FRÉDÉRIC SIMON AUGUSTYN
Co-Director
Simon is a 4th year Law Student having completed his Bachelors of Commerce in 2023. He is experienced in Moot, having participated in the Vis Moot for 3 years from 2022 to 2024, once as a speaker and twice as the Head Coach. Now, taking a step away from active participation, he seeks to give back to the activity which provided him with so much by helping to cultivate the Innovation Moot into a world renowned competition. He decided to become involved due to the unique overlap in his interests which the competition presents. Combining emerging technology with his legal passions provides the ideal opportunity to give back to law students globally, by ensuring that there is an opportunity for them to get ahead on emerging legal issues, to better prepare them for the future.
MALWINA ANNA WÓJCIK
Co-Director
Malwina is a doctoral student in the Law Science and Technology (LAST-JD) program. She completes her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Giacomo Di Federico (University of Bologna) and Prof. Mark Cole (University of Luxembourg). In her thesis, she tackles the problem of intersectional discrimination by clinical algorithms. Malwina holds an LLB in English and European Law from Queen Mary University of London and an LLM in Legal Studies from the University of Bologna. In the academic year 2022-23 she was a fellow of the Information Society Law Center. Since 2018 she has been an editor of the University of Bologna Law Review.
DIMITRIOS IOANNIDIS
Founder & Co-Director
Dimitrios is a partner in a law firm in Boston. He practices primarily in the areas of international business transactions, and civil litigation in both state and federal, trial and appellate courts in Massachusetts. Worked on various high profile cases providing litigation intelligence gathering, corporate investigations, asset recovery, due diligence and global business intelligence through Boston, New York, London, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. He has represented the interests of a remarkable cross section of leading regional, national, and international corporations, insurance companies, governments and large banking institutions in complex international matters, banks in the U.K. and Switzerland, many large foreign corporations and U.S. security companies, including one with a significant presence in Iraq. He was a consultant to U.S. security firms on projects including the 2004 Olympic Games and a bid with the U.S. State Department. He served as an expert on several cases, including a case for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston and a large U.K. banking institution, where he testified in the Supreme Court of Judicature, Queens Bench Division of London, U.K. He is an arbitrator in the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna and also a member of the GLobal Advisory Board of the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot and frequently judges the MIT Enterprise Forum Competition in Central East Europe. He is the coach of the BU Law School team in the Vis Competition.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
ANTHONY DAIMSIS
Professor of Law, University of Ottawa Law School Canada
Prof. Anthony Daimsis has been teaching at the University of Ottawa since 2003. He is the current Director of the National Program, a program that leads to a dual JD/LL.L degree. He is also the Director of the common law's mooting program. Prof. Daimsis teaches Contracts and Torts law, International Sales law, International Commercial Arbitration, ADR and legal writing. He also supervises the common law Jessup, Vis and FDI moot teams and serves as the faculty's moot program director. He has advised South Asian countries in the area of Foreign investment and investment treaties. Prof. Daimsis is called to the Ontario Bar (Barrister and Solicitor). He has recently joined Littleton Chambers (London, England) as an associate door tenant. He works with the National Judicial Institute, a not-for-profit institution committed to building better justice through leadership in the education of judges in Canada and internationally. Before teaching at the university, he worked at an international law firm located in Austria, as an associate. His work focused on foreign investment disputes, telecommunications and underground resources, in addition to a number of international commercial contract and construction disputes resolved under the auspices of the World Bank (ICSID) and various international commercial arbitration institutions. As a leading authority in his field, Prof. Daimsis is frequently approached to serve as an arbitrator in domestic and international commercial disputes and is a sought after speaker on the topics of international arbitration and international sales law, most recently travelling to Myanmar to advise its government entities on investment into Myanmar. He is on the ICDR panel of international arbitrators. He is co-authoring the forthcoming International Commercial Arbitration and NAFTA Ch 11 Disputes from a Canadian Perspective. He is a contributing author for Dispute Resolution: Readings and Case Studies, 4th Edition, as well as International Business Transactions: Standard Forms and Documents and has edited a number of Business Law books used in business schools and MBA programs throughout North America. In 2008 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Fellows and Legal Scholars of the Center for International Legal Studies for his contributions to its scholarly activities and publications and in 2011 was awarded the National Capital Award for teaching. Prof. Daimsis is the lead instructor for the Professional Certificate in International Arbitration. This certificate aims to introduce senior lawyers to the world of International Arbitration, by covering the process from start to finish. Prof. Daimsis has recently delivered keynote addresses and lectures in cities, including London, New York, Naypyidaw, Stockholm, Tehran, to name only a few.
PROFESSOR KOSTAS TERZIDIS
Kostas is a professor at the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University and the founder of the 尚想实验室. Previously, he was an associate professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2003-2011) and assistant professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (1995-2003). He holds a PhD from the University of Michigan, a Masters from Ohio State University, and a polytechnic diploma from the Aristotle University. His areas of concentration are algorithmic design and AI. He is author of numerous academic papers and the sole author of four books: Permutation Design (Routledge: 2014), Algorithms for Visual Design (Wiley: 2009), Algorithmic Architecture (Architectural Press: 2006), and Expressive Form (Spon:2003). Between 2011-2017 he launched and ran a startup company called Organic Parking, Inc. that dealt with parking optimization through the use of smart phones.
HYEJIN LEE
Hyejin believes that authentic Design Thinking can change the world, applied for both tangible products and intangible service systems. With this vision she founded THE MEME in 2006. The firm helps companies generate and design new product and service strategies by conducting rigorous qualitative research. As founder and thought leader Hyejin has over 20 years of professional and academic experience in various design disciplines. She provides an expert’s design perspective to clients across a wide range of industries including consumer electronics, healthcare, robotics and many start-ups. Prior to founding THE MEME, she worked for Samsung and other innovation-centric firms, developing design strategy at the intersection of emerging technology and customer experience. A frequent invited speaker and lecturer she has a special interest in design leadership, innovation, interaction with technology and user experience. Her recent speaking engagements include Harvard Kennedy School, School of Engineer and Applied Science at Harvard University. She also taught at Startup Alliance and Seoul National University. He was appointed as a Global Leader Mentor of Korean Innovation Center from Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. Previously, Hyejin was a visiting professor in Seoul National University’s Design Department. Hyejin earned a BFA (Bachelors of Fine Arts) degree in Industrial Design from the Faculty of Design at Seoul National University and a MDes (Master in Design Studies) at the Graduate School of Design from Harvard University.
DR. MICHAIL BLETSAS
Michail is a Research Scientist and the Director of Computing at MIT's Media Lab. He was a member of the core technical and design team for the “One Laptop Per Child” initiative which created OLPC's pioneering, award-winning "XO" laptop. He has been involved with startups in many diverse capacities: cofounder, advisor, director, investor, consultant. Over the years, he has advised governments around technology policy issues and provided expert opinion in technical matters to top-level officials. He has implemented broadband access networks using cutting-edge technologies including one of the earliest ADSL testbeds and various wireless technologies. Michail has been a frequent keynote speaker in international conferences and has been engaged in many civic activities
DR. JEREMY KEPNER
Jeremy is a MIT Lincoln Laboratory Fellow. He founded the Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center and pioneered the establishment of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center. He has developed novel big data and parallel computing software used by thousands of scientists and engineers worldwide. He has led several embedded computing efforts, which earned him a 2011 R&D 100 Award. Jeremy has chaired SIAM Data Mining, the IEEE Big Data conference, and the IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing conference. He is the author of two bestselling books, Parallel MATLAB for Multicore and Multinode Computers and Graph Algorithms in the Language of Linear Algebra. His peer-reviewed publications include works on abstract algebra, astronomy, astrophysics, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data mining, databases, graph algorithms, health sciences, plasma physics, signal processing, and 3D visualization. In 2014, he received Lincoln Laboratory's Technical Excellence Award. Jeremy holds a BA degree in astrophysics from Pomona College and a PhD degree in astrophysics from Princeton University.
DR. VIJAY GADEPALLY
Vijay is a member of the technical staff in the Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He pursues research in the areas of big data, databases, machine learning, high-performance computing, and privacy-preserving technologies. Vijay previously worked as a postgraduate intern with the Raytheon Company, a visiting scholar with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a student intern at the Indian Institute of Technology. He has authored or coauthored more than 50 publications and presentations and serves as a member of numerous technical and organizational committees. Vijay holds MSc and PhD degrees in electrical and computer engineering from The Ohio State University, where he received an Outstanding Graduate Student Award in 2012. His academic research focused on the estimation of driver behavior for autonomous vehicle applications and on high-performance computing. At Ohio State, he held concurrent appointments within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Ohio Supercomputer Center. He also holds a BTech degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.
DR. PETER MICHALEAS
Peter is the Deputy Manager of the Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center. His focus is on systems architecture and execution of the LLSC vision. He leads LLSC's award-wining operations team. Peter has overseen the growth of LLSC computing capabilities from a small of number computers to the largest number of computers in the region spread across several world-class data centers. Peter joined the Laboratory in 2004 and has been involved in many mission areas including Advanced Networks, Embedded Systems, Cyber Security, and High Performance Computing. He has co-authored over a dozen peer reviewed papers on supercomputing and big data systems.
FEDERICO CALZIA
Federico is a Senior Law Student at Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), passionate about corporate law, technology, and innovation. During his university years, Federico took part in a legal competition organized by IE university (Madrid, Spain) on internet law and in the 31st edition of the Vis moot, dealing with international commercial arbitration. To strengthen his international background, Federico attended a program on internet law at the London School of Economics and took part in an exchange program at Penn State Law focused on the complexities of the US legal system.
JOHN PANTEKIDIS
John is a partner at TwinFocus Capital and serves as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and General Counsel. John has been with the Firm since January of 2007, six months after the launch. In this role, he maintains a close working relationship with TwinFocus clients to help them design and implement their family office strategies. He also leads research efforts to develop new and creative asset allocation policies, oversees due diligence for manager search and selection, and writes thought leadership commentary on global macroeconomic topics. With a keen interest on the formation and structuring of alternative investment funds and the analysis of complex tax aspects of alternative investments, John has pioneered studies on how to make hedge fund investing more tax efficient from an income and wealth transfer tax perspective. He is especially active on behalf of global and offshore clients, developing strategies to overcome cross-border tax, legal, and regulatory challenges and ensure inter-generational succession. John leads TwinFocus’ efforts in formulating a multi-disciplinary approach to seamlessly integrating tax planning with investment management. He has spearheaded the firm’s industry-leading total balance sheet approach and Hub & Spoke Model for representing high net worth families with their income, gift and multi-generational planning initiatives. He has also represented and assisted numerous executives and small enterprises with addressing tax, cross-border intellectual property, real estate and other regulatory challenges. John holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a licensed member of the Massachusetts Bar, the CFA Institute and the Boston Security Analysts Society. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston University where he returned to earn his Juris Doctor degree and his Master of Laws degree in Taxation. Prior to joining TwinFocus, John was a financial consultant with A.G. Edwards and worked as an independent analyst and private investor. He also was a practicing attorney in the greater Boston area, specializing in taxation, corporate law and estate/multi-generational planning, and has assisted as legal advisor and investment counselor in the start-up of several family-owned businesses.
DR. EROTOKRITOS KATSAVOUNIDIS
Erotokritos is a Senior Research Scientist (2010-now) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an Associate Professor of Physics (2006-2010) at MIT. He received his Ph.D. in Physics, 1996 (conferred; completed in 1995) at California Institute of Technology. His Thesis was on the “Search for GUT Magnetic Monopoles with the MACRO Detector”. His adviser was Prof. Barry Barish. He received his M.S. in Physics, 1990 from the California Institute of Technology and his B.S. in Physics, 1988, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His Research Interests include Gravitational-wave astrophysics, multi-wavelength observations, particle astrophysics, cosmic ray physics, grid computation. He is currently working on projects at the LIGO Laboratory at MIT, LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the MACRO aficionados.
BEGÜM YILMAZ
Begüm Yılmaz has graduated from MEF University in 2022 and currently working as a junior associate in (Kılınç Law & Consulting) Türkiye. Her main practise areas are focused in dispute resolution. During the university education, she took part in national and international arbitration competitions. Begüm has represented MEF University as a team member and an oralist for the 27th Vis Moot. Later she has acted as a jr coach for MEF University's team for the 28th Vis Moot. Since then she has been acting as an arbitrator for pre-moot competitions and and continues to improve in these areas.
JAMES PLOTKIN
James is an associate with Caza Saikaley LLP, an Ottawa, Ontario-based litigation and arbitration boutique law firm. His litigation and arbitration (domestic and international) practice focuses primarily on commercial, intellectual property, technology and administrative law matters. He has published various pieces on trademarks, copyright, domain name dispute resolution and international arbitration. James earned his LL.L. (civil law), J.D. (common law) and LL.M. (technology law) from the University of Ottawa. His LL.M. research and writing focused on the implications of 3D printing technology on Canadian trademark law. During his LL.M., James represented the University of Ottawa at the 22nd Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which he and his team won. He has been coaching the team ever since alongside Professor Anthony Daimsis and sits as an arbitrator at the Vis Moot in Vienna. James served as judicial law clerk to the Honourable Justice Richard Boivin of the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal. He also sits on the editorial board of the Canadian Intellectual Property Review. James practices bilingually (English and French)
JUSTIN HOLMES
Justin is a Venture Architect at Animal Ventures where he designs, manages and deploys internal and client-facing products from ideation to implementation. Justin’s practice areas are in intelligent systems, human integrated IoT, Digital Assets, and Distributed Ledger Technologies such as Blockchains. Prior to joining Animal Ventures, Justin spent much of his time working as a Sports performance specialist and group fitness instructor independently and at Equinox Holdings Limited. His work with exercise science technologies led him down the path of exploring how society will be impacted in the future by the convergence of biology and technology such as wearable and implantable devices.
KOSTAS FOTIADIS
Kostas joined Mullenlowe US in 2000, as SVP, CTO, providing strategic oversight of all information technology activities. He brings 30 years of experience in the field of information technology and has a diverse background in both information technology and software development. At Mullenlowe US, he oversees all information services and technology, as well as supports all client technology needs. Kostas has helped Mullenlowe US grow from a traditional advertising company to one of the top technology savvy advertising companies in the US. Previously, Kostas was Directory of Software Development for Splash Technology. At Splash, he oversaw all activities in their northeast development office, managed all OEM relationships, QA, and research development for the E-series product line. Prior to Splash, Kostas co-founded Gailainks. The company developed network management tools and provided systems integration, network analysis and other IT consulting services to small and medium sized companies.
STEPHEN THALER
President & CEO, Imagination Engines, Inc.
Stephen earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Missouri-Columbia, thereafter, working as a Principal Technical Specialist at aerospace giant McDonnell Douglas, inventing in diverse areas including space warfare, stealth technology, non-destructive testing, and the growth of exotic materials in laser plasmas. He is currently the President and CEO of Imagination Engines, Inc. in St. Charles, Missouri, a company that builds synthetic intelligence based upon over two dozen of Thaler’s artificial neural network patents. Recently, his latest AI patent, DABUS, has conceived two new patent-worthy inventions that form the basis of a legal initiative to credit machines with the intellectual property they create. Over three decades, his work in creative AI has been featured in Scientific American, New Scientist, MSN, WIRED, and The Economist. Of late, he has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and MIT Technology Review, in the context of the Artificial Inventor Project, spearheaded by Prof. Ryan Abbott of The University of Surrey. When not inventing or working AI contracts, Thaler is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Illinois, discussing his AI patents’ role in creating artificial consciousness and sentience.
DENIS KUDRIASHOV
Bose Corporation
Denis is a Global Category Manager for Strategic Professional Services and IT at Bose corporation. His passion is blending business strategy and technology to create great customer experiences and real-world solutions. He brings vast experience in helping corporations deliver growth and excellence through connecting with customers and locating untapped supply sources. He is a specialist in managing trading partner relations, providing business development strategy, dispute resolution, mentorship and market intelligence services for the senior leadership along with a forum and tools to monitor market strategies as conditions change. Denis holds an MBA from Western New England University, as well as post-graduate and executive certifications from Tufts University, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in International Relations, Strategy and Innovation from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Michela du Buisson is a final year law student and legal researcher at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has previously participated in the AI moot and thoroughly enjoyed it. She is also an alumni of both the 29th and 31st Vis Moot and enjoys interacting with people from all over the world.
MICHELA DU BUISSON
PROF. DR. OLAF MEYER
Prof. Meyer, teaches Civil Law, in particular Law of Contracts and Contract Design. He holds a PhD at the University of Münster 2007, Master from Oxford University 2007, Habilitation University of Bremen 2016, since 2020 Professor of Contract Law at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. Author of two monographs, editor of five volumes (working on number six). Regularly teaching at foreign universities, including two weeks in Windhoek 2011. Main fields of research include international commercial law, uniform law, arbitration, legal tech and anti-corruption.
HEATHER MONARE
Creative Director
Heather is a founding director of Hatherleigh Co, a business that crafts narratives that resonate deeply with brands infusing them with the essence of purpose and resilience. The mission is simple yet profound: to breathe life into startups and businesses guiding the journey of entrepreneurship especially within Africa, where the statistical life span of such ventures hovers around a mere five years for the majority. While a myriad factors contribute to this decline Heather, with a rich background in Fine art (illustration) brand identity design, strategy and management (digitally & physically) believes in the power of strategic brand positioning and compelling story telling for improved target audience visibility to drastically enhance a businesses odds of success. Beyond the impact, it’s about simply the artistry of brand construction.
VIVETTE RITTMAN
Vivette is a distinguished leader in human-centred digital transformation and innovation. With a Master’s in Digital Culture, she has significantly contributed to advancing digital practices in Namibia. Currently, she serves as a Lead Consultant and Sense Maker, tailoring digital solutions to meet the specific needs and desired outcomes of various sector projects. Her career is marked by key roles in developing strategic digital policies and leading high-impact workshops that promote multi-stakeholder engagement and drive sustainable change. Vivette plays a crucial role at the Namibia Innovation Hub, leading the Technology Transfer and Commercialization strategic pillar, and is an active member of the IT and Innovation Steering Committee at the Khomas Regional Council. Additionally, she has contributed to policy development for the Namibian government as an engaged member of the Internet Society (Namibia Chapter). Vivette’s commitment to enhancing digital literacy and AI understanding makes her an invaluable asset in bridging innovation, people, and practical implementation in today's tech-driven world.
ELENI TSOKOLAS
Eleni is currently a second-year student at Suffolk University Law School and a staff writer for the Journal of High Technology Law. She will soon commence her role as the Chief Content Editor of the Journal. She is originally from Chicago and received her bachelor's degree in philosophy, classical studies, public law & political thought from DePaul University. She has a profound passion for reforming the criminal legal system and a deep-rooted interest in soft intellectual property.
THEODORE BROTHERS
Theo is currently a 3rd year student at Suffolk University Law School, graduating in the Spring of 2024. With a background in technology start-ups focusing on environmentally friendly transportation, Theo now serves as Event Coordinator for the Journal of High Technology and holds a leadership position in the Environmental Law Society. Passionate about merging corporate law with sustainability, Theo aims to specialize in mergers & acquisitions for investment firms post-graduation, striving to drive positive change in business practices. Theo has been involved in the Innovation Moot in previous years in various aspects, including writing the bench memo.
AHMED ELSAWY
Ahmed is a qualified practitioner in Egypt, with experience in international moot court competitions both as a participant and arbitrator, including the Willem C. Vis and the SCCA moots. Ahmed holds a dual LLB from the British University in Egypt, and the London South Bank University and is currently pursuing an LLM degree.
KSENIIA ZHYHALOVA
Kseniia is an LL.M. student in International Business Law at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Kseniia holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in law with honors from Ukraine. Kseniia participated at the 31st Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and together with the Team made it to the round of Top-16 strongest teams out of approx. 400 teams, as well as garnered an honorable mention for the Memorandum for Respondent (Werner Melis Award) and Eric E. Bergsten Award (Best Teams Orals). She is fluent in English, German, and Russian. Kseniia demonstrates a keen interest in the fields of intellectual property, technology law and artificial intelligence (AI), alongside a notable focus on commercial and sports arbitration.
JAKE ESHELMAN
Jake is an artist and visual researcher exploring the complex relationships between people, our environment, and everyone we share it with. Working to transcend the notion that humanity is somehow separate from—or superior to—the natural world, his work creates opportunities to address anthropocentrism and (re)consider our ecological kinships. Complementing his art practice, Jake also brings extensive experience as a creative director, with a particular specialty in brand identity & development. You can explore his work online or via instagram.