Committees

CEO, DOMILA Limited, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Chair of Smart Cities for the IEEE IoT Initiative
Chair of the IEEE IoT Global Cities Alliance
Chair of IEEE SA Smart Cities Standards and Best Practices

Joel Myers is an IT engineer, entrepreneur and leading international technologist, specialising in the creation and development of innovation technology solutions in Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Smart Cities, working internationally with state and local governments (Italy, UK, USA and Mexico), universities (including Harvard, UCLA, University of Virginia, Polytecnico di Milano, Universidad de Guadalajara) and industry (including a partnership with Google Inc., Mountainview, CA).

His company, HoozAround Corp. (USA) owns and manages a digital platform called IoP (the “Internet of People”) that provides socio-economic recovery for cities, through a micro-currency called HooziesTM. It has been successfully piloted by the Mexican State Government of Jalisco to the 8.2 million people living and working there and its 1000s of small businesses to support the local economy during and post-COVID-19 and restimulate growth. The next municipality to launch the IoP platform is New York City in 2021.

One of the end-products of the IoP platform is unique “real-time” urban intelligence that flows in from cities, on the population’s demographics, ongoing business transactions, mobility, health and social community interactions, based on the use of the micro-currency, HooziesTM and AI/ML. Real-time reporting and analytics then offers city leaders and stakeholders an in-depth understanding of the complex and intricate behaviours that makes a city function. Municipalities may closely monitor the effects of their operations and policies, and predict issues in order to avoid them.

As Chair of IEEE IoT Initiative for Smart Cities, Joel Myers has been focusing his working group on the redefinition of the digital transformation of urban environments from a truly “People-Centric” focal point. Exploring the goals of the smart city industry movement juxtaposed with the need for humanity to remain connected as physical people. This “People-Centric” approach is leading to a far greater multi-disciplinary approach to collaboration between the technology industry of IEEE IoT and its communication with smart city leaders and stakeholders from: urban planning; infrastructure and engineering; finance and economics; community engagement; cultural heritage and tourism; sociology; law and governance; and so on. This new approach was reflected in the past 2 years of smart city sessions, speakers and panellists at the IEEE World Forum on IoT.

Through his leadership of the IEEE IoT Global Cities Alliance (GCA), IEEE has developed a close “ongoing” collaboration and networking, between the Tech Industry and Smart Cities, on a worldwide and regional scale, in order to work together in understanding urban needs and priorities, and sharing and developing projects, results, best practices, and standards to support interoperability.

One of the GCA’s core initiatives is the Observatory of Urban Intelligence. A cloud-platform of observable urban data, gathered through crowd-sourcing IEEE’s global network of universities and student branches, building unique models and correlations in understanding cities and the effectiveness of smart city solutions. This project is being developed jointly with the ITU-T under the United Nations’ “United 4 Sustainable Cities” initiative, and the United Cities & Local Governments organization.

The second core initiative of the IEEE IoT GCA is promoting existing best practices and standards globally to city leaders, and developing new standards based on priority issues communicated by participating cities themselves. This initiative is run under the IEEE SA Industry Connection programme “Smart Cities Standards and Best Practices”, where IEEE and other standards organisations, like ITU-T, and smart cities work on a common agenda.

The work carried out by Joel Myers has been published in international newspapers and journals such as the BBC, New York Times, Hong Times, the Hindu Times, Wired, and Forbes Magazine.

President at IEEE Standards Association 
Chair of IEEE Industry Engagement Committee 
Faculty Member at Department of Computer Science at Princeton University 

Dr. Robert S. Fish is a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University. He is also President of the IEEE Standards Association, a member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), and President of NETovations, LLC, a consulting company focused on the creation of communications and networking technology innovation. From 2007 to 2010, he was Chief Product Officer and Senior VP at Mformation, Inc. a company specializing in carrier software for mobile device management. From 1997 to 2007, Rob was Vice President and Managing Director of Panasonic US R&D laboratories. Prior to this, he was Executive Director, Multimedia Communications Research at Bellcore/Telcordia after starting his career at Bell Laboratories. Besides his many publications, Dr. Fish has been awarded 17 patents. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. Dr. Fish is Steering Committee chair and Co-founder of ComSoc’s Consumer Communications and Networking Conference. He is the former chair of ComSoc’s GLOBECOM and ICC Management and Strategy Committee. Dr. Fish was the recipient of ComSoc’s MMTC Distinguished Service Award. Rob has also been Chair of IEEE SA’s Global Committee, and was a founding member of the IEEE SA Corporate Advisory Group. He co-edited a series in IEEE Communications Magazine on IEEE standards in communications and networking. Dr. Fish and his organizations have initiated and managed standards development activities in IEEE, ISO/IEC JTC1, 3GPP, OMA, IETF, ATSC, CableLabs, OSGi, etc. In 2016, Dr. Fish was awarded the Standards Medallion of the IEEE Standards Association. 

Consultant, Peraton Labs, USA

Douglas N. Zuckerman received his B.S., M.S. and Eng.Sc.D degrees from Columbia University and is an IEEE Life Fellow. His professional experience, mainly at Bell Labs and Telcordia Technologies, spans the operations, management and engineering of emerging communications technologies, networks and applications.

His work heavily influenced early standards for telecommunications network management. After retiring from Telcordia, as a consulting employee he contributed to optical networking standards through the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF).

Doug is a past IEEE Board member, former IEEE Communications Society President, and has held leadership positions in conferences, publications and membership development. Currently, he is on the IEEE Future Directions and Industry Engagement Committees, and is actively contributing to numerous activities across IEEE.

Chairman of the Board of OpenTechWorks, Inc., USA

He serves on the Boards of multiple early-stage companies. His activities are strategic consulting, start-ups, non-profits, and industry associations. In the past he was the President of Applied Research at Telcordia Technologies (Bellcore) and the company’s CTO, and before that the Senior Vice President for Science and Technology at SAIC/LEIDOS as well as the Manger of the Advanced Technology Group.

Adam is a current member of the FCC Technological Advisory Council where he Co-Chairs the Working Group on Artificial Intelligence; the University of Texas Physics Department Advisory Council; and Chairman of FAMES USA a non-profit that organizes programs to attract disadvantaged youths to careers in STEM fields. In the past, he was on the Boards of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) where he Chaired the Technology Committee; the Association for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS); the New Jersey Technology Council; the US Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee, and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute External Advisory Board.

Over the years he has been active in IEEE and served as the Chair of, multiple Committees including the IEEE IoT Activities Board, the IEEE Employee Benefits and Compensation Committee, the IEEE Awards Committee, and multiple major conferences such as the series of IEEE World Forums on IoT. He is currently a member of the IEEE Press Editorial Board. He has published over 150 journal articles and holds 27 patents. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society. His degrees include a BA in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and a PhD. in Plasma Physics from the University of Texas.

Head of the Urban Innovation & Sustainability Lab, Porter School for the Environment & Earth Studies, Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Ronen founded the Heschel Center’s Local Sustainability Center, a joint project with the Porter School, the Ministry of the Environment and ICLEI. In 2015 Dr. Ronen drafted the Tel Aviv Yafo Declaration on Civic Engagement and Smart Cities, which is part of the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, she is also drafting Israel’s National Report to Habitat III.

Orli’s research and policy interests include; transition to sustainable and smart urban communities, climate resiliency and expansion of local democratic mechanisms. She holds a PhD in Urban Planning from Tel Aviv University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration as well as a Master’s in Business Administration. She is the 2009 recipient of the Green Globe for Local Sustainability.

Researcher at the Urban Innovation & Sustainability Lab, Porter School for the Environment & Earth Studies at Tel Aviv University

Avigdor is passionate about creating engaging sustainable environments for work, learning and urban life wellbeing with an ecosystems approach. He is a researcher at the Urban Innovation & Sustainability Lab, Porter School for the Environment & Earth Studies at Tel Aviv University, project leader at the SME4SMARTCITIES innovation project, Environment & Sustainability associate at the Israel Smart Cities Institute and a member of the ISO Knowledge Management expert committee.

Co-Founder and CEO of Safe and Sound

Lee is co-founder and CEO at Safe and Sound, an Israeli startup. Her last job was managing an EU-funded global project at the Israeli Smart Cities Institute, and her military service, as a captain in the IDF intelligence corps, provided her with experience in R&D projects. Lee holds an MBA with a thesis at the College of Management about the importance of gender-based professional frameworks for women. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in economics, management, and human resources from Bar Ilan University.

She has volunteered in management roles for the ProWomen – a nonprofit organization that promotes women in the Israeli labor market and is an active member of the DoubleYou community.

Co-founder and Chairperson of ISCI Israel Smart Cities Institute

Dr. Edna Pasher earned her Ph.D. (1981) in Media Ecology at New York University’s Department of Communication Arts and Sciences. Edna Pasher founded EP as an international strategic management consulting firm in 1978 that provides customized consulting services to organizations both in the private, public, and third sectors.

Edna is co-founder and chairperson of ISCI Israel Smart Cities Institute (NGO) which participates in international ICT R&D and innovation projects funded by the European Union, using a variety of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methodologies, modeling, modeling techniques, and analysis.

IEEE Future Directions Committee
Professor of Computer Information Systems at Manhattan College

Dr. Mehmet Ulema is a professor of Computer Information Systems at Manhattan College, New York. Previously, he held management and technical positions in AT&T Bell Laboratories, Bellcore, and Daewoo Telecom. He has been on the editorial board of a number of journals. He is also the co-editor of a IEEE Press-Wiley book series on Network and Service Management. Dr. Ulema is the author of a book entitled “Fundamentals of Public Safety Networks and Critical Communications” published by Wiley. Mehmet was actively involved in standardization in ITU, TIA, ATIS, and IEEE.

Currently, he is a member of IEEE Standards Association Board of Governors. He is also a co-chair of the IEEE Public Safety Technology Initiative. Dr. Ulema had leading roles in numerous

IEEE ComSoc conferences including IEEE ICC and IEEE GLOBECOM. He is the co-founder of IEEE

BlackSeaCom conference series. Dr. Ulema has received a number of awards including IEEE SA Standards Medallion award and IEEE ComSoc Harold Sobol Award. Dr. Ulema holds MS & Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science at Polytechnic University (now the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. He also received BS & MS degrees at Istanbul Technical University.

Smart City Leader for Guadalajara (Mexico)
Director of the Smart Cities Innovation Center at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico)
Full Professor at the Information Systems Department, University of Guadalajara (Mexico)

Victor M. Larios followed a higher education degree program at the ITESO University in Mexico (B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering), graduating in 1996. In 1997 he received a M.Sc. at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne in France, and then went onto get a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering in 2001. Since 2004, has been a Full Professor at the Information Systems Department at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

In April 2014, Dr. Victor M. Larios founded and became director of the “Smart Cities Innovation Center (SCIC)” at the University of Guadalajara, where he leads a group of researchers in Smart Cities and Information Technologies. The SCIC is a think-thank to help government, industry, and other academic partners to join efforts to improve the quality life and social well-being within an urban environment, by using technology as the core driver for transformation.

His primary research interests are Smart Cities, IoT Distributed Systems, Networking, Multiagent Systems, and Data Visualization using Virtual Reality.

Dr. Larios has published more than 70 papers in international scientific journals and conferences, and has published a book on “Serious Games”. Dr. Larios has ongoing collaborations in projects with High Technology industry and government, using design thinking and agile methodologies to accelerate technology transfer in living labs.

As an entrepreneur, he is the founder and CIO of the consulting company, IDI Smart Cities, which collaborates with Advion Solutions LTD. in Finland. Its main activities are market research, promote scholarships to develop local talent, and support for international projects in Latin American countries and the European Union. One of its key efforts is to introduce the Circular Economic Model as a sustainability component for Mega-Cities.

As a volunteer, Dr. Larios leads technically on the Guadalajara Smart City project for the government, and international ONGs, such as the IEEE. Victor M. Larios is a Senior Member of IEEE with 29 years of membership. Since 2013, he has led the “Guadalajara Core City” in the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative. Dr. Victor M. Larios is also a guest editor at the IEEE IoT Magazine and has been the IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), 2020 general co-chair.

Since July 2019 he has been working together with Joel Myers, Chair of IEEE IoT Initiative for Smart Cities, to develop the “Internet of People” (IoP). A people-centric approach to connecting people within cities to build opportunities and growth, on a business and social level. In March 2020 the first IoP pilot project was launched by the Mexican State Government of Jalisco in order to support and incentivise local economies and communities in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, through the IoP cloud/mobile platform and a pioneering digital micro-currency, called HooziesTM.

Assoc. Prof. and member of the executive committee of the Dept. of Informatics Engineering, and a senior research fellow and member of the directive board of the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Lab at the University of Porto, Portugal

Rosaldo J. F. Rossetti is an associate professor and member of the executive committee of the Department of Informatics Engineering, and a senior research fellow and member of the directive board of the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Lab at the University of Porto, Portugal. Dr Rossetti served as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE ITS Society during term 2011-2013 and was a member of the steering committee of the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative from 2013 to 2017. He is currently a co-chair of IEEE ITS Society’s Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation Technical Activities Committee, for which he received the Best TAC Award in 2017. He has served as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems and the ITS Department editor of the IEEE Intelligent System Magazine. Dr Rossetti’s primary research interests include behavioural modelling, social simulation, and machine learning. He focuses on the applications of multiagent systems as a modelling metaphor to address issues in artificial transportation systems, future mobility paradigms, urban smartification, and explores the potential uses of serious games and gamification in mobility systems and sustainable development. He is also a member of ACM, APPIA (the Portuguese AI Society), and the European Social Simulation Association. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from INF-UFRGS, Brazil, and developed his doctoral research within Leeds University’s Institute for Transport Studies, UK.

Senior Director, IEEE Strategic Research & Corporate Development 

Marc Beebe, Senior Director, IEEE Strategic Research, Public Imperatives, and Corporate Development — Marc Beebe is the Senior Director of Strategic Research, Public Imperatives, and Corporate Development at IEEE, a non-profit association that is the world’s largest professional association advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity. At IEEE, Beebe is in charge of helping all areas of the organization, from Publications to Human Resources, make data-driven decisions through surveys, focus groups, and secondary research, as well as leading teams that support IEEE’s Humanitarian Activities Committee and Industry Engagement and Corporate Development. 

Prior to IEEE, Beebe served as the Internal Evaluator for a number of education grants at Rutgers University and taught, as an adjunct professor, upper level social psychology courses, including courses such as The Psychology of Prejudice and Conflict.

Senior Manager, Corporate Development at IEEE

Patrick F. Russoniello is a senior corporate development professional with 15+ years of experience in non-profit and organizational management sectors. He employs a global, strategic mindset to understand the cross-functional impact stakeholders have on each other. In his current role at IEEE, he works with a team to initiate programs and projects in new markets that focus on the needs of industry practitioners. Patrick is working towards completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies from Thomas Edison State University by December 2023.

Head of the Urban Innovation & Sustainability Lab, Porter School for the Environment & Earth Studies, Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Ronen founded the Heschel Center’s Local Sustainability Center, a joint project with the Porter School, the Ministry of the Environment and ICLEI. In 2015 Dr. Ronen drafted the Tel Aviv Yafo Declaration on Civic Engagement and Smart Cities, which is part of the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, she is also drafting Israel’s National Report to Habitat III.

Orli’s research and policy interests include; transition to sustainable and smart urban communities, climate resiliency and expansion of local democratic mechanisms. She holds a PhD in Urban Planning from Tel Aviv University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration as well as a Master’s in Business Administration. She is the 2009 recipient of the Green Globe for Local Sustainability.

Smart City Leader for Guadalajara (Mexico)
Director of the Smart Cities Innovation Center at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico)
Full Professor at the Information Systems Department, University of Guadalajara (Mexico)

Victor M. Larios followed a higher education degree program at the ITESO University in Mexico (B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering), graduating in 1996. In 1997 he received a M.Sc. at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne in France, and then went onto get a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering in 2001. Since 2004, has been a Full Professor at the Information Systems Department at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

In April 2014, Dr. Victor M. Larios founded and became director of the “Smart Cities Innovation Center (SCIC)” at the University of Guadalajara, where he leads a group of researchers in Smart Cities and Information Technologies. The SCIC is a think-thank to help government, industry, and other academic partners to join efforts to improve the quality life and social well-being within an urban environment, by using technology as the core driver for transformation.

His primary research interests are Smart Cities, IoT Distributed Systems, Networking, Multiagent Systems, and Data Visualization using Virtual Reality.

Dr. Larios has published more than 70 papers in international scientific journals and conferences, and has published a book on “Serious Games”. Dr. Larios has ongoing collaborations in projects with High Technology industry and government, using design thinking and agile methodologies to accelerate technology transfer in living labs.

As an entrepreneur, he is the founder and CIO of the consulting company, IDI Smart Cities, which collaborates with Advion Solutions LTD. in Finland. Its main activities are market research, promote scholarships to develop local talent, and support for international projects in Latin American countries and the European Union. One of its key efforts is to introduce the Circular Economic Model as a sustainability component for Mega-Cities.

As a volunteer, Dr. Larios leads technically on the Guadalajara Smart City project for the government, and international ONGs, such as the IEEE. Victor M. Larios is a Senior Member of IEEE with 29 years of membership. Since 2013, he has led the “Guadalajara Core City” in the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative. Dr. Victor M. Larios is also a guest editor at the IEEE IoT Magazine and has been the IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), 2020 general co-chair.

Since July 2019 he has been working together with Joel Myers, Chair of IEEE IoT Initiative for Smart Cities, to develop the “Internet of People” (IoP). A people-centric approach to connecting people within cities to build opportunities and growth, on a business and social level. In March 2020 the first IoP pilot project was launched by the Mexican State Government of Jalisco in order to support and incentivise local economies and communities in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, through the IoP cloud/mobile platform and a pioneering digital micro-currency, called HooziesTM.

Assoc. Prof. and member of the executive committee of the Dept. of Informatics Engineering, and a senior research fellow and member of the directive board of the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Lab at the University of Porto, Portugal

Rosaldo J. F. Rossetti is an associate professor and member of the executive committee of the Department of Informatics Engineering, and a senior research fellow and member of the directive board of the Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science Lab at the University of Porto, Portugal. Dr Rossetti served as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE ITS Society during term 2011-2013 and was a member of the steering committee of the IEEE Smart Cities Initiative from 2013 to 2017. He is currently a co-chair of IEEE ITS Society’s Artificial Transportation Systems and Simulation Technical Activities Committee, for which he received the Best TAC Award in 2017. He has served as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems and the ITS Department editor of the IEEE Intelligent System Magazine. Dr Rossetti’s primary research interests include behavioural modelling, social simulation, and machine learning. He focuses on the applications of multiagent systems as a modelling metaphor to address issues in artificial transportation systems, future mobility paradigms, urban smartification, and explores the potential uses of serious games and gamification in mobility systems and sustainable development. He is also a member of ACM, APPIA (the Portuguese AI Society), and the European Social Simulation Association. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from INF-UFRGS, Brazil, and developed his doctoral research within Leeds University’s Institute for Transport Studies, UK.

Digital Ecosystems Expert out of Digital National Alliance, Bulgaria 

Monika Manolova holds a PhD in geographic information systems (GIS) from Sofia University  ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, has graduated with excellence as  M.Sc. in Planning and Governance of Territorial Systems and has experience in multitude of international Horizon Europe projects. Apart from her technical background, Monika is a Digital ecosystems expert for the Digital National Alliance in Bulgaria, a member of the DIH AgroHub, a member of the EIP SCC group on smart mobility, the EIP SCC group on citizen control of personal data, an MKAI Champion (2021) and mission-driven contributor for education and open innovations in ML, data science, and AI. 

Researcher at the Urban Innovation & Sustainability Lab, Porter School for the Environment & Earth Studies at Tel Aviv University

Avigdor is passionate about creating engaging sustainable environments for work, learning and urban life wellbeing with an ecosystems approach. He is a researcher at the Urban Innovation & Sustainability Lab, Porter School for the Environment & Earth Studies at Tel Aviv University, project leader at the SME4SMARTCITIES innovation project, Environment & Sustainability associate at the Israel Smart Cities Institute and a member of the ISO Knowledge Management expert committee.

Former Dean, ENSIAS College of Engineering, Mohamed V University in Rabat
Former Director International Coop. at Ministry of General Affairs & Governance, Morocco
Founder & Former Chair of IEEE Morocco

Mohamed Essaaidi, Prof. Dr. IEEE Senior Member, received the “Licence de Physique” degree, the “Doctorat de Troisième Cycle” degree and the “Doctorat d’Etat” degree in Electrical Engineering and with honors, respectively, in 1988, 1992 and 1997 from Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetuan, Morocco. He is a professor of Electrical Engineering in Abdelmalek Essaadi University since 1993.

He is the founder and former Chair of the IEEE Morocco Section since November 2004. He is the founder and the General Chair of Mediterranean Microwave Symposium (MMS) since the year 2000, the co-founder and the General Chair of Information and Communication technologies International Symposium (ICTIS) since 2005, and NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Information Security Assurance Co-director, Tetuan, June 3-6, 2005. He is the Chairman of the Scientific Committees of SETIT’07, SETIT’09 (Tunisia) and e-MEDISYS’07 (Morocco) and e-MEDISYS’09 (Tunisia) as well. He was also a member of the Organizing and the Scientific Committees of several international symposia and conferences dealing with topics related with RF, microwaves and Information and Communication technologies and their applications. Furthermore, he is a referee of the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Advanced Computational Electromagnetics Society Journal, European Microwave Association Proceedings, Serbian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute Journal.

Professor Essaaidi is a member of IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, IEEE Communications Society and European Microwave Association. His biography was listed in Who’s Who in The World in 1999. He is also the co-founder and the current coordinator of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) RD&I network on Electrotechology. His research interests focus mainly on RF and microwave passive and active circuits and antennas for wireless communications and medical systems.

He was the editor of the MS2000 Proceedings, the co-editor of the MMS’2002, ICTIS’05 and ICTIS’07 Proceedings and MMS’2006 special issue of the European Microwave Association Proceedings. He is the author and co-author of more than 80 papers which appeared in refereed specialized journals and symposia. He was the co-editor of the book “Information Assurance and Computer Security”, IOS Press, 2007. He was also the co-editor of the book “New Trends in Biomedical Engineering”, AEU Publications, 2004 and the author of 3 book chapters. He was a Guest-Editor of special issues of European Microwave Journal (2007), International Journal Of Computer Science Applications (2007,2008) and International Journal on Computer Science and Information Systems (2008). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Information and Communication Technologies (Serials Publications, India) since November 2007.

Former Chair of the IEEE African Council 

Asst Professor Ray Walshe, Director of European Observatory for ICT Standards (EUOS) 

Vincent Kaabunga is a Knowledge Management and Organizational Development Specialist with cross-training in Engineering, Management and M&E. He studied Electrical Engineering at Makerere University and pursued post-graduate studies in Information Technology at the University of Pretoria and Strategic Business Management training at the Strathmore Business School. 

Vincent is a Telecommunications Engineer and a Senior Member of the IEEE. He has worked extensively in a professional capacity across Eastern and Southern Africa, and in South East Asia. He has over 20 years of experience in sustainable development and organizational capacity development. 

He is a member of the IEEE Communications Society, the IEEE Computer Society, the IEEE Standards Association and IEEE Women in Engineering. He has served as liaison to the IEEE Board of Directors, Chair of the IEEE Kenya Section, and in various regional capacities. He has actively led and supported efforts on the ground that have seen the formation of new IEEE Sections, Student Branches, local Technical Chapters and, most recently, the IEEE Africa Council. 

Technology Philanthropist, Innovation & Standardization Evangelist 

Kishor is currently leading the Smart Cities Standardization Globally as Vice Chair – Strategy & Convener of Reference Architecture Work Group in IEC Systems Committee on Smart Cities and Project Leader of IEC Standards – IEC TS 63188 ED1 – Smart Cities Reference Architecture Methodology & IEC 63205 ED1 – Smart Cities Reference Architecture; and also, as Co-editor of a few ISO Standards in ISO/IEC JTC1 Committees. Member Steering Committee – OCEANIS (The Open Community for Ethics in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems); Member UL STP 3600 on ‘Measuring and Reporting Circular Economy Aspects of Products, Sites and Organizations’. And Standards Column Editor in IEEE IoT magazine. 

At the National level, he is leading the Smart Cities Standardization work in ICT & Electrotechnology domains as the Chairman of LITD 28 – Sectional Committee on Smart Infrastructure at BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), where the main focus is on Standards development for Unified & Secure ICT Architecture for Smart Cities/ Infrastructure. 

Professionally, Kishor is Technology Consultant, Mentor & Design Architect in Electrical, Electronics & ICT with over 40 years of professional experience in education, research, design and consulting. Over 30 years of hardcore Research and Design Development Experience in Solutions, Systems, Products, Hardware, Software & Firmware (Embedded Software) in fields of Industrial, Power, IT, Telecom, Medical, Energy and Environment, and over 10 years of Consultancy Experience to different segments of business & industry.  He has over 200 Research & Design Mentees in the Electronics, ICT & STI Ecosystems. Professionally, he is an Electronics Design Engineer practicing design & development of a wide spectrum of Products, Systems & Solutions as an Independent Design House – NARNIX since 1981. 

Beyond designing & developing some of the most innovative systems & solutions, kishor has developed some complex IPs in Design Architectures in the Fields of High Frequency Power Electronics, Neutral Access Network Operation, Last Mile Communication, Smart Utility Management & Smart Infrastructure. 

For last 10 years, deeply involved in Standardization in the Electrical, Electronics, Communication and Information Technology Domains with focus on Identifying Gaps in Standards to address Interoperable Systems & Solutions Deployments and bring Harmonization by defining standardized interfaces to ensure End-to-End Interoperability. 

Currently, Kishor is developing a Comprehensive “5G inclusive ICT Architecture for Critical Infrastructure” and leading the 5G Application Layer Standards development in India. 

Director of European Observatory for ICT Standards (EUOS)

Ray is Senior Researcher in the ADAPT Research Centre in Dublin City University (DCU), IRELAND. He began his career in industry as a software engineer, software consultant and project manager with LM Ericsson, Software and Systems Engineering Limited and Siemens. Joining the School of Computing DCU in 1995 he delivers AI, IoT and Data Governance modules on Undergraduate, Masters, and PhD Programmes and is current (2021) Chair of the Graduate Diploma in Web Technologies. Ray is Chair of Big Data Value Association (BDVA/DAIRO) Standards Task Force, Chair of Network Development @ Gender Responsive Standards at UNECE (United Nations Economic Committee for Europe), Chair of the External Advisory Board of StandICT.eu, Chair of the Foresight Committee for EUOS, Research Partner in StandICT2023.eu and Co-Lead on ELITE-S Fellowship Project for Emerging Technologies Standardization (Elite-Fellowships.eu). Ray has been a Digital Leader with World Economic Forum since 2016 and was appointed to the IEEE European Public Policy Committee on ICT in 2019 as the AI WG Lead for IEEE EPPC. Ray was also appointed in 2020 to the OECD Network of Experts (ONE AI) and in 2021 became a member of Strategic Advisory Board of JTC 21 Artificial Intelligence for European Standards Organisation CEN CENELEC. Ray is currently (2021) serving on the Geo-Political Standards Advisory Group (GCSAG) for the European Commission and is a member of the EC Multi Stakeholder Platform Task Force for the Rolling Plan for ICT Standardization.  

Founder of Karugrid – Former Chief Architect of Nokia (Finland) 

Heikki is passionate about decentralized solutions, i.e. turning mobile networks and off-grid power systems into consumer products that can be installed and operated without technical expertise. 

 Heikki has more than 30 years of experience in telecom. He is one of the pioneers in IP connectivity for mobile networks with publications and patents in this field. 

 Prior to co-founding Poutanet, SmartPTO and Karugrid he was leading mobile network architecture design at Nokia and pushing open source and openness initiatives including the Telecom Infra Project (TIP). 

Chair of Advisory Board, Earth 3.0 Foundation, UK 

After more than two decades of scientific and academic activities, in 2021 co-funds Earth 3.0 Foundation with the mission of supporting the digital transformation journey in Africa. His main interests are in sustainable development, digital twin paradigm and systems innovation, both for local communities and enterprises. 

Professor of Foundations of Computer Science and AI, former Secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil 

Luis Lamb is Professor of Foundations of Computer Science and AI, former Secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (01/2019-01/2022), and Vice President of Research (2016-2018) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. He was Dean (Director) of the Institute of Informatics (2011-2016), ex officio (2011-2016) and Elected Member (2010-2012; 2018-2022) of the University Council at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. He has also been Deputy Dean of the Institute of Informatics at UFRGS. 

In government, Lamb led the formulation, development, and implementation of a four-year public program on Innovation, Science, and Technology for the 11.5 million people state of Rio Grande do Sul. Lamb planned, led, and managed the State Regional Innovation Program INOVARS, involving over 100 cities across all regions of the state, based on Smart Specialization Strategies (EU/OECD), MIT regional innovation approach, and n-helix approaches from the innovation and development literature. He also implemented state programs for future technologies with high potential of economic impact, involving university and industry R&D collaboration, startups and open innovation, innovative education, international cooperation among innovation ecosystems, premium value-added product certification, high speed internet for state schools, and the new state law for incentives to science, technology, and innovation. He also chaired the State Council of Science and Technology from January 2019 to January 2022. During the pandemic, he chaired the state’s data committee (Dec. 2020 to Jan. 2021) and the state’s 50+ members scientific committee in from March 2020 and to January 2022. 

CEO, Cybertrust America; Co-Chair, NIST GCTC: Smart Security and Privacy 

Lan Jenson is the CEO of Adaptable Security Corp (ADA for short), a nonprofit matching cybersecurity and privacy experts to smaller businesses, governments and people’s needs. ADA accomplishes its goals in partnership with governments such as NIST, DHS, City of San Jose, professional and civic organizations such as ISC2, PCI, Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), SVCTBA and SBDC Silicon Valley. 

Lan Jenson has extensive policy experience in government, nonprofit and private sectors. Lan currently serves as co-chair of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Advisory Committee for NIST/DHS Smart Secure Cities and Communities Challenge. Lan is also a board member with ISC2 Silicon Valley Chapter. As a certified information security professional (CISSP) since 2009, Ms. Jenson has led many risk management, policy and compliance initiatives in cybersecurity. Her analysis enabled the Secret Service to arrest hackers. Lan Jenson advanced to leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies including FM Global, Charles Schwab and Cisco Systems. 

Throughout her career, Lan Jenson has been a faithful champion of the cause best summarized by Thomas Jefferson, “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate power of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise that control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not take it from them, but to inform their discretion.” As Founder and CEO of The Flatter World Scholarship, Ms. Jenson pioneered a model that has helped thousands of high school students pursue education instead of dropping out of school. Lan Jenson received her Master’s in Management of Information Systems from Boston University. 

Digital Ecosystems Expert out of Digital National Alliance, Bulgaria 

Monika Manolova holds a PhD in geographic information systems (GIS) from Sofia University  ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, has graduated with excellence as  M.Sc. in Planning and Governance of Territorial Systems and has experience in multitude of international Horizon Europe projects. Apart from her technical background, Monika is a Digital ecosystems expert for the Digital National Alliance in Bulgaria, a member of the DIH AgroHub, a member of the EIP SCC group on smart mobility, the EIP SCC group on citizen control of personal data, an MKAI Champion (2021) and mission-driven contributor for education and open innovations in ML, data science, and AI. 

Events Planner and Manager 

Whitney has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Baker University. She has worked in the marketing and event planning industry for over 12 years with an emphasis in association management and hospitality. She currently resides in Kansas, USA with her daughter, Grace. 

Full Stack Developer

Uday is Full Stack web designer & coder having more than 6 year of experience. In past 6 years of working he created wide range of applications in domain & area of Social Networking, Video Community, Video Live Streaming, Church community, Blogging, E-Commerce, Content Management, Live Chat Scripts, SAAS project management, CRM system, Betting sites.

His detailed Skill Set:
– Front-end Skills: HTML5/CSS3, Javascript/Jquery, Angular JS, Node.JS, Bootstrap
– Coding Framework: Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, BlockChain
– CMS: Magento/Shopify for E-commerce, WordPress
– Design: Instapges, Clickfunnels, Adobe Photoshop
– Payment: Stripe, Paypal, Authorize.net, BlockChain, BitCoins.
– Code Tools: GIT, SVN, AWS, Linux/Unix Hosting, Domain Settings.
– PMS: JIRA, BaseCamp, Asana, Trello
– Zoho CRM Customization and API Integration. Sync between zoho and other apps.

His role at IEEE is to maintaining websites. His duties include working closely with web professionals to design or update IEEE websites, fixing website errors and creating new pages. He is also responsible for monitoring website traffic and creating features to track the number of site visitors, clicks or events that occur through the website.

Retired Software Engineer at Google Inc., California, USA 

Susan Dickey has an undergraduate degree in mathematics and Chinese history from Michigan State University and worked as writer and editor for the weekly Lansing Star in the 70s. In the 80s she worked with the NYU Ultracomputer project and earned a Ph.D. In computer science. In the 90s she moved to California, taught at Sonoma State and worked on imaging for embedded systems at Peritek. From 2000 to 2010 she was software functional manager at UC Berkeley PATH, working on automated vehicles and intersection safety. In 2010 she started working at Google, doing data center software. Since her retirement in 2020 she has become interested IEEE SusTech and Planet Positive. She has 3 children and 5 grandchildren and splits her time between family in California and New Jersey.