisees, but his leadership in the Master of National Security Policy program suggests mentorship and program development responsibilities. He is active in shaping U.S. defense and foreign policy through research and commentary. Laboratories, Teams, and Research Groups: He is affiliated with the RAND Corporation’s international security research division and contributes to projects on global competition, military strategy, and political warfare. His work is often collaborative, involving multidisciplinary teams focused on defense policy and strategic stability.
