Speakers

Keynote Speakers of 2025

Prof. Ozgur B. Akan,
University of Cambridge, UK

IEEE Fellow
Chair in Electronic and Communication Engineering
Head, Internet of Everything (IoE) Group

Speech Title: Internet of Everything (IoE) - From Molecules to the Universe 

Abstract: Universe is vast, connected, and evolving by the laws of physics, which give rise to recurrent patterns, e.g., light, electrons, molecules, organisms, planets, galaxies, that are persistent carriers of information. These laws also serve as protocols of communication between these information carrying entities. Thus, the universe can be regarded as an Interconnected network of Everything we perceive, i.e., Internet of Everything (IoE). This vision of IoE, therefore, is that of connecting our already developed infrastructure to all observable entities in the universe, ranging from molecules and cells within human body to the people and planets. In this talk, the IoE vision will be introduced, the state-of-the-art, research challenges and directions in some of its novel components, e.g., Internet of Bio-Nano Things, Internet of Organoids, Internet of Plants, Internet of Space, will be discussed along with underlying unconventional communication paradigms, e.g., from particle-based to gravitational communications.

Biography: Ozgur B. Akan received PhD from the BWN-Lab, School of ECE, Georgia Tech in 2004. He is the Chair Professor in Electronic and Communication Engineering and Head of the IoE Group at University of Cambridge, UK; and AXA Chair Professor in IoE and Director of Center for neXt-generation Communications (CXC) at Koç University, Türkiye. His research is on nano/quantum/wireless/space communications. He is an IEEE Fellow, Turing Fellow, recipient of the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator and Proof of Concept (PoC) Grants, AXA Chair Professorship, TUBITAK Science Award, IBM Faculty Award, IEEE Communications Society Outstanding Young Researcher Award, elected as IEEE Nanotechnology Council (NTC) and Communications Society (ComSoc) Distinguished Lecturer. He serves as an editor for IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Biological and Multi-scale Communications, Scientific Reports, Nano Communication Networks Journal and served for IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Ad Hoc Networks, IET Communications, IEEE Networking Letters, International Journal of Communication Systems, European Transactions on Telecommunications, Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies, Steering Committee Member for IEEE INFOCOM, General Chair for IEEE INFOCOM 2017, ACM MOBICOM 2012 and TPC chair for various conferences.

 

Senior Lecturer Qiang Xu,
University of Huddersfield, UK

Speech Title: Establishing Extrapolation Credibility for Long-Term Creep: A Physically Traceable TTS Framework for Deformation and Damage Modelling in Creep Resistant Steels

Abstract: Credible extrapolation into low-stress regimes remains a fundamental challenge in long-term life prediction of creep-resistant steels. Classical Dyson-type models, though mechanistically motivated, lack explicit calibration of damage kinetics across the time–temperature–stress (TTS) domain, resulting in unreliable predictions under service-relevant conditions.
Here, I introduce a new TTS×-enabled modelling framework that unifies creep cavitation and strain-rate kinetics within a physically traceable architecture. First, cavitation damage is characterised by a microstructural time–power law,
ω_n (σ,T)=U' (σ,T) t^m           (1)
derived from high-resolution cavity histograms, replacing strain-driven kinetics with TTS-calibrated observables. This micro-level damage is then mapped to the macro-constitutive scale as
D_n (t,T,σ)=U'' (T,σ) t^m         (2)
Second, minimum creep strain rate is captured by a modified hyperbolic-sine law parameterised over wide stress–temperature ranges.
ε ̇_min=A sin⁡h(Bσ^q )             (3)
Thirdly, a stress-dependent amplification term to replaces Dyson’s linear coupling, accurately reproducing tertiary‐stage acceleration.
1⁄(1-D_n )^P(σ)                        (4)
In the developing this new framework, it is firstly demonstrated that time-power modelling creep cavitation is not only an alternative, it is more accurate than classical Dyson’s stain-driven approaches. Preliminary calibration on P91 steel at 600 °C and 625 °C demonstrates that our TTS-resolved model predicts lifetimes within ~5 % of experiment across 70–160 MPa while the conventional Dyson’s model underpredicts rupture life by up to 55 % at 140 MPa and overpredicts by 160 %.
These results establish the time–power‐law and sinh‐law combination as a cornerstone methodology for regime-aware constitutive modelling.
By design, the TTS× framework accommodates additional damage mechanisms—phase instability, oxidation, subgrain sliding—and alternative strain-rate laws (e.g. cubic, power-law), provided they are expressible within the extended TTS domain. This open, traceable architecture offers a robust foundation for future creep damage modelling and credible long-term extrapolation across diverse alloys and service conditions. This work establishes a new, TTS×-enabled paradigm for physically grounded, regime-aware creep damage modelling across alloy classes and service conditions.

Biography: Dr Xu has been Senior Lecturer in Mechanical/Automotive Engineering at the School of Computing and Engineering since June 2013.

Dr Xu obtained PhD in 1997 from the Plasticity and Process Modelling Group, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of Birmingham, UK, under the ORS, CVCP (UK) Scholarship.

Qiang has worked on 7 major projects funded by EPSRC, HSE, EC and the associated industries at UMIST (The University of Manchester, Institute of Manchester) and University of Huddersfield.

He has an extensive research in creep damage mechanics, advanced software developement and aplication, computational and computing modelling. So far, he has produced over 100 publications (6 edited books, 3 chapters, journal papers and conference papers) ranging from creep damage mechanics, computational modelling and machine learning and neural network development and application at top journals. He has successfully supervised 9 PhD research projects as the main supervisor so far.

Dr Xu is regularly given keynote speech at international conferences, for example, at 5th International European Collaborative Creep Committee Conference on Creep and Fracture, 2021, https://www.iom3.org/events-awards/events-archive/eccc2021/programme.html

Dr Xu is very active in serving the research communities such as Grant Application Review (16 in total for EPSRC, UK, Regional Development Agency, UK), conference chair and/or conference community member, journal paper review (90 reviewed, including Scientific Report), PhD examination (9 examied as external examiner for Nottingham University, University of Strathclyde, and Teesside Uniersity), hosting international visiting Research Associate, and international collaborative research, and more than 110 veriefied journal paper review (xu, qiang - Web of Science Core Collection)

He is well recognised externally such as:

1. Top One author of highly influential papers in "multiaxial creep damage constitutive equations"; multiaxial creep damage constitutive equations | Semantic Scholar

2. Top one author of highly influential papers in "creep damage constitutive equations"; https://www.semanticscholar.org/search?q=creep%20damage%20constitutive%20equations&sort=influence

3. More than 42,000 people read his research work according to Researchgate web site: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Qiang-Xu-12/stats

PhD Research Topics: creep damage lifetime, creep cavitation modelling, novel computational and computing modelling, machine learning and neural network, et al

 

Prof. Gyu Myoung Lee,
Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Speech Title: Towards Agentic AI powered IoT

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Internet of Things (IoT), or AIoT, combines AI technologies with IoT infrastructure to make IoT operations more efficient, improve human-machine interactions, and enhance data management and analytics. This presentation introduces the concepts and characteristics of AIoT, as well as related standardization activities within ITU-T, particularly Q4/20, which focuses on data analytics, sharing, processing and management within the context of the IoT, digital twins and smart cities. It then identifies the key challenges of agentic AI-enabled solutions (agentic AIoT), discussing future standardization from a holistic perspective that considers the future digital economy and smart cities towards the Internet of Agents.

Biography: Gyu Myoung Lee is a professor at the Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), UK. He was affiliated with KAIST, Daejeon, Rep. of Korea, as an Adjunct Professor from 2012 to 2024. Before joining the LJMU in 2014, he worked at the Institut Mines-Telecom from 2008. Until 2012, he was invited to work at ETRI, Rep. of Korea. He worked as a research professor at KAIST, Rep. of Korea and as a guest researcher at NIST, USA, in 2007. His research interests include Internet of Things, digital twin, computational trust, blockchain with privacy preservation, data and AI governance, knowledge centric networking and services considering all vertical services, Smart Grid, energy saving networks, cloud-based big data analytics platform and multimedia networking and services. Prof. Lee has been actively participating in standardization meetings including ITU-T SG 13 and SG20, IETF and oneM2M, etc., and currently serves as a Working Party chair and the Rapporteur of Q16/13 on trustworthy networking and services and Q4/20 on data analytics, sharing, processing and management in ITU-T. He is the Vice-Chair of ITU-T FG-AINN as well as the Convenor of Web3-adhoc. He was also the chair of ITU-T Focus Group on Data Processing and Management (FG-DPM). He has contributed more than 500 proposals for standards and published more than 200 papers in academic journals and conferences. He received several Best Paper Awards in international and domestic conferences and served as a reviewer of IEEE journals/conference papers and an organizer/member of committee of international conferences. He is a Senior Member of IEEE.
Prof. Lee received his BS degree in electronic and electrical engineering from Hong Ik University, Seoul, Rep. of Korea, in 1999 and MS, and PhD. degree from KAIST, Daejeon, Rep. of Korea, in 2000 and 2007, respectively.

 

 

Invited Speakers of 2025

 

Prof. Hamed Taherdoost,
Canada West University, Canada

Biography: Dr. Hamed Taherdoost is an award-winning scholar and R&D professional with over two decades of cross-sector experience spanning academia and industry. He is the Founder of Hamta Business Corporation, Professor and Chair of the RSAC at University Canada West, and Senior Technical Consultant of R&D at Q Minded | Quark Minded Technology Inc. Dr. Taherdoost has worked extensively across Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia on multidisciplinary projects in IT, healthcare, energy, and transportation.
Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at Westcliff University, USA, and Gisma University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and supervises research across international institutions. With over 350 publications in top-tier journals and conferences, he is recognized globally (H-Index >50) for his contributions to research methodology, MIS, and technology management. His authored textbooks are taught at leading universities around the globe, including the University of Malta, University of Macau, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, University of Kerala, and University Canada West.
Dr. Taherdoost has been consistently ranked among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford–Elsevier from 2021 and is listed among the top ten SSRN Business Authors. He has received several accolades, including multiple best paper and reviewer/editor awards. He is the Editor of Routledge’s Mastering Academic Excellence and Jenny Stanford’s Quantum Computing book series, and serves on editorial boards of prestigious journals and has participated and engaged in the organization of over 400 conferences held across Europe, America, Australia, Asia, and Africa. He is a GUS Fellow, Senior IEEE Member, Certified Cybersecurity Professional, and Working Group Member of IFIP TC 11. His research focuses on cybersecurity, blockchain, digital innovation, and interdisciplinary technology adoption.

 

Prof. Paulo Batista,
University of Évora, Portugal

Speech Title: Information communication and management starting in the 1980s
Abstract: Following the Second World War an explosion in the quantity of documentation led to a dramatic change in Archiving, or the profession referred to as records managers/records management and archivists/archives. Starting in the 1980s, however, archivists in Quebec began to make great progress by changing their approach and looking at the entire documentary cycle from current to definitive information. Carol Couture and Jean- Yves Rousseau made a crucial contribution towards the understanding of the Three Age Theory that viewed Archiving as an integrated discipline centered on a structural understanding of archives. In 1994, their work Les Fondements de la Discipline Archivistique, presented a new interpretation of Theodore Schellenberg's Three Age Theory. They called attention to the fact that the three phases of archival documents are not separate but, on the contrary, integrated. They argued that these three stages can even be looked at in a segmented way, provided the union between them is ensured. Their great innovation relative to Schellenberg's work lay, precisely, in critiquing the division and separation between the three ages of archival documents. Couture and Rousseau thereby brought together all the phases of the lifecycle of records, from production to dissemination, in opposition to the sterile distinction advocated by traditional archivists and document managers. In my opinion, however, the best approach to integrating information management is known as records continuum, which place archives in a post-custodial, informational, and scientific paradigm. This Australian concept arose in the 1990s amid the huge explosion of information, communication technologies and new media. This context forced Information Science to redefine its object of study. Records continuum is closely related to the integrated management model of Couture and Rousseau, while it carries their innovation further, perfecting it and replacing it with systemic dynamics and providing continuity between archives. In fact, records continuum means, literally, continuous management. It looks at the whole process from the production of records to their final archiving. Otherwise, we cannot speak of continuous management. That is why, when we speak of rigid archives – current, intermediate, and definitive, this approach is more theoretical than practical. There is, in fact, no separation between these phases, even less so from the point of view of the value of documents. The traditional distinction between information with probative and historical value ceases to exist. The information is simultaneous and is, in fact, the same.

 

Biography: Paulo Batista is PhD Researcher at CIDEHUS.UÉ-Interdisciplinary Center for History, Cultures and Societies of the University of Évora, Portugal, where is the coordinator of the research group 2: Heritage and Literacies. Currently works as a higher technician in the Municipal Archives of Lisbon, and professor at the Iscte-IUL (Master in Architecture and Visual Culture in Lisbon) and Autonomous University of Lisbon, where is coordinator and professor of the Postgraduate in Promotion and Cultural and Educational Dynamization of Archives and Libraries, and the Postgraduate in Architectural Archives.
He has lectured in the MS program in Information Science and Documentation at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa and has held senior technician positions at the Portuguese Institute of Cultural Heritage, the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage, and the Torre do Tombo Archives. He has also worked as researcher at the Center for the Study of History and Ancient Cartography of the Institute of Tropical Scientific Research.
Paulo Batista holds a Ph.D. in Documentation (University of Alcalá, Madrid-UAH), an MS in Information Science and Documentation – Archival Studies (UNL), and an MA in Documentation (UAH). As part of his doctorate, he also received a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Bibliography and Documentation Retrospective in Humanities (UAH), and he also holds a postgraduate degree in Information Society Law (University of Lisbon) and Information and Documentation Science - Librarianship and Archival Studies (UNL), and a specialization in Good Practices in Patrimonial Management (UNL) and Information Science and Documentation - Archival Studies (UNL). He holds an undergraduate degree in History (University of Lisbon).
Paulo Batista is the author of several books and about 90 papers published in international journals and conference proceedings. He was also keynote speaker and invited speaker at various international conferences (Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Fiji, France, India, South Africa, Thailand, Türkiye and South Korea).

 

Asst. Prof. Mitra Madanchian,
University Canada West, Canada

Biography: Dr. Mitra Madanchian serves as the Vice Chair and Assistant Professor at University Canada West. She is also the Director of Quark Minded Technology Inc. and Hamta Business Corporation. Holding a Ph.D. in Business Management from Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia), a Master of Administrative Science in Human Resources from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and both Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Applied Linguistics from University Putra Malaysia, she has a strong academic background. With over a decade of industry experience, including roles in both SMEs and a Big Four firm (KPMG), Mitra has established herself as an expert in Business Management and Research and Development. Her professional career spans various international companies, covering fields such as IT, International Trade, Finance, and Education. In addition to her industrial expertise, Mitra is an accomplished academic researcher, specializing in Business Management, Leadership, Human Resource Management, Marketing Management, FinTech, and IT Management. Her work has been published by reputable publishers like Elsevier, IGI Global, and MDPI, comprising over fifty scientific articles in peer-reviewed international journals, 9 book chapters in addition to editing/co-editing several books and authored two books. She is a member of CPHR and has served as a session chair and speaker at international conferences, presenting numerous papers. Currently, her research interests focus on the role of AI in HR and Marketing.

 

Tirumala Rao Chimpiri,
Stony Brook University, USA

Speech Title: ERP in the Cloud IoT Era: Driving Intelligent and Scalable Enterprise Operations

Abstract: ERP systems have long formed the core of many organizational operations, supporting finance, workforce management, supply chains, and day to day decisions. For years, these platforms mainly worked as transactional tools with fairly limited flexibility. With the rise of Cloud ERP and the Internet of Things, this picture has been shifting. ERP environments are slowly becoming more connected and data rich, and they are starting to adjust to real-time conditions in ways older systems could not.
Consider a factory where machines report their status every second, or a hospital where simple sensors help guide staffing decisions. Cloud ERP platforms, such as Oracle Cloud HCM and Oracle Cloud ERP, can transform these continuous signals into timely insights that help leaders anticipate risks and improve daily decisions. When these kinds of data streams flow into Cloud ERP, they become more than stored entries. They turn into useful, often immediate insight that supports better resource use and quicker response when something changes. This presentation looks at how Cloud ERP, IoT, and current integration approaches work together to improve organizational responsiveness, efficiency, and overall resilience. Examples from manufacturing, logistics, higher education, and public health show how live data can strengthen workforce planning, financial activity, and service delivery.
The talk also reviews a few important architectural considerations that come up when linking Cloud ERP systems with IoT devices at a larger scale. These include data protection, compatibility issues, governance structures, and the sometimes complicated nature of hybrid or edge deployments. By placing ERP within a wider Cloud and IoT setting, the discussion shows how organizations can build systems that are more adaptive, dependable, and prepared for Industry 4.0 and newer smart enterprise models that are still taking shape. Participants will gain a clearer view of how Cloud ERP turns real-time IoT data into more grounded decisions.

Biography: Tirumala Rao Chimpiri is a senior enterprise technology leader with more than 26 years of experience driving ERP modernization, digital transformation, and business-process automation for Fortune 500 companies and global organizations across the banking, manufacturing, logistics, and public-sector domains. He has led major ERP programs spanning finance and HR systems, delivering operational agility, improved security, and measurable performance gains at scale.
He serves as Chair of the IEEE Computer Society’s Long Island Section and is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE). He contributes to enterprise-technology governance and digital-innovation strategy through leadership roles with national and international technology organizations influencing the future of intelligent enterprise platforms.

 

Senior Eng. Mgr. Mona Rajhans
Palo Alto Networks, USA

Speech Title: Human-Centered Explainability in AI-Enhanced UI Security Interfaces: Designing Trustworthy Copilots for Cybersecurity Analyst

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) copilots are increasingly integrated into enterprise cybersecurity platforms to assist analysts in threat detection, triage, and remediation. However, the effectiveness of these systems depends not only on the accuracy of underlying models but also on the degree to which users can understand and trust their outputs. Existing research on algorithmic explainability has largely focused on model internals, while little attention has been given to how explanations should be surfaced in user interfaces for high-stakes decision-making contexts [8], [5], [6]. We present a mixed-methods study of explanation design strategies in AI-driven security dashboards. Through a taxonomy of explanation styles and a controlled user study with security practitioners, we compare natural language rationales, confidence visualizations, counterfactual explanations, and hybrid approaches. Our findings show that explanation style significantly affects user trust calibration, decision accuracy, and cognitive load. We contribute (1) empirical evidence on the usability of explanation interfaces for security copilots, (2) design guidelines for integrating explainability into enterprise UIs, and (3) a framework for aligning explanation strategies with analyst needs in security operations centers (SOCs). This work advances the design of human-centered AI tools in cybersecurity and provides broader implications for explainability in other high-stakes domains.

Biography: Mona Rajhans is a Senior Engineering Manager at Palo Alto Networks -The world’s biggest CyberSecurity company, based in Santa Clara, California. She is leading innovation at the intersection of cybersecurity and intelligent user interfaces. She develops AI-powered defense platforms that transform static dashboards into adaptive, real-time intelligence surfaces. With expertise in large-scale architecture, agentic AI, and front-end performance, she has pioneered advances in AI-assisted analyst workflows, contextual copilots, and secure human-AI collaboration. Passionate about innovation with impact, Mona champions the paradigm of “UI as a defensive surface,”where interface intelligence becomes a core layer of cyber resilience, while mentoring emerging engineering leaders. She contributes to the research community through program and technical committee service and as a keynote speaker at major conferences worldwide.

 

 

 

 

Keynote Speakers of 2024

 

Prof. Jinwen Ma Peking University, China	Assoc. Prof. Hoshang Kolivand Liverpool John Moores University, UK	Prof. Kwang Sik Chung Korea National Open University, South Korea