General Chair
Lav R. Varshney
Lav’s research centers on the science and engineering of sociotechnical systems and is driven by a desire to improve individual and collective intelligence in modern environments. He previously conceptualized IBM’s computational creativity system for producing novel and flavorful culinary recipes, and led its design and development. He is now interested in data analytics questions ranging from obesity characterization to olfactory perception to food trade.
Program Committee
AnnMarie Thomas
School of Engineering / Schulze School of Entrepreneurship / Opus College of Business, University of St. Thomas
AnnMarie is the founder/director of the Playful Learning Lab, through which she leads a team of students looking at the playful side of engineering, developing Squishy Circuits, the science of circus, and toy design curricula, as well as exploring ways to encourage children, of all ages, to embrace playful learning.
Aditya Vempaty
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Aditya is interested in understanding the theoretical and practical aspects of information processing and decision making in human-machine systems with potentially unreliable components. Tools from statistical signal processing, information theory, error correcting codes, and statistical learning are used in his research.
Linjia Chang
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Linjia is mainly interested in communications, coding theory, and machine learning, and has completed several practical data analytics engagements in several domains including food, flavor, and texture. She maintains strong interest in computational gastronomy.