Jessica C. Beckman is Assistant Professor of English at Dartmouth College, specializing in 16th-17th century literature. Holding PhD from Stanford, her research examines material texts and reading practices through formalist and book history lenses. Her monograph 'The Kinetic Text' analyzes how early modern books used spatial design to create literary effects. Current projects investigate embodiment in pre-modern character representation. Recognized with Huntington Library Fellowship and teaching awards for interdisciplinary humanities instruction.
Thomas Smith is an Associate Professor in Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics (LSE), specializing in wildland fires, tropical environmental change, and peatland management. He joined LSE in 2018 after lecturing at King’s College London and has held visiting fellowships at institutions including the National University of Singapore and Monash University Malaysia. His research focuses on biomass burning’s role in the Earth system, particularly greenhouse gas emissions from tropical peatlands and savannas. Smith’s expertise includes infrared spectroscopy, wildfire modeling, and land management decision support. He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to address fire emissions, agricultural practices, and their environmental impacts. Notable awards include being Highly Commended for Research Guidance & Support at the LSESU Teaching Excellence Awards 2019. His recent work involves field experiments (e.g., GAMBUT project) and citizen science initiatives to measure air pollution. Collaborative research spans global wildfire dynamics, climate change impacts, and policy interventions in Southeast Asia’s haze season. Smith contributes to both academic discourse and practical solutions for sustainable land use and climate resilience.
Roberto Dainotto is a Professor of Italian and Literature at Duke University, specializing in modern and contemporary Italian literature, European studies, and critical theory. He is affiliated with the Bologna-Duke Summer School on Global Studies and Critical Theory, and co-founded the Transnational Decolonial Institute. His research explores intersections of meridionalismo (Southern Italy's cultural identity) with the Global South, historicism, and the novel's formal innovations. Key works include Mafia: A Cultural History (2015) and Europe (in Theory) (2007), which won the 2010 Shannon Prize. Current projects address Antonio Labriola's thought and decolonial methodologies. Teaches courses on Vico, Pirandello, the global novel, and fascism's cultural representations. Co-organizes interdisciplinary summer programs blending critical theory and global studies. His scholarship bridges literature, history, and political philosophy, emphasizing postcolonial and decolonial frameworks. Recent work examines the novel's role in mediating historical consciousness and regional/global power dynamics.
Sangeeta Kamat is a Grace Lee Boggs Faculty Fellow at the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research, and Program Coordinator for International Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a joint affiliation with the Department of Educational Policy, Research & Administration (EPRA). Her academic journey includes a B.A. from Sophia College (Bombay, India, 1985), an M.A. from the Tata Institute of Social Science (1988), and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh (1998). Kamat’s research focuses on globalization’s impact on education systems, critical theory applications in policy analysis, gender dynamics in educational access, and South Asian sociopolitical contexts. She critiques neoliberal educational reforms, multinational edu-businesses, and NGO roles in development. Her work often intersects with questions of equity, power structures, and postcolonial theory. Her recent publications (2018–2023) emphasize privatization trends in education for marginalized populations, NGO discourse in neoliberal frameworks, and global development architectures. Earlier work (2000–2014) explored World Bank policies, urbanization’s educational implications, and postcolonial contradictions. She has consistently challenged hegemonic narratives in development and education through interdisciplinary lenses. Kamat’s grants and advising activities are reflected in her focus areas, though specific details are not provided in the text. She contributes to laboratories/teams focused on racial justice, youth engagement, and international educational equity through her center’s initiatives.
Luc Anselin is the Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology and the College at the University of Chicago. He serves as Director of the Center for Spatial Data Science and Senior Fellow at NORC, with affiliations in the Department of Sociology and the Committee on Quantitative Research Methods in Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences. B.S., Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1975 M.S., Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1976 M.A., Cornell University, 1979 Ph.D., Cornell University, 1980 Anselin is a pioneer in spatial data science, spatial econometrics, and computational social science. His work bridges quantitative geography, regional science, and computer science, with applications in urban studies, economic analysis, and health research. His recent publications focus on spatial regimes, software ecosystems like GeoDa and PySAL, stigma analysis in public health, and computational methods for urban equity. These reflect interdisciplinary trends in spatial statistical modeling, open-source development, and geospatial policy evaluation. Scientific recognition includes: Fellow, Regional Science Association International (2004) Walter Isard Prize (2005) William Alonso Memorial Prize (2006) National Academy of Sciences (2008) American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011) Anselin has led major grants and directed institutions like the GeoDa Center for Geospatial Analysis and Computation at Arizona State University. He has mentored interdisciplinary collaborations across sociology, economics, and data science. His laboratories and teams include the Center for Spatial Data Science at the University of Chicago and the GeoDa Center at Arizona State University, fostering innovation in geospatial computation and open-source spatial analytics.
Professor Holly Thorpe is a Professor of Sociology in Te Huataki Waiora / School of Health at the University of Waikato, specializing in Sport and Human Movement. She serves as Associate Dean Research in the Division of Health PVC Office and is an internationally recognized sociologist of sport, physical culture and gender whose work has earned prestigious fellowships and awards including Fulbright, Leverhulme, and Royal Society honors. Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of Waikato and Papa Reo Level 1 certification from Te Wananga o Aotearoa, reflecting both academic excellence and cultural engagement with Māori language and knowledge systems. Professor Thorpe's research centers on equity and inclusion in sporting cultures, with particular attention to women's health and wellbeing, sport and gender, and the impact of social media on athletic experiences. She employs critical and feminist theoretical frameworks with expertise in qualitative methods to examine how sport, physical activity, and health intersect in rapidly changing social landscapes. Her work spans gender studies, feminist methodologies, sports science, sociology of health, and digital media studies within sporting contexts, with a strong commitment to community-engaged research. Her extensive publication record reveals consistent thematic focus on contemporary issues including menstruation in sport, digital technologies and athlete experiences, pandemic impacts on wellbeing, and the gendered dimensions of mega-sport events. Her work frequently employs intersectional analysis and collaborates across disciplines to address complex questions about embodiment, identity, and social change in sporting cultures, particularly as they relate to women and marginalized communities. Professor Thorpe's significant scholarly recognition includes: Royal Society Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences (2018) Fellow of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (2018) Royal Society James Cook Fellowship for a two-year project focused on women's wellbeing through and beyond pandemic (2021) She actively supervises students and has secured substantial research funding including the Te Punaha Matatini CORE Research Institute project 'Youth Wellbeing in Uncertain Times: The Voices of Rangatahi from Flood-Effected Tairāwhiti Gisborne' (2023-2025). Professor Thorpe collaborates extensively with international and national sports organizations including the International Olympic Committee, High Performance New Zealand, Sport New Zealand, Skateistan, and Voice in Sport to ensure her research has real-world impact on policy and practice. She serves as Series co-editor for 'New Femininities in Digital, Physical and Sporting Cultures' and maintains active media engagement through The Conversation and other outlets. Professor Thorpe leads several significant research initiatives including 'Reimagining Fields of Play' (2023) and co-organized the 'Gender, Health and Wellbeing Symposium' (2022), demonstrating her commitment to creating spaces for critical dialogue about sport, gender, and health while advancing culturally responsive methodologies that center Indigenous and diverse perspectives.
Saurabh Amin is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also serves as the Edmund K. Turner Professor and Undergraduate Officer. He is a Principal Investigator at the Laboratory of Information and Decision Systems and holds affiliations with the Operations Research Center and the Center for Computational Science and Engineering. His educational background includes: B.Tech. 2002, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee M.S. 2004, University of Texas (UT) Austin Ph.D. 2011, University of California (UC) Berkeley Saurabh Amin's research focuses on the design and control of infrastructure systems using game theory and optimization in networks. His work spans three main areas: resilient network control, information systems and incentive design, and optimal resource allocation in large-scale infrastructure systems. By concentrating on critical infrastructure domains including highway transportation, electric power distribution, and urban water networks, his research develops innovative theory and tools to enhance system performance against both stochastic and adversarial disruptions. His approach involves modeling cyber-physical interactions in infrastructures to assess vulnerabilities, developing detection and response tools for failures at various scales, and designing economic incentive schemes that improve aggregate public good while accounting for dependencies and private information among strategic entities. Amin's work bridges mathematical systems theory with practical civil engineering applications, creating a rigorous theoretical foundation for infrastructure resilience that addresses diverse failure mechanisms from natural disasters to deliberate malicious actions. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on decarbonization of energy systems, resilient infrastructure planning under climate uncertainty, optimization methods for complex networked systems, and game-theoretic approaches to sustainable infrastructure management. His work increasingly integrates artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques with traditional control theory to address contemporary challenges in infrastructure resilience and sustainability. The research shows a clear trajectory toward addressing climate change impacts on infrastructure systems while maintaining economic efficiency and operational reliability. Professor Amin has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: Common Ground Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025 HSCC Test-of-Time Award, 2024 MIT CEE, Distinguished Service and Leadership Award, 2023 Samuel M. Seegal Prize (SoE) – inspiring students in pursuing and achieving excellence, 2022 Earll M. Murman for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, 2022 C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute Research Award, 2020 MIT, Ole Madsen Mentoring Award, 2020 MIT, Energy Initiative Research Award, 2020 National Academy of Engineering, China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium speaker, 2019 MIT, Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor, 2015-2018 Google Faculty Research Award, 2015 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2015 Siebel Energy Institute Research Award, 2015 MIT, Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fund Award, 2012 Professor Amin has been actively involved in significant research projects including the C3.ai DTI project on Causal Reasoning for Real-Time Attack Identification in Cyber-Physical Systems and another on Learning in Routing Games for Sustainable Electromobility. He serves as the chief scientist on multi-institutional NSF grants, including the $9 million Foundations of Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) project. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as 1.008 Engineering for a Sustainable World, 1.104 Sensing and Intelligent Systems, 1.020 Engineering Sustainability: Analysis and Design, and 1.208 Resilient Networks. As Undergraduate Officer, he plays a key role in shaping the educational experience for civil and environmental engineering students at MIT. Professor Amin leads the Resilient Infrastructure Networks Lab at MIT, where his team develops theoretical foundations and practical tools for infrastructure resilience. The lab focuses on the intersection of control theory, game theory, and optimization applied to cyber-physical infrastructure systems. Current research directions include pandemic-resilient urban mobility and hurricane-resilient smart grid operations, reflecting the lab's commitment to addressing pressing societal challenges through rigorous systems engineering approaches.
Brice Kuhl is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon , where he leads the Kuhl Lab. His research focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of memory formation, retrieval, and forgetting , utilizing advanced neuroimaging techniques like fMRI and EEG combined with machine learning algorithms to analyze distributed neural activity patterns. His work explores mechanisms of memory interference resolution , forgetting , and neural representation transformation . Recent publications emphasize spaced learning , temporal memory dynamics , and memory-cognitive control interactions . The lab has received attention for decoding perceptual content from neural activity and reconstructing face images based on brain states. Current lab members include graduate students Anisha Babu , Tongle Cai , and America Romero , alongside postdocs like Soroush Mirjalili and Yoonjung Lee . The lab frequently presents at conferences like CNS and SFN , and maintains active collaborations in memory research and neuroimaging methodology . Notable projects include investigations into hippocampal pattern differentiation and parietal cortex roles in memory . The lab also contributes to open science initiatives with publicly available experimental codes and data .
Ozlem Gezgin is a Lecturer at the School of Design, The Glasgow School of Art, focusing on immersive theatre and environment-behavior studies. Her work explores audience interaction dynamics in spatially driven performance settings. Her research integrates methodologies from environmental psychology and theatre studies to analyze how immersive environments influence audience behavior. A recent publication in Studies in Theatre and Performance examines Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More as a case study, highlighting trends in spatial design and interactive performance frameworks. The absence of listed scientific awards or student advisement information suggests these aspects may not be publicly documented in the provided materials.
Dhruv Shah is an Incoming Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University starting January 2026 and currently serves as a Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind. He is also an Associated Faculty member in Princeton's Center for Statistics and Machine Learning, focusing on the convergence of machine learning and robotics for real-world deployment. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley (2024) and a B.Tech. (Honors) in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (2019). Shah's research pioneers foundation models for robotics, emphasizing large-scale robot learning, out-of-distribution generalization, and long-horizon reasoning. His group adopts a full-stack methodology spanning algorithmic innovation to system design, drawing from cognitive science to develop physical AI systems at the perception-learning-control interface. Key focus areas include reinforcement learning, human-robot interaction, and continual learning for challenging environments. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in foundation models for visual navigation, language-conditioned policies, and multi-agent systems. His work increasingly integrates multimodal inputs (vision, language) while addressing generalization gaps in real-world settings, with strong emphasis on efficient data curation and scalable robot learning frameworks. His accolades feature the Microsoft Future Leaders in Robotics & AI Fellowship (2024), two IEEE ICRA Best Conference Paper Awards (2024), multiple ICRA finalist awards across cognitive robotics and manipulation categories, and the Berkeley Fellowship (2019-2024). Shah will recruit PhD students for Princeton's upcoming admissions cycle, establishing a research group dedicated to full-stack robotics development. While specific grant details aren't provided, his trajectory indicates significant funding for AI-robotics convergence projects, particularly in foundation model development and real-world deployment challenges. His laboratory at Princeton will integrate algorithmic innovation with system design, focusing on physical AI systems that bridge perception, learning, and control while maintaining strong ties to cognitive science principles for human-aligned robotic intelligence.
Professor Lorraine Maltby , OBE, is a distinguished academic at the University of Sheffield , specifically within the School of Biosciences and the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences . She currently serves as the Deputy Vice-President for Research at the university (2017–2022). With a career spanning over three decades at the University of Sheffield, she has held various significant roles including Head of the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (2008-2012) and progression from Lecturer to Professor of Environmental Biology (2004). PhD – University of Glasgow (1984) BSc – University of Newcastle (1981) Research Interests: Professor Maltby is a leading expert in freshwater ecology and ecotoxicology , focusing on the impacts of anthropogenic activities on freshwater ecosystems. Her research examines how pollution and climate change affect these delicate environments and the ecosystem services they provide. She aims to develop a mechanistic understanding of key ecosystem services and the ecological processes that underpin them, particularly how they are affected by human inputs and activities. Her recent publications reflect her research focus on topics such as spatial variation in macroinvertebrate sensitivity to chemicals, linking ecotoxicity to ecosystem service damage , and heterogeneity in biological assemblages for chemical risk assessment. Scientific Awards and Recognition: Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Environmental Biology and Animal and Plant Sciences (2020) Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (2021) Elected Fellow of the Freshwater Biological Association (2019) Portrait of a Woman Exhibition (2017) Elected Fellow of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (2016) Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Environmental Education Award (2009) Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Exceptional Service Award (2005) Professional Activities: Professor Maltby has significant leadership and service roles in her field, including: Chair of UK-SCAPE Programme Advisory Board Chair of Irish Research Council COALESCE International Review Panel Member of NERC peer review panels Member of European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals Scientific Committee (2010-) Member of European Food Safety Authority Stakeholder Bureau (2023-) Member of SETAC Panel on Chemicals Management (2023 - )
Sankar Sivarajah is the Head of Kingston Business School and Professor of Technology Management and Circular Economy at Kingston University London. He joined the university in September 2024 after serving as Dean of the School of Management at the University of Bradford (2017-2024). His academic career began at Brunel University London in 2014 as a post-doctoral researcher. Qualifications: PhD in Management and Information Systems Studies, Brunel University London MSc in Management (Entrepreneurship), Bayes Business School BSc in Business and Management (Computing), Brunel University London His research focuses on leveraging digital technologies for societal benefit, particularly in Technology Management , Circular Economy , and Operations/Supply Chain Management . Recent work analyzes AI-driven decision-making in public sectors, blockchain integration for sustainable supply chains, and smart technology applications in green HRM. His publications span journals like Government Information Quarterly , Annals of Operations Research , and Information Systems Frontiers , covering topics from drone-based food security to ethical AI frameworks. Trends show increasing emphasis on Industry 5.0, 6G impact evaluation, and cross-country sustainability practices. Scientific Recognition: Included in World’s Top 2% Scientists (2023, 2024) Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA) He serves as Deputy Editor for the Journal of Enterprise Information Management , peer reviewer for EFMD and AACSB accreditations, and governing council member of Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS). His £3M+ funded projects address 6G evaluation, AI strategy, and Smart Cities.
Dr. Feras Dayoub is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology) at the University of Adelaide , specializing in Embodied AI and Robotic Vision within the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) . He co-directs the CROSSING French-Australian laboratory for human-autonomous agent teaming and holds an Adjunct position at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) , serving as an Associate Investigator at its Centre for Robotics . Previously, he was a Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Robotic Vision . His research focuses on advancing reliable deployment of computer vision and machine learning on mobile robots in real-world environments. Applied projects include agricultural automation , environmental conservation , and autonomous infrastructure monitoring . He has published extensively on topics like object detection , domain adaptation , 3D representation learning , and vision-language navigation , with a particular emphasis on robustness in dynamic and partially observed environments. Dr. Dayoub is also an educator specializing in programming , computer vision , and robotic perception . He contributes to open-source robotics research through tools like AARK (Autonomous Racing Toolkit) and has led teams developing solutions for precision agriculture (e.g., Deepfruits fruit detection system) and environmental monitoring (e.g., Crown-Of-Thorns starfish detection ). Key Collaborations : CROSSING Lab, QUT Centre for Robotics Research Themes : Embodied AI, Robust Perception, Domain Adaptation
Malay Banerjee is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) . His academic career is anchored in mathematical ecology and nonlinear dynamics, with a focus on modeling ecological and epidemiological systems. Education: Ph.D. (2005), University of Calcutta, India M.Sc. (1998), University of Calcutta, India Research Interests: His research spans Mathematical Ecology , Eco-epidemiology , and Nonlinear Dynamics . He applies differential equations and stochastic modeling to understand predator-prey dynamics, phytoplankton competition, and the impact of allelopathy and Allee effects on ecosystem stability. Publications Overview: His recent publications (2011–2014) focus on advanced modeling of ecological systems, including stochastic phytoplankton dynamics, bifurcation in predator-prey systems, and spatial self-organization. These works are published in leading journals like Mathematical Biosciences , Ecological Complexity , and Theoretical Ecology . Awards and Honors: Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), CSIR India Contact & Office: Office: FB-526, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur 208016 Phone: 0512-259-6157 (O) Email: malayb@iitk.ac.in
Tom Ian Battin is a Full Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), affiliated with the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC). He holds roles in three departments: the River Ecosystems Research Laboratory (RIVER), the Laboratory of Management of Infrastructures, Networks and Construction (LIMNC-GE), and the SSIE Teaching Unit (ENS). His research focuses on aquatic ecosystems, microbial communities in glacier-fed streams, climate change impacts, and biogeochemical processes in alpine environments. He advises numerous doctoral students and has supervised over ten theses at EPFL. Battin teaches courses such as 'Fundamentals in Ecology,' 'Aquatic Ecosystems,' and 'Global Change Ecology and Fluvial Ecosystems.' He is actively involved in academic governance, serving on the EPFL Academic Strategic Committee (ASC) and the ENAC Academic Evaluation Committee (CEA). His work investigates how glacier retreat affects stream microbiomes, dissolved organic carbon dynamics, and ecosystem resilience. Key themes include microbial metabolism, biofilm functionality, and the interplay between hydrology and biogeochemistry. Battin leads research projects on global glacier-fed stream biogeography and the resistome of stream biofilms. His interdisciplinary approach bridges ecology, microbiology, and environmental engineering, addressing critical questions about mountain ecosystems under climate change.
