As an appointed fellow for an academic year, RIGS members carry out a research project in collaboration with other members and external partners. Below are the RIGS fellows for the academic year 2025-26. For more information on how to become a fellow, please contact RIGS.
Adjunct Professor, Classics and General Humanities
- fogelj@montclair.edu
- Location
- Dickson Hall
Project
In Search of the Green World: Global Indigenous Cultures, the Human Imagination, and Environmental Justice
The idea that wild places surround us, and contain a kind of magic that can help us heal our social rifts, is the powerful metaphor behind the series, which comprises public lectures, discussions, roundtables, and workshops on the science and culture of especially indigenous approaches to the environment, including literary, historical, anthropological, psychological, economics, philosophy and other research as well as biology and evolutionary sciences. The series draws focus to the many different ways in which we can learn about the underappreciated natural environment we live in—wild spaces, plants & animals, medicinal value and possibilities, coexistence, and especially indigenous cultivators’ approaches to sustainable ecological stewardship in forms such as agriforesting and intersowing. How can we bring more knowledge and practice of indigenous ecological stewardship into public conversations and policy around the environment and climate catastrophes? How can we use our imaginations, cultural traditions, and social and scientific research to rethink our relationship to the plant and animal life that surrounds us? How can social justice be served by this reconsideration?
Associate Professor, School of Computing
- Phone
- 973-655-5269
- wangw@montclair.edu
- Location
- Center for Computing and Information Science, 227C
Project
GOV-AI: Governing AI with responsibility, explainability, transparency, trustworthiness, and ethics for human well-being
Artificial intelligence (AI) has seen significant and rapid evolution in recent years. These state-of-the-art AI developments have been the cornerstone of growth across various sectors such as education, healthcare, manufacturing, and more to build and bolster humans’ daily lives and well-being all over the world. This RIGS Faculty Fellows Project includes a series of innovation-driven and technology-oriented AI Governance academic seminars by inviting frontier AI scientists, engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs from both academic and industry communities. The invited speakers will share cutting-edge and interdisciplinary research findings and breakthroughs in AI Governance for human well-being improvement with the Montclair State University community and beyond. Specifically, essential and important topics that will be covered by these seminars include AI responsibility, AI explainability, AI transparency, AI trustworthiness, and AI ethics in human-AI interaction and collaboration. In each seminar, participants, including Montclair employees and students, will have opportunities to discuss each topic with keynote speakers, gain state-of-the-art AI governance insights, and build their unique AI governance and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Past RIGS Fellows
As an appointed fellow for an academic year, RIGS members carry out a research project in collaboration with other members and external partners. Below are the RIGS fellows for the academic year 2024-25. For more information on how to become a fellow, please contact RIGS.
Project
Justice Entrepreneurship: Markets, Justice Experiences and AI
This project focuses on the relationship between entrepreneurship, justice and technology, notably artificial intelligence (AI). Recent developments in AI are igniting rapid and profound changes for the economic roles of humans. Along with this have been new conceptions of justice and the meaning of a just society. The concept of “justice experience” refers to the tangible and intangible experiences individuals and communities have in relation to the just (fairness, equity, and reparation) within their contexts. This encompasses how justice is understood, enacted, and felt by people as they navigate through various aspects of life, including productive activities, social interactions, and institutional engagements. As such, it is important to understand economic justice, the economics of justice, and the dynamics between them.
Associate Teaching Professor, Political Science and Law
- torocarnevaa@montclair.edu
- Location
- Dickson Hall, 207
Project
Global Governance for Advancing AI: Navigating Challenges and Promoting Inclusive and Ethical Futures
This project consists of a lecture series that explores the intricate relationship between AI, society, and global governance, offering a comprehensive examination of four critical topics: AI, Labor, and the Economy; AI and Media Integrity; AI and Inclusive Research & Design; and AI and Global Politics. Each topic will feature a keynote speaker of distinction and a dynamic roundtable discussion, providing diverse insights from leaders in academia, industry, and policy-making. Together, these sessions will foster an in-depth understanding of AI’s societal impact and its implications for a just and sustainable global future.
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