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Dr Joanne De Faveri is a Senior Research Fellow in Statistics with QAAFI at The University of Queensland. Dr De Faveri’s research is based on developing new improved statistical and hybrid (integrated statistical / machine learning) methods to deliver significant genetic gains for plant breeding and pre-breeding programs. Her primary interests lie in spatio-temporal modelling of longitudinal data and the integration of high throughput phenotyping (HTP) (from sensors, hyperspectral, aerial images), genomic and environmental information for improved variety predictions.

Prior to joining UQ Dr De Faveri worked with CSIRO as part of SAGI-North, the Statistics for the Australian Grains Industry project, where she researched and applied statistical methods to grains research projects, in particular focussing on methods for High Throughput Phenomics. She also has over 20 years’ experience as a Biometrician with the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries (DAF), researching and applying statistical methods and training staff across a wide range of agricultural research projects in field crops, horticulture, beef, dairy, fisheries, aquaculture, and in particular, horticulture breeding programs.

Dr De Faveri has been invited to speak at National and International conferences on statistical methods for incorporating HTP data in variety trials and has developed national and international collaborations with colleagues at CSIRO, University of Queensland, University of Adelaide, Dept Agriculture & Fisheries, Wageningen University and CIMMYT.

Carolyn is a theoretical physicist studying quantum information and quantum foundations. She grew up in central Queensland and holds bachelor’s degrees in physics (UQ) and applied linguistics (Griffith University). She completed her PhD in physics at the University of Queensland.

Her research is focused on physics at the interface between quantum mechanics, general relativity and thermodynamics, quantum machine learning, and the applications of both to quantum information theory and quantum computing. She is also broadly interested in artificial intelligence, and cross-disciplinary research combining physics and linguistics.

Carolyn was awarded a Deborah Jin Research Fellowship by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) in 2022.

Dr Loic Yengo is a Professor of Statistical Genomics at The University of Queensland (UQ) and Group Leader of the Statistical Genomics Laboratory within UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He was awarded a prestigious Snow Medical Research Fellowship in 2024 to dramatically advance the use of genomics to prevent chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, with a particular focus on increasing participation of people with diverse ancestries. After completing a PhD in applied mathematics and statistics at the University of Lille (France) in 2014, he joined UQ in 2016 for postdoctoral training in Quantitative and Statistical Genetics. Loic started his own lab in 2020 to investigate the causes and consequences of genetic variation within and between human populations. His group develops and applies novel statistical methods to analyse large volumes of genomic data. Loic’s research has contributed to improving understanding of the genetic and phenotypic consequences of non-random mating (inbreeding and assortative mating) in human populations and has led to identifying novel genetic variants associated with complex traits and diseases. Loic was named among the top 40 rising stars of research by The Australian newspaper in 2021 and received the UQ Foundation research excellence award the same year. Loic is the 2022 recipient of the Ruth Stephens Gani Medal of the Australian Academy of Science recognizing outstanding contributions to research in human genetics, and was named in Nature Medicine’s 2022 Yearbook among 11 early-career researchers “to watch”.

In 2024, he was the recipient of the American Society of Human Genetics Early Career Award and a Snow Medical Research Foundation Fellowship to accelerate the deployment of genomic risk prediction in the clinic and improve the benefit of genomic medicine in all populations.

I completed my PhD, supervised by Dr. Jan Engelstaedter, investigating host shift dynamics of parasites within a host clade. In this project I am was interested in understanding the long-term dynamics and consequences of host-shift dynamics, while taking into account the evolutionary relationships between host species. I was interested in identifying predictable patterns in the distribution of pathogens using statistical and mathematical modeling.

Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher working at the University of Queensland under Dr. Christine Beveridge. I will be creating computational models of plant hormone signalling in order to make predictions on the phenotypic outcomes of plant species.

I bring industry and academic experience in working on quantum error mitigation, quantum error correction, and quantum control theory to enable quantum computing demonstrations on near-term hardware. I am currently investigating the feasibility of combining error mitigation and error correction techniques with quantum machine learning algorithms at the University of Queensland. With Sally Shrapnel and partnering with the Queensland Digital Health Center (QDHeC), we are analysing the operational robustness of quantum machine learning, with an eye to digital health use-case discovery and testing. Prior to this, I worked on execution of dynamic circuits for error mitigation and quantum error correction applications at IBM Quantum (US) for three years. My work resulted in 3 patents and being recognised as one of IBM Research’s Top Technical Contributors in 2023 globally. I have also designed classical algorithms for noise filtering and prediction for trapped ions at the Quantum Control Laboratory in the University of Sydney, winning ARC EQUS inaugural Director’s Medal in Australia in 2019.

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre led by Prof. Evgueni Jak.

He graduated with a Master in Chemistry (chemical thermodynamics) from Lomonosov's Moscow State University, Deparment of Chemistry in 2012. His Master's Thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the NaOH-Al(OH)3-Na2SiO3-H2O system for applications in Bayer's process of bauxite treatment" as part of a bigger project initiated in collaboration with Rusal company aimed at utilisation/valorisation of red mud residues accumulated during the production of aluminium oxide from bauxite ores.

In 2019, he completed a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, Canada within The Centre For Research in Computational Thermodynamics (CRCT), where he acquired expertise in FactSage software, multicomponent database development, and was included in the list of official collaborators of FactSage. His PhD thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the Na2O-K2O-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-B2O3-SiO2 system" sponsored by Glass Consortium including Corning and SCHOTT glass producers. The purpose of the database he developed was to assist the industry in designing new glasses with special properties: chemically hardened glasses (smartphones), technical glasses with high thermal and chemical resilience (boron-containing glasses), chemically inert glasses, etc.

Short after receiving his PhD, Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev accepted a position at The University of Queensland as part of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre's team where he has an official title of Theme Leader in Thermodynamic Computations, combining his broad expertise in metallurgy, chemical engineering, applied mathematics, and programming.

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev has always been passionate about formalisation and automation of big research tasks. He started working on developing an automated solver for thermodynamic optimisation during his PhD thesis which was improved and finalised using the ideas of Prof. Evgueni Jak about real-time derivative matrix optimization and sensitivity analysis applicable to large multicomponent systems. His contribution to the Centre allowed to make transition to a continuous optimization approach when experimental and modelling streams of work in the Centre are efficiently combined together. It allows to include the most recent experimental datasets into a self-consistent database update with minimal time delays.

Dr Zhenjiang You is a Senior Lecturer within the School of Chemical Engineering. He holds a PhD in Fluid Mechanics. He conducts research on mathematical modelling, numerical simulation and experimental study of flows in porous media, and their applications in petroleum/chemical/mechanical/mining/civil engineering, energy, environment and water resources. He develops new theories and models for colloidal/suspension transport in porous media, innovative technologies for enhanced gas/oil production, and applicable tools for reservoir engineering, production engineering and geothermal industry. He has received research funding support from ARC, NERA, DMITRE, ARENA and a range of Australian and international companies. He collaborates with researchers in Australia, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, China, Russia, USA, Brazil and Iran.

His teaching contributions include Reservoir Engineering, Well Test Analysis, Reservoir Simulation, Field Design Project, Mathematical Modelling and Fluid Mechanics for Petroleum Engineers, Formation Damage, Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery, Unconventional Resources and Recovery, etc.

Dr. Anthony Halog: Global Leader in AI-Enabled Circular Economy and Sustainable Systems

Dr. Anthony Halog is an internationally recognized expert in AI-driven circular economy, life cycle assessment (LCA), and sustainable systems engineering. His research integrates artificial intelligence, industrial ecology, and systems thinking to optimize green hydrogen production, bioeconomy transitions, and waste-to-energy systems.

As a Senior Academic at the University of Queensland, Dr. Halog leads research projects funded by ARC, EU Horizon, and industry partners. He has published over 130 high-impact journal articles, advancing knowledge in sustainability science and AI-enabled resource optimization. His work has influenced policy development and industry decarbonization strategies in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Dr. Halog has been awarded prestigious international fellowships, including the OECD Research Fellowship (UK/Finland), DAAD Fellowship (Germany), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship, and NSERC Fellowship (Canada). He has held visiting research positions in the UK, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco, expanding his global impact on circular economy modeling and AI applications in sustainability.

Beyond academia, he plays a key role in policy advisory and industry collaboration, partnering with the OECD, the United Nations, and the European Commission. As a keynote speaker and editorial board member, he continues to shape global discourse on sustainability transitions and AI-driven resource efficiency.

I am an applied and computational topologist; my research is motivated and inspired by real life problems. My main focus is on understanding how shape influences behaviour, which is a common theme arising in the study of many natural systems. I have done my bachelor and master in Pisa (Italy), and my PhD and first postdoc in Oxford (UK). I then moved to Melbourne for my second postdoc, before starting my position at UQ.

Dr Archie Chapman is an Associate Professor in Computer Science in the School of IT and Electrical Engineering.

Archie develops and applies principled artificial intelligence, game theory, optimisation and machine learning methods to solve large-scale and dynamic allocation, scheduling and queuing problems. His recent research has focused on applications of these techniques to problems in future power systems, such as integrating large amounts of renewable power generation and using batteries and flexible loads to provide power network and system services, while making best use of legacy network and generation infrastructure.

Prior to joining UQ, Archie was Research Fellow in Smart Grids at the University of Sydney (2011-2019), and a postdoc fellow at the University of Southampton (2009-2010), where he completed his PhD.

Gloria is an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow at The University of Queensland’s School of Chemical Engineering, where She uses novel multiscale simulation techniques, combining molecular simulations with macroscopic physics-based modeling, to solve energy and environmental problems. She works at the interface between applied mathematics and engineering to build models to explore and improve understanding of phenomena driving behaviour of complex systems as well as to develop computational methods to improve simulation tools for multiple applications, ranging from chemical and biomedical engineering to ecology.

Nan Ye's research interest spans machine learning, statistics and optimization. He has published papers on topics including sequential decision making under uncertainty, weakly supervised learning, probabilistic graphical models, statistical learning theory, in venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, UAI, JAIR, JMLR. He received an IJCAI-JAIR Best Paper Prize in 2022, and a UAI Best Student Paper Award in 2014.

He is a Lecturer in Statistics and Data Science in the School of Mathematics and Physics in University of Queensland. He previously held postdoc positions at QUT and UC Berkeley from 2015 to 2018, and at NUS from 2013 to 2014. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science from NUS, and completed double first-class honors in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, also from NUS.

Please visit his personal webpage for more information: https://yenan.github.io/.

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Languages and Cultures at UQ (since 2017), formerly assistant professor at the Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES), University of Hong Kong (since 2014). I hold an MA TESOL from the University of London and an M.Phil/Ph.D in applied linguistics from the University of Cambridge, UK.

My areas of research and supervisory expertise include corpus linguistics and the use of corpora for language learning (known as 'data-driven learning'), as well as computer-assisted language learning, and English for General and Specific Academic Purposes. I have published over 50 articles to date in many leading Q1 journals in the field of applied linguistics, 10+ book chapters, 4 books, 3 MOOCs, and several textbook series.

I am the Editor-in-Chief for the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics (from 2024). I am also currently serving on the editorial boards of the Q1 journals IRAL, Journal of Second Language Writing, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, and System, as well as Applied Corpus Linguistics, a new journal covering the direct applications of corpora to teaching and learning.

Damon Thomas is a senior lecturer in literacy education. His current research interests include theories of writing, writing development, pedagogy, and assessment, systemic functional linguistics, argumentation, standardised assessment, and classical rhetoric. Damon's research has made important contributions in the following areas:

• Understanding the complexities of student writing development
• Exploring writing instruction in situ
• Unpacking and critiquing the results of Australia's only large-scale test: the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy.

Damon completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) in 2015. He began lecturing at UTAS in 2014 and was promoted to senior lecturer in 2019. He took up a senior lecturer position at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2021. Before starting his academic career, Damon taught as a primary school teacher in Tasmania after completing a Bachelor of Education degree with First Class Honours.

Damon was part of a team of Chief Investigators from the University of Tasmania, Deakin University, and La Trobe University that secured a successful ARC Linkage Project in 2015 in partnership with Anglicare Tasmania (LP150100558). The project investigated conditions that improved learning and wellbeing outcomes in regional, low-SES schools in Tasmania and Victoria. Damon oversaw the literacy component across school sites and conducted in-depth case studies in Tasmanian primary and high schools.

Damon is currently a Chief Investigator on an ARC Discovery Project investigating talk for learning in early years mathematics classrooms. Damon's main role is to employ several linguistic frameworks to understand the complexities of student dialogue and features of productive talk.

Damon is a member of several professional organisations including the Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association (ASFLA), the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia (PETAA), and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA). Damon also translates literacy research for practising teachers via his blog: Read Write Think Learn

Jonah is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at UQ Business School. His research focuses on understanding the systems and interdependencies between support for entrepreneurial activity, social innovation, and social change, asking broadly “how do societies support the organization of entrepreneurship and in turn ensure its positive impact on society?” onah's research includes longitudinal qualitative studies in the contexts of entrepreneurial ecosystems and the governance of entrepreneurial finance, and practice-based studies around entrepreneurial decision making. His most recent work understanding the potential of a responsible entrepreneurship ideology has been published in Academy of Management Review.

Prior to joining UQ, Jonah completed his PhD in Management Studies at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Jonah also holds a Master of Philosophy in Innovation, Strategy and Organisation from the University of Cambridge and undergraduate degrees in Economics (Hons) and Applied Mathematics from the University of Calgary. Jonah has industry experience in financial services as a Product Manager, where he managed technologies for international money movement and personal financial wellness.