Lu Ye | Simulation & Training | Best VR Faculty Award

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Prof. Lu Ye | Simulation & Training | Best VR Faculty Award

Civil Aviation Flight University of China | China

Lu Ye is a Professor and Vice Dean of the College of Flight Technology at the Civil Aviation Flight University of China. He has developed four national and provincial first-class courses and compiled six textbooks, including three nationally planned titles. He has led 23 teaching and scientific research projects, published over 50 academic papers, and holds multiple patents. Professor Lu has contributed to two national teaching standards and three industry regulations in civil aviation. His work in flight neuroscience, intelligent pilot training, and flight safety has earned prestigious national and CAAC teaching achievement awards.

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Fernanda Sousa | Simulation & Training | Outstanding Contribution to Immersive Technology Award

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Prof. Dr. Fernanda Sousa | Simulation & Training | Outstanding Contribution to Immersive Technology Award 

University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing | Brazil

Dr. Fernanda Raphael Escobar Gimenes de Sousa is a distinguished nurse scientist, educator, and global health leader whose career demonstrates an outstanding contribution to technology-driven innovation in healthcare and nursing education. She holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate in Nursing from the University of São Paulo and has served as a faculty member at the Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing since 2012, where she currently coordinates the Graduate Program in Professional Master’s Degree in Technology and Innovation in Nursing. Her work integrates patient safety, clinical innovation, and advanced healthcare technologies, with strong emphasis on experiential and technology-enhanced learning. She is the creator and leader of the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Research and Development Center, promoting hands-on, immersive clinical training that enhances decision-making and patient outcomes. Dr. Gimenes de Sousa has held numerous national and international leadership roles, including membership in the WHO Patient Safety Network, advisory positions with PAHO/WHO, and service on Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency. Her global research experience spans Australia, Canada, and Europe, reinforcing her impact on health systems and safety innovation worldwide. A prolific academic and editorial board member for leading international journals, she has received multiple honors recognizing excellence in research, leadership, and education. Through her sustained leadership in nursing technology, simulation-based clinical practice, and innovation-focused graduate education, Dr. Gimenes de Sousa has made a lasting and meaningful contribution to the advancement of immersive and technology-enabled healthcare practice

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Taiwo Osanyin | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award

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Dr. Taiwo Osanyin | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award

York University | Canada

Osanyin Taiwo Olusayo is a space geophysicist and postdoctoral researcher at York University, Toronto, whose research spans space physics, atmospheric sciences, statistics, and upper-atmosphere modeling, with a strong focus on understanding and mitigating ionospheric impacts on radio signal propagation during space weather events. Her work integrates GNSS-derived total electron content, empirical climatological models, data assimilation, high-performance computing, and machine learning to improve regional ionosphere modeling, nowcasting, and forecasting, particularly over equatorial and low-latitude regions. She conducts collaborative research with NovAtel Inc., contributes actively to peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, and grant proposals, and disseminates findings through international conferences and invited talks. Osanyin holds a Ph.D. in Space Geophysics from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil, and has received several international honors, including the ICTP ATAP Fellowship, SCOSTEP Visiting Scholar Award, Best Researcher Award, and Young Scientist Award, reflecting her growing impact in space weather and ionospheric research.

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Ali Hainoun | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award

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Dr. Ali Hainoun | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award 

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH | Austria

Dr. Ali Hainoun is a senior scientist and internationally recognized energy systems expert at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Centre for Energy, with more than three decades of experience in integrated energy systems analysis, sustainable energy strategy development, and the clean energy transition. He holds a Dipl.-Ing. in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering from KIT Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Bochum University. His career includes impactful roles across leading institutions such as KIT, FZJ, HZDR, AECS, ESCWA, UNDP, GIZ, RCREEE, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Since 2003, he has served as an “Expert on Mission” for the IAEA, delivering high-level training, capacity building, and policy guidance to more than 15 countries in the MENA region, GCC, Africa, and South Asia, focusing on long-term energy demand analysis, supply optimization, GHG mitigation, and frameworks aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At AIT, Dr. Hainoun leads research activities on urban energy systems, specializing in spatio-temporal energy modelling for climate-neutral cities, Positive Energy Districts, and the monitoring and evaluation of integrated energy solutions. He actively contributes to and coordinates major EU and national R&D projects, including PLENTY-LIFE, ASCEND, CREATE, DIGICITIES, BIPED, and GOES. Previously, he served as Director of Research and Head of the Energy Systems Analysis Division at the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, where he established the national energy planning group and contributed significantly to the development and application of IAEA’s global energy planning tools such as MESSAGE, MAED, WASP, and SIMPACTS. Author of over 80 scientific publications and a member of multiple international editorial and advisory boards, Dr. Hainoun is widely regarded for his leadership, technical depth, and contributions to sustainable energy transitions and integrated urban energy planning worldwide.

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Julia Barczyk | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award

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Ms. Julia Barczyk | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award 

University of Wroclaw | Poland

Julia Barczyk is an ornithologist and ecological researcher with extensive experience in field biology, statistical modelling, and biodiversity monitoring across Europe, Asia, and South America. She is completing her PhD at the University of Wrocław, where her dissertation focuses on evaluating methods of forest bird abundance estimation using hierarchical models and long-term field studies in Białowieża National Park. She holds both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from Jagiellonian University, with research spanning natal dispersal in blue tits and physiological responses to fasting in zebra finches. Her professional and internship experience includes advanced laboratory and molecular work, extensive bird monitoring, and international field research, such as metabarcoding of aquatic insects in Poland, modelling forest bird abundance at the Swiss Ornithological Institute under Marc Kéry, ecological fieldwork in Ecuador for Senckenberg Research Centre, and multiple ornithological and ecological projects in Poland, Sweden, and tropical environments. She has undertaken diverse workshops and specialist courses, including capture-recapture analyses in R, avian parasitology, GPS and geolocator data visualisation, tropical ecology field methods, and licensed bird ringing training. Julia is the author and co-author of several peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Oikos, Ecological Indicators, Journal of Ornithology, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, and Journal of Avian Biology, addressing topics from distance sampling and abundance estimation to gut microbiome diversity and functional evolution of avian traits. She has presented her work at major international conferences, including the European Ornithologists’ Union Congress, Bird Numbers conference, and the International Ornithological Congress. A dedicated member of the scientific community, she serves on the board of Association Carpatica – Birds Ringing Station and has previously chaired student naturalist and ornithology organisations at Jagiellonian University.

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Kristyn Wilson | Simulation & Training | Best VR Researcher Award

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Dr. Kristyn Wilson | Simulation & Training | Best VR Researcher Award 

University of Virginia | United States

Kristyn Wilson is a researcher and practitioner whose work centers on teacher preparation, mixed-reality simulation, feedback systems, and the evolving structures of educator pathways. Her scholarship investigates novice teachers’ learning experiences, the design and implementation of simulations, and institutional responses to shifting licensure and preparation demands. She has authored peer-reviewed publications in leading outlets such as AERA Open, Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, and Teachers College Record, contributing influential work on approximations of practice, coaching effectiveness, simulated caregiver conversations, and the language of teacher feedback. Her research pipeline includes multiple manuscripts under review and in preparation that examine program proliferation, provisional licensure routes, and within-institution variation in educator preparation. Wilson has been recognized with numerous distinctions, including the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, the Brenda Loyd Holliday Award, Best Poster honors, Best Paper finalist designation, and several competitive grants and fellowships supporting her research and conference participation. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Virginia, she contributes to large-scale, multi-institution projects evaluating statewide literacy initiatives, ELA curriculum shifts, and the potential of AI-supported tools to enhance teaching feedback, collaborating with principal investigators from UVA, Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, and Stanford University. Her academic experience includes extensive instructional roles across undergraduate and graduate programs, instructional coaching for teaching difficult histories, and leadership in program assessment, rubric development, accreditation preparation, curriculum mapping, and course alignment. She has presented her work widely at national, regional, and institutional conferences, including AERA, AACTE, AEFP, VACTE, SITE, and multiple UVA research convenings, and has delivered invited talks to K–12 school divisions, university faculty, and international delegations. Wilson has also contributed public scholarship through published opinion pieces in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Her service includes conference reviewing for major national organizations, manuscript reviewing for multiple journals, committee leadership for the Hunter Student Research Conference, and extensive involvement with the Morehead-Cain Scholarship selection process.

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Featured Publications

Wilson, K., Cohen, J., & Erickson, S. (2025). Teacher candidates’ experiences with mixed reality simulations: Variations by task, support, and mode of delivery. AERA Open.

Cohen, J., Yonas, A., & Wilson, K. (2025). Approximating teaching: A systematic review of the research. Review of Educational Research.

Cohen, J., Wong, V., Liu, P., Wilson, K., & Yonas, A. (2025). Practice does not make perfect: Experimental evidence on the effectiveness of coaching beginning teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 117(7), 1137–1177.

Wilson, K., & Yonas, A. (2024). In search of deliberate practice: Simulating teaching in three teacher education programs. Teachers College Record, 126(9), 47–89.