Keynote speakers
Wireless Networking, Sensing, and Security with ELSAAs
Short Biography
Edward Knightly is the Sheafor–Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Rice University. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. from the University of California at Berkeley and his B.S. from Auburn University. He is an ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, and Sloan Fellow. He received the IEEE INFOCOM Achievement Award, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Award for Research on New Opportunities for Dynamic Spectrum Access, the George R. Brown School of Engineering Teaching + Research Excellence Award, and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. He received the 2025 ACM SIGMOBILE Test of Time paper award and eight best paper awards including ACM MobiCom, ACM MobiHoc, IEEE Communications and Network Security, and IEEE INFOCOM.
Abstract
Extremely Large Scale Antenna Arrays (ELSAAs) enable two unique features: an extended effective Fraunhofer range (near field) up to kilometer scale and the ability to shape incoming and outgoing wavefronts with high precision. In this talk, I will describe new ELSAA applications in wireless networking, sensing, and security, including both theoretical foundations and experimental demonstrations. I will focus on high-resolution sensing around obstacles and spoofing radars as two illustrative scenarios.
Securing the Invisible Backbone: AI-Powered Detection of Physical-Layer Breaches in Optical Networks
Short Biography
Marija Furdek is an associate professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. She obtained her PhD and MSc degrees from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She was a senior researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden in 2013-2019. Marija is the director of the Fiber Optic Communication Center (FORCE) at Chalmers. She has been a PI and WP leader of research projects funded by the EU, the Swedish Research Council, and Swedish innovation agency VINNOVA. Marija is a Senior Member of Optica and IEEE, and was an IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer 2023-2024. She was co-recipient of nine best paper awards. She has been an editor of IEEE/Optica Journal of Optical Communications and Networking, TPC Co-Chair of EuCNC & 6G Summit 2023, chair of ECOC subcommittee SC 10 (‘Control and management of optical networks’) 2024-2025 and TPC member of OFC SC N3 (‘Architectures and Software-Defined Control for Metro and Core Optical Networks’) 2023-2026.
Abstract
Optical networks form the invisible backbone of global connectivity, carrying vast volumes of critical data across continents and oceans. As these infrastructures become increasingly vital, they are also growing targets for sophisticated physical-layer attacks aimed at eavesdropping and service disruption. In this keynote, advanced AI-driven techniques designed to detect and identify physical-layer breaches in optical networks will be presented. We will explore how machine learning models can distinguish malicious perturbations from normal signal variations, despite the complexity of optical transmission systems. The talk will address key challenges, including environmental noise, equipment heterogeneity, limitations of current monitoring technologies, and the continuously evolving threat landscape. Attendees will gain insights into how AI enables proactive, scalable, and intelligent protection of next-generation optical infrastructure — moving from reactive monitoring to predictive security.
The IPv6-based New Internet empowering 5G/6G, P2P IoT, Cloud Computing, P2P Blockchain, and Agentic AI
Short Biography
Abstract
The Internet has flourished since the 90's based on its IPv4 Protocol. However, the public IPv4 address space managed by IANA (http://www.iana.org) has been completely depleted back in Feb 1st, 2011. This creates by itself a critical challenge when adding new things and enabling new services on the Internet. Without publicly routable IP addressing, 5G/6G, Cloud Computing, Agentic AI, the Internet of Things and anything that’s part of Internet of Everything would be greatly reduced in its capabilities and limit its potential success. Most discussions about IoT have been based on the illusionary assumption that the IP address space is an unlimited resource or it’s even taken for granted that IP is like oxygen produced for free by nature. IPv6 provides enhanced features that were not tightly designed or scalable in IPv4 like autoconfiguration, IP mobility, end to end connectivity and e2e services, etc. IPv6 will be addressing the extreme scenarios where IP becomes a commodity service. This new address platform will enable lower cost network deployment of large scale sensor networks, RFID, IP in the car, to any imaginable scenario where networking adds value to commodity. IPv6 deployment is now in full swing with some countries achieving way over 60% penetration such as France, Germany, Belgium, India and China. China and India have over 400 M users using IPv6 without even the users knowing it. Recently, Apple has required its apps developers to use IPv6 only for their apps which is a great shot in the arm of IPv6. There are many inflections happening this decade to influence the design of the first tangible IoT, Cloud Computing, Web of Things and 6G. It will be a combination of IoT, SDN-NFV, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, Big IoT Data, and 6G, to sift through to realising the paradigm shift from current research-based work to advanced IoT, 5G, and Smart Cities. This talk will be devoted to analyze the transformative impact of IPv6 on the potential mix of IPv6-based IoT, SDN-NFV, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and 5G and its advanced features, highlighting the challenges and the solutions moving forward.
Enabling Next 6G Systems through Energy-Efficient, Scalable Design and Spectrum Coexistence
Short Biography
Danijela Cabric is a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received M.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2001 and Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 2007, both in Electrical Engineering. In 2008, she joined UCLA as an Assistant Professor, where she heads Cognitive Reconfigurable Embedded Systems lab. Her current research projects include novel radio architectures, signal processing, communications, machine learning and networking techniques for spectrum sharing, millimeter-wave, massive MIMO and IoT systems. She is a principal investigator in the three large cross-disciplinary multi-university centers including SRC/JUMP ComSenTer and CONIX, and NSF SpectrumX. Prof. Cabric was a recipient of the Samueli Fellowship in 2008, the Okawa Foundation Research Grant in 2009, Hellman Fellowship in 2012, the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 2012, and Qualcomm Faculty Awards in 2020 and 2021. Prof. Cabric is an IEEE Fellow.
Abstract
Each generation has taken a big step forward and introduced new technologies in order to increase the performance of networks and devices to support the constantly enriched services. In 5G, the telecommunications industry has been particularly focused on improving user experiences such as data rates and latency. However, 6G key objectives have significantly shifted. Operators are requesting improvement of operating costs, energy efficiency, access to mid-spectrum while embedding and leveraging AI/ML technology. This talk will discuss technologies and architectures for energy-efficient mobile and fixed wireless access using new antenna array designs, beamforming modes, ultra-wideband multiple access, and scalable processing architectures to support different coverage and connectivity requirements in 6G cellular and massive IoT connectivity. It will also explore solutions for enabling spectrum sharing in mid-band spectrum between cellular networks and incumbents including radars and satellites.