Thomas Ploetz is a computer scientist with expertise and almost 15 years of experience in Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning research (Ph.D. from Bielefeld University, Germany). His research agenda focuses on applied machine learning that is developing systems and innovative sensor data analysis methods for real world applications. Primary application domain for his work is computational behavior analysis, in which he develops methods for automated and objective behavior assessments in naturalistic environments. Main driving functions for his work are "in the wild" deployments and the development of systems and methods that have a real impact on people’s lives.

In 2017, Dr. Ploetz joined the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he works as an associate professor. Prior to this, he was an academic at the School of Computing Science at Newcastle University in Newcastle in Tyne, U.K., where he was a reader (associate professor) for Computational Behavior Analysis affiliated with Open Lab, Newcastle's interdisciplinary center for research in digital technologies.

Visit the Computational Behavior Analysis Lab: cba.gatech.edu.

Jeff Wilson is a senior research scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology affiliated with the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT). He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on human-computer interaction and interactive computing systems, including computer graphics, visualization, digital audio, game design, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality applications.

Wilson has contributed to a wide range of research and applied development projects involving immersive visualization systems, large-format virtual reality displays, mobile and head-mounted augmented reality applications, auditory interfaces for automotive and assistive contexts, educational games, and mobile health technologies. His work often bridges research and deployment, emphasizing practical systems that combine real-time graphics, interaction design, and scalable software architectures with instrumentation and analytics-ready infrastructure.

In addition to research, Wilson teaches courses in the College of Computing and the Online Master of Science in Computer Science program, including video game design, game artificial intelligence, computer graphics, user interface software, and prototyping interactive systems.

More information about his projects, software, and publications is available at: https://jeffwilson.dev

Peter Presti is a principal research scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology. During his 22 years with the university he has collaborated with companies such as IBM, Humana, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Alcatel-Lucent, Bellsouth, Denon Nippon-Columbia, and others. Government research sponsors have included DARPA, NIH, NSF, DoE, USDA, and the VA. His areas of research include sensor systems and biometrics, wearable computers, signal processing, pattern recognition, embedded systems, electronics design, data visualization and computer graphics, and computational geometry. His background spanning both custom hardware and software development provides him the skills to design and build fully integrated prototype systems, and in past projects has designed and built high-speed data capture systems, a variety of kinetic sensors, biometric sensors, and wearable computer systems.