Professor of Technology Management in Sustainability, University of California, Santa Cruz I am a professor of Technology Management in Sustainability at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Baskin School of Engineering in University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). I am also affiliated with Environmental Studies in Social Science Division. Prior to UCSC, I was on the faculty of University of California Merced with a joint appointment between the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts as well as School of Engineering during 2006-2015. During 2013-2014, I was on a sabbatical leave visiting the GRIPS (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) in Japan, with the support from a JSPS (Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science) fellowship to study the implementation of demand response programs and to examine operation and investment decision in smart-grid marketplace. I joined UC Santa Cruz in 2015. My research focuses on issues related to sustainability. In particular, I study the impact of climate change, public policies, e.g., energy and environmental regulation, on water resources, electricity, gas, biofuel and transportation sectors. My research takes interdisciplinary approaches: quantitative bottom-up models built upon economic principles and solved with operations research techniques. My publication spans across different disciples in management, economics, engineering, sciences and public policy. My work has received several INFORMS (The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) ENRE (Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment) awards: 2004 best student paper (first place) and best publication in sustainability in 2013 (second place) and 2014 (first place). My recent work was also nominated for best paper award in HICSS (Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences)-53.
Associate Professor, Astrophysics, Australian National University My research group is at the nexus of machine learning and large astronomical surveys. Our inquiries touch on numerous areas, encompassing stellar astrophysics, star formation, galactic evolution, black holes, reionization, and cosmology. A central facet of our methodology involves expanding the horizon of Bayesian statistics with contemporary deep learning methodology. This approach proves invaluable for analyzing vast survey datasets, drawing from sources like spectroscopy (SDSS-V, DESI, 4MOST), astrometry (Gaia), photometry (Euclid, Roman, CSST), and time-series data (LSST, TESS, PLATO). This synthesis often sheds light on some of the discipline's core questions. In the realm of machine learning, beyond simulation-based inference with both flow-based and score-based models, we're also delving into the potential of Large Language Models. I lead the AstroLLaMA collaboration, an initiative aimed at combing through the extensive corpus of astronomical literature. By fine-tuning existing foundational models, we aspire to uncover the mechanisms behind scientific breakthroughs. On another front, we're probing the statistical behaviors of neural networks to glean mathematical revelations pertinent to our astronomical research.
Senior research associate, Edith Cowan University I have PhD in Chemical Engineering with specialization in batteries. My research spans over the batteries upstream (resources recovery for battery development), Battery prototype development, Material design for batteries and downstream (Battery recycling).
Professor in Neuroscience, University College Cork Yvonne Nolan is Professor in Neuroscience, a Science Foundation Ireland Investigator and an Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork (UCC). She leads a research team investigating the impact of inflammation and lifestyle influences such as exercise, stress and diet on brain plasticity, gut health, mental health and memory throughout the lifespan, especially during adolescence and middle age. She is a cell, animal model and translational neuroscientist. She has secured research funding as Lead PI from Science Foundation Ireland, Reta Lila Weston Trust, Marigot Ltd, Irish Research Council and Vasogen Inc., Canada. She was consortium lead on a European Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (COEN) project. She has extensive experience of graduate education, supervision, and mentoring, having supervised >40 Early Career Scientists. Yvonne is Vice Head of Graduate Studies in Medicine and Health at UCC, where she has strategic oversight of education for doctoral degrees in the health sciences. Yvonne graduated from NUI, Galway with a BSc in Biochemistry and a PhD in Neuropharmacology. She was a visiting fellow at McGill University Montreal, Canada and held postdoctoral positions in Trinity College, Dublin before joining UCC as academic staff.
Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University Dr. Yu Gu (Gu)’s main research interest is in improving robots’ ability to function in increasingly complex environments and situations. Gu is a three-time NASA Centennial Challenge winner, a NASA NIAC Fellow, and an NSF REU site director. He has led the design of autonomous robots from one degree of freedom (DOF) to 55 DOF, from 50mg to 200kg. The Interactive Robotics Laboratory (IRL) that Gu is directing is currently working on precision robotic pollinators, autonomous planetary rovers, teams of robots for exploring underground environments, and swarms of ground and space robots. The outcomes of IRL research have been featured in 150 media stories. Gu also led the initiation and development of the WVU Robotics program.
James McGill Professor, Department of Human Genetics and Health Sciences, McGill University Yann Joly, Ph.D. (DCL), FCAHS, Ad.E. is the Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy (CGP) at McGill University. He is a James McGill Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Human Genetics. Prof. Joly is also an associate member of the Bioethics Unit and at the Law Faculty at McGill. He was named advocatus emeritus by the Quebec Bar in 2012 and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2017. Prof. Joly’s research interests lie at the interface of the fields of scientific knowledge, health law (biotechnology and other emerging health technologies) and bioethics. He created the first international genetic discrimination observatory in 2018 and has published his findings in over 200 peer-reviewed articles featured in top legal, ethical and scientific journals.
