Professor Marco Di Renzo of CNRS & CentraleSupelec, Paris-Saclay University, France

Abstract: In this talk, we will discuss the theoretic foundation, the algorithm development, and the applications of reconfigurable surfaces for wave domain communications. Our focus will be on three different surfaces: reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), holographic MIMO surfaces (HoloS), and stacked intelligent surfaces (SIM).

Biography:

Bio: Marco Di Renzo (Fellow, IEEE) received the Laurea (cum laude) and
Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of
L’Aquila, Italy, in 2003 and 2007, respectively, and the Habilitation
à Diriger des Recherches (Doctor of Science) degree from University
Paris-Sud (currently Paris-Saclay University), France, in 2013.
Currently, he is a CNRS Research Director (Professor) and the Head of
the Intelligent Physical Communications group in the Laboratory of
Signals and Systems (L2S) at Paris-Saclay University – CNRS and
CentraleSupelec, Paris, France. Also, he is an elected member of the
L2S Board Council and
a member of the L2S Management Committee, and is a Member of the
Admission and Evaluation Committee of the Ph.D. School on Information
and Communication Technologies, Paris-Saclay University. He is a
Founding Member and the Academic Vice Chair of the Industry
Specification Group (ISG) on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS)
within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI),
where he serves as the Rapporteur for the work item on communication
models, channel models, and evaluation methodologies. He is a Fellow
of the IEEE, IET, and AAIA; an Ordinary Member of the European Academy
of Sciences and Arts, an Ordinary Member of the Academia Europaea; and
a Highly Cited Researcher. Also, he holds the 2023 France-Nokia Chair
of Excellence in ICT, and was a Fulbright Fellow at City University of
New York, USA, a Nokia Foundation Visiting Professor, and a Royal
Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Fellow. His recent
research awards include the 2021 EURASIP Best Paper Award, the 2022
IEEE COMSOC Outstanding Paper Award, the 2022 Michel Monpetit Prize
conferred by the French Academy of Sciences, the 2023 EURASIP Best
Paper Award, the 2023 IEEE ICC Best Paper Award (wireless), the 2023
IEEE COMSOC Fred W. Ellersick Prize, the 2023 IEEE COMSOC Heinrich
Hertz Award, and the 2023 IEEE VTS James Evans Avant Garde Award. He
served as the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Communications Letters during
the period 2019-2023, and he is now serving in the Advisory Board.

Dr. Yansha Deng

Abstract: Inspired by Shannon’s classic information theory, Weaver and Shannon proposed a more general definition of a communication system involving three different levels of problems, namely, (i) transmission of bits (the technical problem); (ii) semantic exchange of transmitted bits (the semantic problem); and (iii) effect of semantic information exchange (the effectiveness problem). The first level of communication, which is the transmission of bits, has been well studied and realized in conventional communication systems based on Shannon’s bit-oriented technical framework. However, with the massive deployment of emerging devices, including Extended Reality (XR) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), diverse tasks with stringent requirements pose critical challenges to traditional bit-oriented communications, which are already approaching the Shannon physical capacity limit. This imposes the Sixth Generation (6G) network towards a communication paradigm shift to semantic level and effectiveness level by exploiting the context of data and its importance to the task. An explicit and systematic communication framework incorporating both semantic level and effectiveness level has not been proposed yet. Thus, this talk will discuss our recent results related to task-oriented and semantics-aware communications for future 6G wireless networks, where I will focus on task-oriented and semantics-aware communication solutions for the virtual reality data type and control and command data. 

Biography:

Bio: Dr Yansha Deng is currently a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Department of Engineering at King’s College London, London, United Kingdom. She received her Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Queen Mary University of London, U.K., in 2015. From 2015 to 2017, she was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with King’s College London, U.K. She has secured more than £2.3 million of research funding as the principal investigator and has received the EPSRC NIA award. She has published 100+ journal papers and 50+ IEEE/ACM conference papers. Her research interests include molecular communication and machine learning for 5G/6G wireless networks. She was a recipient of the Best Paper Awards from ICC 2016 and GLOBECOM 2017 as the first author, and the IEEE Communications Society Best Young Researcher Award for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa Region 2021.

She is currently the Senior Editor of IEEE Communications Letters since 2020,  the Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Communications since 2017, the Associate Editor of IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials since 2022,  the  Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Machine Learning in Communications and Networking since 2022, the Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-scale Communications since 2019,  the Associate Editor of IEEE Open Journal of Communications Society since 2019 and the Vertical Area Editor of IEEE Internet of Things Magazine since 2021.

Address:King's College , , London, United Kingdom

Dr. Behrooz Makki

Abstract: Network-controlled repeater (NCR) has been recently considered as a study-item in 3GPP Release 18, and the discussions are continuing in a work-item. In this presentation, we introduce the concept of NCRs, as a possible low-complexity device to support for network densification. Moreover, we introduce the objectives of the 3GPP Release 18 NCR work-item and study the effect of different parameters on the performance of NCR-assisted networks. As we show, with a proper deployment, the presence of NCRs can improve the network performance considerably.

Biography:

Bio: Behrooz Makki (Senior Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in communication engineering from the Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. He was a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Chalmers University of Technology from 2013 to 2017. He is currently working as a Senior Researcher with Ericsson Research, Gothenburg. He has coauthored more than 70 journal articles, more than 50 conference papers, and more than 100 patent applications. His current research interests include integrated access and backhaul, millimeter wave communications, and wireless backhaul. He was a recipient of the IEEE Best Reviewer Award for IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS in 2018, the IEEE Best Editor Award for IEEE WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS LETTERS in 2020, and the Best Paper Award in IEEE WCNPS in 2022 and IEEE SBrT in 2023. He is also working as an Editor of IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, IEEE Communications Letters, IEEE Transactions on Communications and IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications.

Address:Ericsson Research, , Sweden

Dr. Junaid Syed

Abstract: This presentation will be focused on the complexities and prospects of digital connectivity from enhanced performance and sustainability point of view. On one front, the pervasive digital divide poses a challenge, while on the other, the ecological costs of our digital lifestyle are substantial. Amidst these challenges, there emerges an opportunity to emphasize green networks founded on sustainable design principles. The talk will spotlight regulatory standards, such as ETSI, that specifically target energy efficiency. Additionally, it will explore emerging trends in wireless networks, encompassing aspects like backhaul and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA).

Biography:

Bio: Dr. Junaid Syed earned his PhD and completed post-doctoral research in wireless communications at the University of London and Queen's University Belfast, UK, respectively. He holds 27 international issued patents, primarily in production, and led design centres in the UK, US, and China for telecom sector in Andrew/CommScope. He created the MW and MMW antenna business of an international company, Rosenberger, as their General Manager. Dr Syed contributed to international standards for the global telecom industry through ETSI TM4 committee and FCC through FWCC. Currently, Dr Syed heads global operations and engineering for an international telecom company, Curvalux, as Senior Vice President.  Dr. Syed is also RAE Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, UK and Visiting Professor at Shenzhen University China, fostering collaboration between universities and the global industry.

Dr. Lei Zhang of University of Glasgow

Abstract: Due to the reliability, safety and privacy requirements, trust become an essential part of Connected and Autonomous Systems (CAS) for joint decision-making, data sharing and decentralized control.  Distributed consensus is a promising technique to guarantee every honest participant agrees on the same decision/result, resulting in a consistence state in the system, hence providing trust on distributed decisions, operations and controls. In addition, decentralized ledger technology (DLT), a.k.a. blockchain, which acts as a trustless platform for every participant is one of the applications that build atop distributed consensus. Driving by emerging technologies such as 5G, IoT and edge computing, more and more systems are wirelessly connected. However, most consensus algorithms are designed in a stable wired communication network running in advanced devices under the assumption of an ideal communication channel built on TCP/IP protocols. Constrained by the dynamic wireless channel, communication can significantly affect consensus performance and security properties. This talk will cover consensus, its applications in CAS and how to use consensus to build a trustworthy environment for CAS.

Biography:

Bio: Dr. Lei Zhang is a Professor of Trustworthy Systems at the University of Glasgow. He received his PhD degree from the University of Sheffield. He was a research fellow in the 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), University of Surrey. Dr Zhang has academia and industry combined research experience on 3G/4G/5G wireless communications and networks, and trustworthy distributed systems for IoT, blockchain, consensus, autonomous systems. He is/was PI or Co-I of 10+ research projects funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Scottish government and industry. His 20 patents (including 17 international PCT patents) are granted/filed in 30+ countries/regions including USA/UK/EU/China/Japan etc. He has contributed to telecom & distributed systems standardisation activities in 3GPP (the global mobile standardization body which defined 2G to 5G telecom protocols), ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), ORAN (one of the world's largest international telecom alliances). Dr Zhang published 3 books, and 150+ publications in peer-reviewed journals (85%+ in SJR Q1 journals), conferences and edited books. He received the 2022 IEEE Internet of Things Journal Best Paper Award, 2019 IEEE ComSoc TAOS Technical Committee Best Paper Award and 2021 IEEE ICEICT Best Paper Award. He was shortlisted for the Student Teaching Award of Best Dissertation Supervisor, and also shortlisted for the Student Teaching Award of Best College (of Science and Engineering) Teacher, in UoG 11th Annual Student Teaching Awards Nominations 2021.

Dr Zhang is an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, IEEE Internet of Things (IoT) Journal, IEEE Wireless Communications Letters and Digital Communications and Networks, and a guest editor of IEEE JSAC. He is the founding Chair of IEEE Special Interest Group on Wireless Blockchain Networks in Cognitive Networks Technical Committee (TCCN). He is Co-Chair of the Cognitive Radio and AI-Enabled Networks Symposium in IEEE Communication Society flagship conference ICC’23. He was Technical Program Chair for 5th International Conference on UCET'20, and organised several workshops in IEEE Globecom and IEEE ICC. He delivered tutorials on IEEE flagship conferences such as ICC'20, Globecom'21, Blobecom’22, VTC'21, and major conferences such as IEEE PIMRC'20, IEEE ICBC'21 and EUSIPCO'21. He is a peer review college member of EPSRC and a Senior Member of IEEE. Dr Zhang's research is broadly covered by media including BBC and Bloomberg.

Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu of Carleton University, Canada

Abstract: NTN (non-terrestrial networks) will arguably be one of the most prominent aspects of 6G. Most of the novel elements in the ITU 6G wheel diagram (ITU-R WP5D Recommendation Framework for IMT-2030), such as coverage, interoperability, sustainability, and resilience, can simply be read as "NTN".

The NTN expression has been used to refer to the SatCom paradigm almost exclusively until recently. It is now increasingly acknowledged that within NTN, there are separate satellite, HAPS (high altitude platform station), and UAS (unscrewed aerial systems) paradigms with their own special dynamics.

NTN is not only for connectivity; the framework includes connectivity, computing, edge intelligence, surveillance, security, sensing, monitoring, positioning, localization, navigation, and more. The humanity will demonstrate its full potential in every dimension (economic prosperity, wellbeing, equal opportunity, environmental, and more), when the communities get ultra-connected with a sustainable, reliable, resilient, intelligent, green/clean/eco-friendly, secure, ubiquitous & affordable, and ultra high-speed "network of networks" with terrestrial (6G and beyond) and non-terrestrial (space and stratospheric) components.

Biography:

Bio: Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu has been with the Department Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) since 1998, where he is currently a Chancellor’s Professor. He received the BSc degree from the Middle East Technical University (Turkiye) and the MASc & PhD degrees from the University of Toronto. His research interests cover many aspects of wireless communications and networks, with a special emphasis on non-terrestrial networks (NTN) in the recent years. He has given 110+ invited seminars, keynotes, panel talks, and tutorials in the last five years. He has supervised or hosted over 165 postgraduate researchers in his lab at Carleton. Dr. Yanikomeroglu has coauthored ~650 peer-reviewed research papers including ~300 papers in 30 different IEEE journals. His extensive collaborative research with industry resulted in 40 granted patents. Dr. Yanikomeroglu is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), and the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA). He is a Distinguished Speaker for the IEEE Communications Society and the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society, and an Expert Panelist of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA).

Dr. Yanikomeroglu is currently serving as the Chair of the Steering Committee of IEEE’s flagship wireless event, Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC). He is also a member of the IEEE ComSoc Governance Council, IEEE ComSoc Globecom/ICC Management & Strategy (GIMS) Standing Committee, IEEE ComSoc Conference Council, and IEEE PIMRC Steering Committee. He served as the General Chair and Technical Program Chair of several IEEE conferences. He has also served in the editorial boards of various IEEE periodicals. Dr. Yanikomeroglu received several awards for his research, teaching, and service, including the IEEE ComSoc Satellite Communications Technical Recognition Award (2023), IEEE ComSoc Fred W. Ellersick Prize (2021), IEEE VTS Stuart Meyer Memorial Award (2020), and IEEE ComSoc Wireless Communications TC Recognition Award (2018). He received best paper awards at IEEE Competition on Non-Terrestrial Networks for B5G and 6G in 2022 (grand prize), IEEE ICC 2021, IEEE WISEE 2021 and 2022.