Tania Gonzalez | Future of VR Research | Research Excellence Award

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Ms. Tania Gonzalez | Future of VR Research | Research Excellence Award 

Centro de Investigación Cientifica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Baja California | Mexico

Tania Maribel González Mendoza is a dedicated Marine Ecologist with over five years of experience in research and monitoring of coral reefs and coastal ecosystems, with a specialization in reef fish ecology. She possesses strong expertise in scientific diving, marine organism collection, biological sample processing, and both field and laboratory data analysis. Throughout her academic career, including her current Ph.D. candidacy at CICESE, she has been actively involved in national research projects addressing critical issues such as ocean acidification, climate change, and reef ecology, contributing to several peer-reviewed publications. Her professional experience includes research assistant roles at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and active participation in projects like the deep-reef refuge hypothesis, Punta Colonet Port development, and reproductive ecology of damselfish, where she has conducted fieldwork, laboratory analyses, database management, and scientific reporting. She has also contributed to reef restoration and carbonate budget assessments, highlighting her hands-on approach to marine conservation. In addition to research, she is experienced in teaching and technical training, offering courses such as Reef Fish Ecology and Underwater Survey Techniques, and has provided workshops and seminars for scientific outreach. Tania is proficient in statistical and ecological software including RStudio, PRIMER+PERMANOVA, Past, and Statistica, and is certified in scientific and recreational diving (PADI Open Water and Advanced Diver). Fluent in Spanish and competent in English, she combines strong organizational skills, proactivity, responsibility, and teamwork with a commitment to advancing marine science. Her work integrates rigorous scientific methodology with field-based ecological insights, positioning her as a skilled researcher and educator dedicated to the conservation and understanding of coral reef ecosystems.


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Featured Publications

Ali Eyvazi | Simulation & Training | Research Excellence Award

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

Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan | Iran

Ali Eyvazi is a researcher in the field of clean and sustainable energy systems, currently affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Vali-e-Asr University, Iran, with expertise focused on energy, hydrogen production, exergy evaluation, geothermal systems, and economic optimization of advanced multigeneration technologies. His research portfolio centers on the development and thermoeconomic assessment of novel multigeneration energy systems that simultaneously produce power, heating, cooling, and liquid hydrogen, typically by incorporating geothermal resources, gas turbines, absorption heat transformers, ejector cooling, and compressed air energy storage technologies. Eyvazi’s works adopt a holistic performance evaluation framework that includes energy, exergy, and cost analyses, often coupled with optimization methods to identify thermodynamically efficient and economically viable configurations. His 2025 publications prominently explore geothermal-based multigeneration cycles, including innovative cascade methods for hydrogen liquefaction and combined precooling processes (e.g., Claude hydrogen liquefaction integrated with helium-based Joule-Brayton cycles). He frequently collaborates with experienced co-authors such as Mehran Ameri, Mohammad Shafiey Dehaj, and Hadi Ghaebi, contributing to multiple reputable journals in heat and mass transfer, sustainable energy systems, and process integration. His studies aim to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve the practicality of hydrogen as a clean fuel, particularly by lowering energy consumption during liquefaction and enhancing heat recovery mechanisms. Alongside optimization-driven geothermal designs, his research also examines hybrid systems combining gas turbines with absorption chillers, as well as environmentally safer cooling systems utilizing sulfur dioxide-based ejector technology. These contributions support the advancement of renewable energy integration and more efficient energy conversion methods for future smart grid applications. Although his scientific metrics are at an early stage — with 1 citation, h-index 1, and i10-index 0 — his rapidly growing publication record between 2024 and 2025 (more than 15 articles) highlights strong academic productivity and continued engagement with emerging topics in global decarbonization efforts. Eyvazi’s overall objective is to address global energy sustainability challenges through high-efficiency thermal systems, providing economically optimized solutions for clean hydrogen generation and multi-output energy plants that can support industrial and societal needs in the evolving renewable energy landscape.

Profile: Google Scholar

Featured Publications 

Eyvazi, A., Ameri, M., Shafiey Dehaj, M., & Ghaebi, H. (2025). Thermoeconomic analysis and optimization of a novel geothermal based multi generation system for electricity generation, cooling, heating and hydrogen liquefaction. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research.

Eyvazi, A., Ameri, M., Shafiey Dehaj, M., & Ghaebi, H. (2025). Energy, exergy, and economic analysis and optimization of a novel geothermal energy-based multigeneration system for liquid hydrogen, hot water, cooling, and power production. Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability, 1–20.

Eivazi, A., & Shafiey Dehaj, M. (2025). Thermo-Economic Evaluation of the combined power, heat and cooling production system integrating gas turbine and absorption cooling. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research, 12(1), 29–44.

Eyvazi, A., Ameri, M., Shafiey Dehaj, M., & Ghaebi, H. (2025). Energy, exergy and economic analysis of a new geothermal resource-based multigeneration system for power, heat, cooling and liquid hydrogen production by cascade method. Journal of Sustainable Energy Systems, 4(1), 83–105.

Eyvazi, A., Ameri, M., Dehaj, M. S., & Ghaebi, H. (2025). Thermoeconomic analysis and optimization of Claude hydrogen liquefaction cycle integrated with helium-based Joule–Brayton precooling cycle in a novel geothermal multigeneration system. Heat Transfer.

Eyvazi, A. (2025). Energy, exergy, and economic analysis and optimization of novel multi-generation system with combination of heat recovery exchanger and absorption transformer. Energy, 6(2), 293–313.

Eyvazi, A., & Ghaebi, H. (2025). Thermoeconomic study of a new combined power, heat and cooling system combined with an electrolyzer for producing hydrogen. Journal of Simulation and Analysis of Novel Technologies in Mechanical Engineering.

Eyvazi, A. (2025). Thermodynamic and economic analysis of new multiple generation system with steam turbine combined with ejector cooling based on sulfur dioxide. Journal of Energy Conversion.

Christiane Lange-Kuttner | Cognitive VR Research | Research Excellence Award

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Prof. Christiane Lange-Kuttner | Cognitive VR Research | Research Excellence Award 

Universitat Bremen | Germany

Prof. Dr. Chris Lange-Küttner is an internationally recognised developmental and cognitive psychologist whose extensive academic career spans Germany, the United Kingdom, and Cyprus, with core expertise in children’s visual cognition, spatial development, drawing, memory, intelligence, uncertainty processing, and developmental differences such as ASD and ADHD. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Cognitive Development and previously held long-term editorial roles in major journals including Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, and International Journal of Developmental Science. She holds an H-index exceeding 90 across major citation platforms, reflecting her substantial research influence. Educated at the Technical University Berlin and Free University Berlin, she earned her Dr. phil. magna cum laude, published her early landmark work on children’s graphic competence, and later completed her habilitation at the University of Bremen on spatial systems in development and learning. Her academic appointments include W3 and W2 Professorships in Developmental Psychology (Greifswald, Konstanz), more than two decades as Senior Lecturer at London Metropolitan University, and adjunct faculty roles at the University of Nicosia. She has led major research projects such as INSIDE at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories and has contributed significantly to academic leadership as Chair of the TEAP Conference, Psychology Ethics Committee Chair, Erasmus Coordinator, and PhD viva examiner. Her honours include listings in Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century and Who’s Who, alongside multiple fellowships such as FHEA and Associate Fellow of the BPS. Prof. Lange-Küttner’s recent publications span influential topics including school transitions, ADHD–education links, visual search, spatial heuristics, relative age effects, longitudinal school performance, and academic-social profiles in autism. Her extensive earlier work includes foundational studies on drawing development, perceptual load, spatial binding, mental rotation, reaction time systems, bilingual speech preparation, object-based practice in Alzheimer’s disease, and cognitive mechanisms underlying children’s learning. She has supervised multiple doctoral and master’s students and mentored international interns whose work has led to published outcomes. Skilled in Python, R, SPSS, JMP, MPlus, AMOS, and experimental software, she integrates computational, statistical, and experimental methodologies to advance developmental science. Her career is marked by cross-disciplinary impact, global collaborations, and sustained contributions to understanding how children perceive, organise, and learn from the visual and spatial world.

Profiles: Scopus | Orcid

Featured Publications

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2025). Spatial heuristics and random spatial exploration: Children, adults, and the machine coloring-in places in the grid game. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2025). Visual search and domain-specific interests in children. International Journal of Developmental Science.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2025). The relative age effect in secondary schools. Cognitive Development.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2025). A 5-year longitudinal study about the effect of school change on grades. The Journal of Genetic Psychology.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2025). Academic and social profiles of adolescents with autism. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2024). Are school grades correlated with competencies in secondary school pupils with special needs? Frontiers in Education.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2024). Object-based practice effects recover the graphic object concept in Alzheimer’s dementia. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2024). COVID-stressed schools struggled to teach mathematics. Acta Psychologica.

Chris Lange-Kuttner, C. (2024). Visual and motor cognition in children and infants. Routledge.

Rasool Abedanzadeh | Virtual Reality Systems | Best VR Researcher Award

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prof. Rasool Abedanzadeh | Virtual Reality Systems | Best VR Researcher Award

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz | Iran

Rasool Abedanzadeh is an Associate Professor of Motor Behavior at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, specializing in motor control and learning, sport and exercise psychology, motor development, and cognitive performance. He holds academic degrees in Sport Sciences and Motor Behavior, with graduate research focused on psychological factors influencing perceived exertion and the role of sensory information and age in bimanual coordination. As an experienced educator, he teaches a wide range of subjects, including motor learning, motor control, motor development, motor skills acquisition, sport psychology, advanced statistical methods, and specialty English. His research spans attentional focus, neurocognitive mechanisms of movement, feedback strategies, developmental and neurological conditions, aging, brain stimulation, stereotype threat, and motor-skill acquisition in both typical and special populations. Dr. Abedanzadeh has produced an extensive body of scholarly work, authoring more than 45 peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals. His studies address topics such as normative feedback, mirror neuron involvement, active and interactive video-game-based training, brain-gym exercises, transcranial direct current stimulation, coordination patterns, balance, and learning processes in children with autism, individuals with intellectual disabilities, elderly adults, and novice performers. He has also contributed numerous presentations to national and international conferences, highlighting advancements in feedback mechanisms, attention, brain stimulation, motor development, and applied motor behavior. Beyond publications and teaching, he has led several funded research projects focused on cognitive-motor performance, motivational climate, goal orientation, and sports-talent development for students. His innovative work includes registered inventions such as an eye-tracking system for anxiety and stress assessment, a mirror-tracking device, and a Stroop-based auditory stimulus tool for examining psychological refractory periods. Dr. Abedanzadeh also contributes to the academic community as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Sport Sciences and Educational Applied Researches without Border and serves as an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE. Collectively, his expertise, research, and inventions reflect a strong commitment to advancing knowledge in motor behavior, enhancing training and learning strategies, and applying scientific insights to sport, health, and cognitive performance.

Mario Covarrubias | Automotive & Manufacturing VR | VR Research Excellence Award

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Assoc. Prof. Dr Mario Covarrubias | Automotive & Manufacturing VR | VR Research Excellence Award 

 Politecnico di Milano | Italy

Dr. Mario Covarrubias Rodríguez is a distinguished multidisciplinary researcher whose academic and professional pursuits span the intersection of virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), human–computer interaction (HCI), and inclusive design. His research is driven by a vision to harness immersive technologies for the advancement of education, rehabilitation, and cultural heritage preservation. Through his work, Dr. Covarrubias Rodríguez seeks to bridge the gap between digital innovation and human experience, ensuring that technological progress contributes meaningfully to learning, recovery, and social inclusion. A central focus of Dr. Covarrubias Rodríguez’s research lies in developing immersive and interactive environments that support cognitive and physical rehabilitation. His studies in VR-based stroke rehabilitation have demonstrated how virtual environments can assist patients in regaining motor skills, improving engagement, and enhancing therapeutic outcomes. By integrating engineering design principles with biomedical and psychological insights, he has contributed to the creation of adaptive systems that personalize therapy according to individual needs, making rehabilitation more motivating and effective. Dr. Covarrubias Rodríguez has contributed to the creation of virtual tours, 3D reconstructions, and interactive museum experiences that allow users to explore historical sites and artifacts in immersive detail. By combining computer-aided design (CAD), 3D visualization, and VR storytelling, he helps safeguard intangible and tangible heritage for future generations while making it accessible to global audiences. He has published widely in renowned journals and conference proceedings such as Computer-Aided Design and Applications, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), and IEEE Rehabilitation Robotics. His work is characterized by methodological rigor, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a focus on real-world applicability. To date, he has authored or co-authored nearly 484 publications, with over 98 citations and an h-index of 10, reflecting both the breadth and depth of his contributions to the field. Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Covarrubias Rodríguez actively promotes the integration of inclusive design and accessibility in emerging digital systems. His overarching goal is to ensure that innovations in virtual and mixed reality are not only technologically advanced but also socially responsible and human-centered. Through his pioneering work, he continues to inspire a new generation of researchers, educators, and engineers committed to creating immersive digital technologies that empower individuals, enrich learning, and enhance human well-being across diverse communities.

Profiles: Scopus | Orcid | LinkedIn

Featured Publications

Covarrubias, M. (2024). Enhancing inclusive education for young students with special needs through mixed reality: Exploring the potential of CNC milling machine application. Computer-Aided Design and Applications, 21(3), 522–535. (Q1, IF 3.1, CiteScore 6.5).

Covarrubias, M. (2024). Exploiting virtual reality to design exercises for the recovery of stroke patients at home. Computer-Aided Design and Applications, 21(3), 463–473. (Q1, IF 3.1, CiteScore 6.5).

Covarrubias, M. (2024). Rapid prototyping in engineering education: Developing a hand exoskeleton for personalized rehabilitation. Computer-Aided Design and Applications, 21(3), 474–486. (Q1, IF 3.1, CiteScore 6.5).

Covarrubias, M. (2023). Google Earth in VR for students with special needs. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS 14219), Springer Nature, 3–14. (Q2, IF 2.4, CiteScore 4.1).

Covarrubias Rodriguez, M. (2023). Tintoretto Unveiled: Interactive virtual experience for artworks. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, Springer Nature, 1352–1363. (Q2, IF 2.2, CiteScore 3.8).