Computer, Data, and Information Sciences – Badger Talks – UW–Madison

Mehrnaz Ahmadi Joobaneh

mreinfeldt — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 18:37:00 +0000

Mehrnaz is an Integration Engineer with the Division of Information Technology’s Application Infrastructure Services at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As part of the dynamic Integration Team, she supports enterprise platforms used campuswide and manages key integrations that power essential systems and services.

A highlight of her role at UW–Madison is managing projects end to end through collaboration with the university’s diverse communities. She also proudly represents UW–Madison in the Big Ten Academic Alliance Women in Technology (BTAA WIT) group. In 2024, Mehrnaz received the Ellen La Luzerne Award for Community Engagement.

Her journey into technology began unexpectedly while coordinating a virtual symposium, which sparked a deep interest in IT and inspired her to return to school to study programming. Since then, she has embraced a variety of IT roles, leading projects from start to finish, driven by curiosity and a love for problem-solving.

Outside of work, Mehrnaz enjoys spending time with her family and exploring new hobbies that keep her inspired.

Mrs. Ahmadi Joobaneh prefers virtual talks. Her talks can also be offered in Farsi.

Laura Albert

jnweaver — Tue, 02 May 2017 19:35:38 +0000

Laura Albert, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research interests are in the field of operations research, with a particular focus on discrete optimization with application to homeland security and emergency response problems. She has authored or co-authored 45 publications in archival journals and refereed proceedings. Her research has been awarded several honors, including four best paper awards and an NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Laura Albert is the INFORMS Vice President for Marketing, Communication, and Outreach. She is the author of the blogs “Punk Rock Operations Research” and “Badger Bracketology.” You can find her on twitter at @lauraalbertphd

Karthik Anantharaman

mreinfeldt — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:49:48 +0000

Dr. Karthik Anantharaman is an Associate Professor and Vilas Faculty Fellow in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his laboratory studies microbial and viral ecology with applications for human and environmental health, such as in antimicrobial resistance and phage therapy. His interdisciplinary research program uses a combination of computational, laboratory and field-based experiments to develop and apply novel approaches to study viral diversity, ecology, and evolution in environments ranging from soil, lakes, oceans, and the human gut.

Vicki Bier

jnweaver — Mon, 01 May 2017 20:48:55 +0000

Vicki Bier is Professor Emerita in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she directed the Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis (formerly the Center for Human Performance in Complex Systems) from 1995 until 2021. She has over 30 years of experience in risk analysis for the nuclear power, chemical, petrochemical, and aerospace industries. Dr. Bier’s research focuses on applications of risk analysis and related methods to problems of security, critical infrastructure protection, climate change, and pandemic response. Dr. Bier was elected a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis in 1996, from which she received the Distinguished Achievement Award in 2007. She served as the engineering editor for Risk Analysis from 1997 through 2001, and is currently the Editor in Chief of Decision Analysis.

Lowell Brower

mreinfeldt — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:13:36 +0000

Lowell Brower is a fourth-generation Wisconsinite, a former werewolf hunter, the father of a Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw champion, and a current member of the Teaching Faculty in UW-Madison’s Folklore Program, where he teaches classes on supernatural storytelling, internet culture, campus traditions, migration narratives, and ‘the folklore of emergency.’ Lowell has conducted long-term fieldwork in communities throughout Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Upper Midwest, focusing on verbal traditions, vernacular memory, and the politics of storytelling amid conflict. Lowell’s other research interests include Upper Midwestern culture, contemporary legends & conspiracy theories, fandoms, cryptids, and the weaponization of folklore in digital spaces. Lowell earned a PhD in African and African American Studies from Harvard University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, and a B.A. in English, and African Languages and Literature from UW-Madison.

Talks can also be offered in Swahili.

Daniel Buckland

mreinfeldt — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 16:21:51 +0000

Dr. Buckland is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Mechanical Engineering. He is an Emergency Physician for UW Health, conducting research in space medicine and the application of AI to provide hospital-level care, from the ER to Mars. He holds an MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. He lives in Madison and before coming to Wisconsin he worked for NASA in human spaceflight planning for Lunar and Mars missions.

Yury Bukhman

mreinfeldt — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 20:34:28 +0000

Bioinformatician with >20 years of research experience in academia and the biotech industry. Interested in genomes, evolution, and the analysis and integration of high-throughput biological data. Earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The Johns Hopkins University in 1998. Received postdoctoral training in Bioinformatics at Scripps Research Institute and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Contributed to peer reviewed studies in several fields of biomedical research, including mammalian genomics, insect ecology, bioenergy, molecular mechanisms of psychiatric disorders, breast cancer, proteomics, structural biology, and thermodynamics of RNA folding.

Dr. Bukhman’s talks can also be offered in Russian.

Victor Cabrera

mreinfeldt — Tue, 21 May 2024 19:43:02 +0000

Dr. Cabrera combines applied research, interdisciplinary approaches, and participatory methods to deliver practical, data-driven, user-friendly, and scientific decision support tools for dairy farm management. These scientific tools are improving dairy farm profitability, environmental stewardship, and long-term sustainability. Dr. Cabrera’s research and extension programs have a global impact. Dr. Cabrera and his workgroup have developed 50 decision support tools, published 90+ refereed articles, and 10+ book chapters. Dr. Cabrera has presented in 100+ scientific sessions, and given extension talks in 400+ extension meetings in Wisconsin, other States, and around the world. Dr. Cabrera’s work in the past 14 years has been pivotal to attract $5.5+ million to support his research and extension initiatives.

Dr. Cabrera’s talks can also be offered in Spanish.

Rahul Chatterjee

mreinfeldt — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:55:02 +0000

Rahul Chatterjee is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences at UW-Madison. Prof. Chatterjee researches on user-centric cybersecurity: a new technology design paradigm that centers around the safety, security, and privacy of people. He looks into how technology raises safety, security, and privacy concerns for at-risk individuals like survivors of domestic violence and how to empower them to fight against such abuse. Prof Chatterjee is the founder of Madison Tech Clinic that support survivors of domestic violence who are spied on, stalked, or harassed using technological means.

Kaiping Chen

mreinfeldt — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 15:40:13 +0000

Chen’s research employs data science and machine learning methods as well as interviews to examine how digital media and technologies affect political accountability to public well-being and how deliberative designs can improve the quality of public discourse on controversial and emerging technologies. Chen’s work is interdisciplinary and draws from theories in communication, political science, and computer science.

A speaker fee will apply for Dr. Chen’s talks.