Empowering Smart Radio Environments with Quantum Computing and Machine Intelligence (Prof. Zhen Peng, UIUC)
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Distinguished Lecture
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) offer a promising approach to improving the spectral and energy efficiency of next-generation wireless networks. By deploying programmable surfaces on walls, windows, and other objects, and jointly optimizing them with wireless endpoints, smart radio environments can dynamically shape propagation to enhance coverage and connectivity. Realizing this vision, however, requires efficient optimization over vast configuration spaces and rapid prediction of complex electromagnetic interactions among RISs, the environment, and wireless endpoints.
In this talk, we will explore how quantum computing and machine intelligence can address these complementary challenges. We will discuss physics-based formulations that map RIS configuration problems to Ising Hamiltonians, enabling quantum-assisted and hybrid classical–quantum optimization. We will then introduce Photon Splatting, a physics-guided neural surrogate for real-time, site-specific channel prediction in complex quasi-static environments. Looking ahead, we will briefly explore an emerging perception-to-propagation direction that connects sparse visual observations to uncertainty-aware full-wave prediction through probabilistic scene representations and a stochastic boundary-integral solver. Together, these developments point toward smart radio environments that can be perceived, predicted, and programmed, advancing the vision of intelligent and adaptive 6G networks.
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- 35 St George St
- Toronto, Ontario
- Canada M5S 1A4
- Building: Galbraith Building
- Room Number: GB120
Speakers
Prof. Zhen Peng
Biography:
Dr. Zhen Peng is currently a Full Professor in the ECE Department, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2008. From 2008 to 2013, he was with the ElectroScience Laboratory, The Ohio State University. From 2013 to 2019, he was an Assistant Professor with the ECE Department at the University of New Mexico. His research interests are in the areas of computational, statistical, and applied electromagnetics. The goal is to simulate classical and quantum electrodynamic physics with intelligent algorithms on state-of-the-art computers, where virtual experiments can be performed for the prediction, discovery, and design of complex systems at unprecedented scales. Recent applications of his research include physical-layer modeling and innovations in NextG wireless systems, electrical analysis for heterogeneous integration, intra-system EMI/EMC in complex electronic platforms, and physics-based computing to enable autonomy and intelligence of electromagnetic systems.
His research contributions have been recognized through multiple awards and honors, including IEEE Transactions Paper Awards (2024 IEEE EMC Richard B. Schulz HMTP Award, 2018 IEEE CPMT Best Transaction Paper Award, and the 2014 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Sergei A. Schelkunoff Transactions Prize Paper), Conference Paper Awards (IEEE EMC Symposium, 2025, 2024, and 2019; EuCAP Best Electromagnetics Paper, 2022; EPEPS Best Conference Paper, 2021 and 2019; ICEAA-IEEE APWC Best Paper, 2018; IEEE Workshop on SIPI, 2016), and several Young Scientist Awards. He has also advised students who have received sixteen Student Paper Awards at international conferences. In addition, he is elected as a Fellow of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES), a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2018), UNM ECE Distinguished Researcher Award (2016), and the ACES Early Career Award (2015).
Dr. Peng is a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (2024-2026). He currently serves as Chair of the IEEE AP-S Technical Committee on Computational Electromagnetics, and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (2019-2022). His editorial roles include serving as Associate Editor for IEEE Trans. MTT (2018-2020), IEEE Trans. CPMT (2023), IEEE OJAP (2023-2025), IEEE TAP (2025- present). He also served as conference chair and co-chair for the Conference on Electrical Performance of Electronic Packaging and Systems (2022, 2021), and Technical Program Committee chair for the ACES symposium (2025).
Address:Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 306 N Wright St, , Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61801