Distinguished Keynote Speakers
Dr. Mohamed-Slim Alouini
Professor, FIEEE, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
Towards connecting the remaining 3 billion
Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu
Professor, FIEEE, Carleton Univ., Canada
HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) Networks in Stratosphere: A Transformative Paradigm
Dr. Vehbi Çağrı Güngör
Professor, CTO, Turkcell, Türkiye
AI EMPOWERED MOBILE NETWORKS
More About Keynote Speakers
Dr. Halim Yanikomeroglu
HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) Networks in Stratosphere: A Transformative Paradigm
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 (uncrewed 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.
The NTN discussion will continue throughout the 2030s as well (the beyond-6G era) – exciting times indeed…
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 and IEEE FNWF Steering Committees. 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.
Dr. Mohamed-Slim Alouini
Towards connecting the remaining 3 billion
Mohamed-Slim Alouini was born in Tunis, Tunisia. He received her “Diplôme d’Ingénieur ” and “Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies” (DEA) in Electronics with Highest Honors, both in September1993 from the Ecole Nat. Superieure Telecom. (TELECOM Paris-Tech), Paris, France, and the University Pierre & Marie Curie (Sorbonne University), Paris, France, respectively. He then received his Master degree in Electrical Engineering in September 1995 from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta, Georgia, USA before earning his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, California, in 1998. He also received the Habilitation degree from the Université Pierre & Marie Curie (Sorbonne University), Paris, France, in 2003. Dr. Alouini served as a faculty member from 1998 to 2004 in the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, then from 2004 to 2009 in the Texas A&M University at Qatar, Education City, Doha, Qatar before joining King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Makkah Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a Professor of Electrical Engineering (EE) in 2009, with courtesy appointments in the Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences (AMCS) as well as Statistics (STAT) programs.
Dr. Alouini is a world renowned expert in the area of wireless communication and networking and his current research interests include design and performance analysis of diversity combining techniques, MIMO techniques, multi-hop/cooperative communications systems, optical wireless communication systems, cognitive radio systems, wireless data center communications, UAV communications, and multi-resolution, hierarchical and adaptive modulation schemes.
Dr. Alouini has published more than 500 journal papers on the above subjects and he is the co-author of the best-selling textbook Digital Communication over Fading Channels published by Wiley. The impact of his work has continued to grow as evidenced by the enormous number of citations to his publications. It was not surprising that he was elected to the Fellow grade of the IEEE in 2009, rather early in his career. With more than 46,000 citations, and an h-index of 78 by Google Scholar, it is not surprising that Dr. Alouini was been selected several times by the Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge as a Highly Cited Researcher. The nominee has had sustained remarkable contributions to wireless communications theory, practice, mentorship of students, and academic and professional service and leadership. He has been serving as an editor in three major IEEE journals (IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, and IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing).
Dr. Alouini has also won several awards in his career. For instance, he recently received the 2016 Recognition Award of the IEEE Communication Society Wireless Technical Committee, the 2016 Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers in Engineering Sciences, and the Inaugural Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Science & Technology Achievement Award in Engineering Sciences in 2017. Other recognitions include his selection as (i) Fellow of the African Academy of Science in 2018 and Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2019, (ii) IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Communication Society and IEE Vehicular Technology Society, (iii) member for three times in the annual Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge list of Highly Cited Researchers as well as the Shanghai Ranking/Elsevier list of Most Cited Researchers, and (iv) a co-recipient of best paper awards in eleven IEEE conferences (including ICC, GLOBECOM, VTC, PIMRC, ISWCS, and DySPAN).
It should be noted that several of his group members (MS graduates, PhD graduates, and Postdocs) were very successful, and went for PhD (for MS graduates) or Post-Doctoral (for PhD graduates) studies in top world-class universities such as Harvard, Caltech, UT Austin, U Southern California, U Michigan, U of Illinois, U British Columbia, Mc-Gill University, Imperial College, TU Berlin, Univ of Sydney, etc.. or secured faculty positions in the west or in top universities in their home countries such as Korea University (South Korea), Hanyang University (South Korea), New Jersey Institute of Technology (USA), University of Victoria (Canada), York University (Canada), University of Glasgow (UK), University of Qatar (Qatar), Yildiz Technical University (Turkey), INPT-Rabat (Morocco), ITU-Lahore (Pakistan), IIIT-Delhi (India), King Fahd University of Petroluem and Minerals (KFUPM), Effat University (Saudi Arabia), Al-Faisal University (Saudi Arabia), etc.. In addition, many of his students and post-doctoral fellows received prestigious awards during their studies or tenure in his research group. For instance, his recent December 2018 PhD graduate Qurrat-Ul-Ain Nadeem was selected in September 2018 as one of the 2018 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholars (first time occurring from a developing country), which is viewed by many as the most prestigious award for researchers in Telecommunications under the age of 28. In addition, last year, his post-doctoral fellow Dr. Ahmed Bader won in March 2017 the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) Young Professionals (YPs) Best Innovation Award at the Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC’2017), San Francisco, USA. Recently, his post-doctoral fellow Dr. Abderrahman Trichili was selected to attend the 69th Lindau Nobel Meeting in June 2019.
Dr. Vehbi Çağrı Güngör
AI EMPOWERED MOBILE NETWORKS
In an era where mobile networks are evolving at an unprecedented pace, this talk explores the transformative role of AI and ML in shaping the future of networks. We delve into how Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can leverage advanced AI/ML models for autonomous mobile network operations, ensuring efficient load balancing, optimal cell/band association, and enhanced data-driven decision-making. The focus will be on the integration of AI/ML in next-generation wireless network environments, addressing challenges and outlining significant benefits. The presentation also highlights the latest developments in deep, distributed, and reinforcement learning, alongside other innovative ML techniques tailored for next-generation wireless communications and networking architectures. Attendees will gain insights into the future of network optimization and the potential of AI/ML in revolutionizing consumer and industrial wireless applications, ensuring scalability, and paving the way for advanced networking solutions in the cloud and edge computing realms.
Chief Network Technologies Officer
Prof. Dr. Vehbi Çağrı Güngör was born in Ankara in 1979. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Middle East Technical University, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2001 and 2003. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA, USA) in 2007. Receiving the Full-Professor title in 2018, Prof. Dr. Güngör’s research areas are in the fields of next-generation wireless communications, 5G and 6G mobile networks, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Dr. Güngör served as a project manager at Eaton Corporation, a researcher at Siemens Corporate Research, and an Executive Board Member in the TÜBİTAK TEYDEB BILTEG. Prof. Dr. Güngör has received many international and national scientific awards. Prof. Dr. Güngör’s research projects have been funded by several institutions, such as the European Union, the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, and TÜBİTAK. Prof. Dr. Güngör has more than 100 research articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and conferences and several patents. Prof. Dr. Güngör is married and the father of three children.