Keynote Speaker • James Waugh

Senior Vice President, Franchise Story and Creative Strategy | Lucasfilm Ltd.

At Lucasfilm, James Waugh has been a member of the Star Wars creative brain trust since 2016. Waugh currently leads narrative development and creative strategy across franchise lines of business including:

• Franchise Animation
• Video Games
• Theme Parks
• Publishing
• Immersive Entertainment
• Consumer Products, and
• Digital/Online Content initiatives.

His professional passion lies in building fictional worlds through compelling narrative and experiential content across platform.

Waugh has led Lucasfilm’s transmedia efforts for Rogue One, Solo, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, as well as series including: The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Bobafett, Star Wars Rebels, The Clone Wars, and The Bad Batch—Lego Star Wars and Star Wars Visions. He has also led the story group’s development efforts for multiple video game titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor, Star Wars Outlaws, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Vader: Immortal. Waugh spearheaded strategic initiatives such as StarWarsKids Youtube Channel, and development and launch of The High Republic, Star Wars’ first new fictional era since the Disney acquisition.

In Animation, Waugh served as the Executive Producer on Star Wars: Visions vol. 1, 2 and 3 (for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, and won a Lumiere for Best Animated Series), Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures (for which he was nominated for a Children’s and Family Emmy), LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, LEGO Star Wars Rebuild the Galaxy, LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation, Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures, Star Wars: Roll Out, Star Wars Galaxy of Creatures, and others in various stages of development and production.

Prior to joining Lucasfilm, Waugh served as the Sr. Director of Story & Creative Development at Blizzard Entertainment, leading the company’s Creative Development Department while overseeing narrative, IP, and transmedia for its blockbuster franchises. During this time he served as the Narrative Director for StarCraft 2 Legacy of the Void, Nova, and was the Story Director for the Overwatch franchise, leading the development and writing of its short films. Waugh also was a key leader in Blizzard’s development on projects with ABStudios and Legendary Films for which he received a Story Consultant credit for his work on Warcraft: The Beginning, the feature film directed by Duncan Jones.

For Star Wars, Waugh strives to build evocative content across media and pioneer new forms of storytelling.

PANEL • AI in Higher Education

Nick Tsinoremas • MODERATOR

Nicholas F. Tsinoremas, PhD  is the Founding Director of the University of Miami Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing which was established to catalyze data-intensive research in fields ranging from medicine to earth sciences, urban planning, digital humanities, and business. He also holds faculty appointments in the Miller School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Tsinoremas received his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Athens, Greece, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Leeds, UK.

Dr. Tsinoremas’ research focus includes projects that combine data science and computational approaches; informatics, digital health, clinical genomics, molecular biology, computational biology, and drug discovery.

Marybeth Arcodia, PhD

IDSC CORE FACULTY | ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science

Marybeth Arcodia is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed between the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences Department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing at the University of Miami. Her research bridges Earth system predictability and prediction, integrating atmospheric science and AI-based techniques to explore variability and change across weather-to-climate scales. Her work focuses on localized impacts in future climates to further our understanding of the stressed climate system and aid in advancing preparedness for climate risk. She is a member of the US CLIVAR Predictability, Predictions, and Applications Interface Panel and the Working Group on Climate Data and Predictions for Coastal Solutions.

Clay Ewing, MFA

CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST | ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Department of Interactive Media
School of Communication

Clay Ewing is creative technologist with a focus on serious games, implementing game mechanics into real world applications, and social justice. As an award winning game designer and developer, Professor Ewing’s games have tackled issues such as vector borne diseases, the cost of health care, social safety nets and labor practices. His most recent game, Unsavory, is the winner of a special emphasis award at the Serious Games Showcase and Challenge for its use of social media crowdsourcing for peer learning. Clay has worked with numerous non-profits including Red Cross Red Crescent, Open Society Foundations, ROC United, Oxfam, and the AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. His projects have been covered by The Huffington Post, NPR, Forbes, and The Consumerist. He also is the creator of Queso, an open source learning management for gamifying the classroom.

Ben Lauren, PhD

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR and CHAIR | Department of Writing Studies
DIRECTOR | Innovation and Society Co-major
College of Arts and Sciences

Ben Lauren is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Writing Studies at the University of Miami, where he also directs the Innovation and Society co-major. An artist-scholar whose work sits at the intersection of rhetoric, creativity, and design, he published a peer-reviewed album-book called Hold Me Down: Toward a Rhetoric of Feel with the University of Michigan Press in 2024, positioning music as a form of scholarly argument. His current research examines whether AI can function as a creative collaborator during design sprints.

Wanli Xing, PhD

IDSC CORE FACULTY | PROFESSOR
Department of Teaching and Learning
School of Education and Human Development

Dr. Wanli Xing is a full Professor in School of Education and Human Development and Core Faculty member in Frost Institute for Data Science and Computing at the University of Miami. His research themes are:

• Explore and leverage educational big data in various forms and modalities to advance the understanding of learning processes;
• Design and develop responsible and transparent AI, large language models, and learning analytics powered learning environments;
• Create innovative strategies, frameworks, and technologies for AI, Data Science, and Computing Workforce development.

With these interrelated themes, he aims to push the fundamental limits of AIED and learning analytics to revolutionize STEM and online education. His research has been supported by National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, Office of Naval Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Security Agency, Schmidt Family Foundation, Gates Foundation, Helios Education Foundation, Florida Department of Education and the University of Florida. Dr. Xing directs the ACE lab, standing for Advanced Computing for Education.