Dr. Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou of Arizona State University

Abstract : 

The intersection of programmable communications and renewable energy systems is creating 
new opportunities for smarter, more sustainable power generation. This lecture examines the 
ways software-defined networking concepts are reshaping connectivity in solar power plants, 
particularly in heliostat fields where conventional wired control architectures are often too costly

and difficult to scale. It highlights an emerging architecture based on centralized network 
control and virtualized network functions, designed to provide robust wireless coordination for 
large heliostat deployments. By supporting adaptive sun-tracking through intelligent spectrum 
allocation and routing strategies that account for interference, this framework shows how 
virtualization methods originally developed for telecommunications can significantly improve the 
performance and flexibility of renewable energy operations. More broadly, the work points to a 
fundamental shift in infrastructure design, with software-defined systems serving as the 
foundation of future energy ecosystems capable of autonomously optimizing generation in 
response to changing environmental factors and grid requirements. Its broader relevance 
spans industrial IoT and critical infrastructure, demonstrating a path toward highly adaptive, 
network-driven energy platforms.

Biography:

Dr. Eirini Eleni Tsiropoulou is an Associate Professor with the School of Electrical, Computer 
and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University. She obtained her Diploma in Electrical and 
Computer Engineering from National Technical University of Athens in 2008 and her MBA in 
techno-economics from the same institute in 2010. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Electrical 
and Computer Engineering from National Technical University of Athens in 2014. Her group 
works on game theory and reinforcement learning for decision making in complex systems. 
Five of her papers received the Best Paper Award at IEEE WCNC in 2012, ADHOCNETS in 
2015, IEEE/IFIP WMNC 2019, INFOCOM 2019 by the IEEE ComSoc Technical Committee on 
Communications Systems Integration and Modeling, and IEEE/ACM BRAINS 2020. She was 
selected by the IEEE Communication Society - N2Women - as one of the top ten Rising Stars 
of 2017 in the communications and networking field. She received the NSF CRII Award in 
2019, the Early Career Award from the IEEE Communications Society Internet Technical 
Committee in 2019, the Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, School of Engineering, 
University of New Mexico in 2018, and the Research and Creative Works Leader Award, UNM, 
2023. Her research is mainly supported by the Department of Energy, National Science 
Foundation, and industry. She is an Area Editor for IEEE Transactions on Green 
Communications and Networking, Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Machine Learning 
in Communications and Networking, IEEE Networking Letters, IEEE Transactions on Network 
Science and Engineering, IEEE IT Professional, IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, 
IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine, and 
IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking. She is a co-chair of the N2 Women Community. 

Email:

Address:School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Performance and Resource Optimization in Networks Lab — PROTON LAB, Arizona State University, Arizona, United States