W17: Reconfigurable Multi-Functional Intelligent and Holographic Surfaces for 6G

Co-Organizer: Boya Di, Peking University, China
Co-Organizer: Liang Liu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Co-Organizer: Qurrat-Ul-Ain Nadeem, New York University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Co-Organizer: Shuhao Zeng, Princeton University, USA

Abstract: The sixth generation (6G) wireless communication networks are envisioned to create an intelligent and multi-functional digital ecosystem with sensing, localization, controlling, computing and communication functionalities. The 6G systems are expected to fulfill more stringent requirements than 5G systems, on transmission capacity, reliability, latency, coverage, energy consumption, and connection density. To tackle this, advanced 6G communication and networking operations are required to utilize novel solutions with intelligent yet energy- and hardware-efficient techniques. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) leverage smart radio surfaces with high number of small antennas or metamaterial elements based on a programmable structure that can be used to control the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Reconfigurable holographic surfaces (RHS) with multiple input multiple output (MIMO) setup are composed of numerous metamaterial radiation elements integrated in a holographic pattern to generate beams with desirable directions. These intelligent and holographic surfaces will play a pivotal role in advanced 6G communication systems and networks. In this workshop, we seek to assemble key interdisciplinary and wider spectrum of research on achieving cross-cutting RIS/RHS-based 6G wireless communications and networking. The event facilitates collaborative exchange among researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers through keynote talks, technical sessions, and interactive discussions.

Co-Organizer’s Bios:

Boya Di

Boya Di received B.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Peking University, in 2014 and 2019, respectively, where she is currently an assistant
professor with School of Electronics. Her current research interests include reconfigurable metasurfaces enabled communications and sensing, aerial access networks, Internet of Things. She is the recipient of 2022 IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Outstanding Young Researcher Award, 2021 IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Outstanding Paper Award, 2023 IEEE ComSoc TCCN Publication Award, 2024 IEEE GLOBECOM Best Paper Award, and 2024 IEEE ICCC Best Demo Award. She has served as a symposium chair for IEEE GLOBECOM 2025 and a workshop co-chair for many IEEE conferences. She is currently an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, Internet of Things Journal.

Liang Liu

Liang Liu received the B.Eng. degree from Tianjin University, China, in 2010, and the Ph.D. degree from the National University of Singapore, Singapore, in 2014. From 2015 to 2017, he was a Post-
Doctoral Fellow with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto. From 2017 to 2018, he was a Research Fellow with the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, National University of Singapore. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is the coauthor of the book Next Generation Multiple Access (Wiley-IEEE Press). His research interests include next generation cellular technologies, such as machine-type communications for the Internet of Things and integrated sensing and communication. He was a recipient of the 2021 IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award, the 2017 IEEE Signal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award, the Best Student Award of 2022 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP), and the Best Paper Award of the 2011 International Conference on Wireless Communications and Signal Processing. He was recognized by the Clarivate Analytics as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2018. He was a Leading Guest Editor of IEEE WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS Special Issue on Massive Machine-Type Communications for IoT. He is an Editor of IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS.

Qurrat-Ul-Ain Nadeem

Qurrat-Ul-Ain Nadeem is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi, and an Associated Faculty at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. From 2019 to
2023, she worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in
electrical engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia in 2015 and 2018 respectively. Her research interests lie in the areas of communication theory, information theory, signal processing, and electromagnetics and antenna theory. She received the prestigious Paul Baron Young Scholar Award by The Marconi Society in 2018 for her work on fulldimension massive MIMO systems. She also received the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship Award in 2021, with her application ranked first among those submitted by female candidates and third overall. She serves as an Editor of IEEE Communications Letters, and as the Lead Guest Editor of the SI on Multi-Function Reconfigurable Intelligent and Holographic Surfaces for 6G Networks in IEEE Network Magazine. She also serves as a co-chair of several tracks and workshops at flagship conferences of IEEE Communications Society including IEEE PIMRC 2023, IEEE ICC 2024, IEEE VTC-Spring 2024 and IEEE WCNC 2024.

Shuhao Zeng

Shuhao Zeng is a postdoc researcher at Princeton University. His current research interests include reconfigurable intelligent surfaces enabled communication and sensing, and aerial access
networks. He received the best doctoral thesis award from Chinese Education Society of Electronics in 2023. He is also the recipient of an Honorary Mention in the 2022 IEEE ComSoc Student Competition. He has served as a track chair and TPC Member for several IEEE conferences. He is currently an Editor for Physical Communication. He received the Ph.D. degree at the School of Electronics at Peking University in 2023. Prior to that, he received the B.S. degree in communications engineering from Peking University in 2018.