Rodolfo Oliveira, IEEE Senior Member, ACM Member
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

Rodolfo Oliveira is an Associate Professor with Habilitation in Electrical and Computer Engineering at NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT) and a Senior Researcher at the Instituto de Telecomunicações, in Lisbon. His work focuses on wireless and mobile communications, stochastic modeling, and the design and performance analysis of next-generation network architectures. He is currently the Director of the Integrated Master in Electrical and Computers Engineering and the Bachelor on Communications and Information Engineering, both offered at NOVAFCT.
He has held visiting research and teaching positions at several international institutions: at the University of Thessaly in Greece in 2008; at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in the United States in 2011 and again in 2023; and at the Technical University of Berlin in 2025. Rodolfo has been actively involved in numerous research projects funded by national and European agencies. He has supervised more than 60 MSc and PhD students.
His research has resulted in over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including high-impact journals and several award-winning conference papers. He serves on the editorial boards of journals such as the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, where he was named Exemplary Editor in 2023, is a Senior Editor of IEEE Communications Letters, where he received the same distinction in 2021, and serves as Editor in Ad Hoc Networks (Elsevier).
Since 2010, Rodolfo has been an active member of the IEEE Portugal Section, first serving as an officer in the VTS Chapter, then as Chapter Coordinator from 2018 to 2020, as Section Vice-Chair from 2020 to 2021, and as Section Chair in the period 2022-2025. Currently, he is the Chair of the Region 8 Ad Hoc Committee on Flagship and Portfolio Conferences.

Speech Title: The Sixth Sense of Wireless: AI-Driven Cognitive RF Systems for Context-Aware Intelligence

Abstract:Wireless systems are evolving from passive communication platforms into intelligent sensing and decision-making infrastructures. This keynote introduces the concept of a “sixth sense” of wireless, where AI-driven cognitive RF systems jointly perform spectrum awareness, RF sensing, and contextual interpretation to deliver context-aware intelligence. Moving beyond traditional cognitive radio focused solely on dynamic spectrum access, cognitive RF systems integrate software-defined radios, machine learning, and signal analytics to perceive, learn from, and adapt to their electromagnetic environment.
The talk presents an overview of cognitive RF architectures and AI-enabled processing techniques that allow radios not only to optimize spectrum use but also to extract situational and environmental context from signals of interest and signals of opportunity. Emphasis is placed on how joint communication-and-sensing capabilities enable smarter, more adaptive wireless networks and services.
Key challenges in RF intelligence are discussed, together with emerging approaches that fuse communication and sensing functions. The keynote concludes by outlining a vision of context-aware wireless systems that transform RF infrastructure into an intelligent layer capable of supporting adaptive human-aware and environment-aware connectivity.

Marc A. Rosen, CAE Fellow, SME Fellow, Engineers Canada Fellow, CSME Fellow, International Energy Foundation Fellow, CSSE Fellow
Ontario Tech University, Canada

Marc A. Rosen, Ph.D., is a Professor at University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Canada, where he served as founding Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Rosen has served as President of the Engineering Institute of Canada and of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. He has acted in many professional capacities, such as Editor-in-Chief of various journals, and a Director of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation. With over 70 research grants and contracts and 900 technical publications, Dr. Rosen is an active teacher and researcher in sustainable energy, sustainability, and environmental impact. Much of his research has been carried out for industry. Dr. Rosen has worked for such organizations as Imatra Power Company in Finland, Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, the Institute for Hydrogen Systems near Toronto, and Ryerson University in Toronto, where he served as Chair the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Industrial Engineering. Dr. Rosen has received numerous awards and honours, and is a Fellow of numerous societies.

Speech Title:Energy sustainability: A vital route to sustainable development and environmental protection in transportation

Abstract:Sustainable development is an important goal for human and societal activity. Energy sustainability is of great importance to any activities and plans for overall sustainable development, and thus provides a vital route to sustainable development and environmental protection in transportation. This is particularly important given 1) the pervasiveness of energy use throughout almost all aspects of societies and the lives of people, 2) the importance of energy in economic development of societies and the living standards attained by people, and 3) the significant impacts that energy processes and systems have on the environment and the ecosystems within them.
Many factors that need to be considered and appropriately addressed in moving or shifting towards energy sustainability are examined in this talk. These include appropriate selection of energy resources bearing in mind sustainability criteria, facilitation of the use of sustainable energy resources particularly through the use of appropriate energy carriers, enhancement of the efficiency of energy-related processes, and a holistic adoption of environmental stewardship in energy activities. In addition, other key sustainability measures are addressed, such as economics, equity, land use, lifestyle, sociopolitical factors and population, and examples of energy sustainability measures are described in transportation. Conclusions are provided related both on options for energy sustainability and on means to achieve sustainable development and overall sustainability.

Zhengxian Liu
Harbin Institute of Technology, China

Zhengxian Liu, Associate Professor at the School of Aerospace Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, has been selected for the 2023 Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program (Boxin Program). He has long been committed to the basic theory of mechanics, intelligent composite material design, space deployable structures, aerospace applications, etc., published 19 SCI papers, presided over 6 projects including the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and served as a member of the Smart Composites Professional Committee of the Chinese Mainland Federation of the International Society for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Engineering (SAMPE), the executive director of the expert think tank of the New Material Development Alliance, the member of the Composite Structure Design Special Committee of the China Composite Materials Society, the member of the Youth Working Committee of the China Composite Materials Society, and so on

Speech Title: Smart polymer composites and their space deployable structures

Abstract: Smart polymer composite materials (SMPC) exhibit excellent properties such as ultra lightweight, intelligent deformation, high strength, and high stiffness, and are gradually being applied in space deployable structures. The SMPC deployable structure we developed can achieve self-locking, self deployment, controllable deployment dynamics (utilizing shape memory effect), and rapid self stiffening after deployment (achieved by a wall thickness typically five times that of thin-walled elastic composite rods). A bending deformation theory based on shape memory composite materials was established, and its safety design zone was established and potential failure modes were identified. The bending deformation theory of intelligent composite materials was introduced, and the driving performance, shape recovery behavior, and thermomechanical properties of the structure were systematically studied. Finally, various space deployable structures such as shape memory composite material deployable hinges, pod poles, and flexible solar wings were designed. The deployable flexible solar cell system developed in 2020 was carried by the Practice-20 satellite to achieve in orbit deployment verification of the world's first flexible solar cell array based on shape memory composite materials. In 2025, the international first in orbit application of shape memory composite material flexible solar wings was achieved.

TBA......