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W8 - Reconfigurable Multi-Functional Intelligent and Holographic Surfaces for 6G - VTC2026-Fall Boston

VTC2026-Fall Boston > Program > Workshops Currently Available > W8 – Reconfigurable Multi-Functional Intelligent and Holographic Surfaces for 6G

W8 – Reconfigurable Multi-Functional Intelligent and Holographic Surfaces for 6G

Co-organizer: Shuhao Zeng, Princeton University, USA
Co-organizer: Aryan Kaushik, OUF Innovative, UK
Co-organizer: Özlem Tuğfe Demir, Bilkent University, Turkey
Co-organizer: Haobo Zhang, University of Cambridge, UK
Co-organizer: Rang Liu, University of California at Irvine, USA

Technical Program Committee:
Shuhao Zeng, Princeton University, USA
Haobo Zhang, University of Cambridge, UK
Xu Liu, Peking University, China
Weimin Yuan, University of Houston, USA
Yuhao Chen, Princeton University, USA
Yu Zhang, Fisk University, USA
Yi Liu, University of Cambridge, UK
Junlong Wang, Waseda University, Japan

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 serve as pivotal components to support communication, sensing, localization, computing, and control in 6G networks. This workshop seeks to assemble a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary research on leveraging multi-functional RIS/RHS to enable and enhance these diverse functionalities within the 6G landscape.The event facilitates collaborative exchange among researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers through keynote talks, technical sessions, and interactive discussions.

Co-organizer’s Bios:

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. https:/ scholar.google.com.hk/citations?hl=zh-CN&user=7AFp5fkAAAAJ

Aryan Kaushik:

Aryan Kaushik is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at OUF Innovative, UK, since 2026, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at RakFort, Ireland, and Adjunct Professor at IIITD, India, since 2025. He has been an Associate Professor at Manchester Met, UK, from 2024-25, as Assistant Professor (Senior Grade) at the University of Sussex, UK (2021- 24), Research Fellow at the University College London, UK (2020-21), and also associated with University of Edinburgh, UK (2015-19), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong (2014-15). He has held Visiting Professor/Researcher appointments at University of Bologna, Italy (2024), Athena RC, Greece (2021), Imperial College London, UK (2019-20), University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2018), and Beihang University, China (2017-19 and 2022). He has been External Assessor (Academic Promotion) at University of Hertfordshire, UK (2025), External PhD Examiner internationally such as at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden (2025), NITJ, India (2025), and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Spain (2023). He has been World’s Top 2% Scientist (Stanford/Elsevier), Invited Panel Member at the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ICT Prioritisation Panel in 2023, UK EPSRC Proposals Reviewer since 2023, French National Research Agency (ANR) Proposal Reviewer in 2025, Core Member of the IEEE P1955 Standard on 6G-Empowering Robotics, Chair of the IEEE ComSoc ETI on ESIT, Chair of the IEEE ComSoc SIG on AITNTN, Vice Chair of one6G WG3, Founding Member of the IEEE ComSoc SIG on FAS, Elections Committee Member of IEEE ComSoc UK&I Chapter, and Selection Committee Member of IEEE ComSoc Student Competition 2025. He has been Editor of 5 books by Elsevier and Wiley on variety of topics such as ISAC, NTN, ESIT, Intelligent Metasurfaces and Digital Twins/Imaging, and several journals such as IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEECommunications Surveys and Tutorials, IEEE Communications Letters (Exemplary Editor 2025, 2024 and 2023), IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society (Best Editor Award 2024 and 2023), IEEE Internet of Things Magazine (Top Editor Award 2024), IEEE CTN, and several special issues such as in IEEE Wireless Communications, IEEE Network, IEEE Communications Standards Magazine, etc. He is also the founder and host of the IEEE Communications Society Technology News (CTN) Podcasts Series, since 2023. He has been invited/keynote and tutorial speaker for 135+ academic and industry events, and conferences globally such as at IEEE ICC 2024-25, IEEE GLOBECOM 2023-25, etc., and chairing in Organizing and Technical Program Committees of 15+ flagship IEEE conferences such as IEEE ICC 2024-26, IEEE GLOBECOM 2026 etc., and has been General Chair of 30+ workshops & special sessions such as at IEEE ICC 2024-26, IEEE GLOBECOM 2023-25, etc. https://sites.google.com/view/aryankaushik/

Özlem Tuğfe Demir:
Özlem Tuğfe Demir is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkiye. She received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, in 2012, 2014, and 2018, respectively. She was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Linköping University, Sweden in 2019-2020 and at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden in 2021-2022. She was assistant professor at TOBB University of Economics and Technology in 2022-2025. She has co-authored the textbooks Foundations of User-Centric Cell-Free Massive MIMO (2021) and Introduction to Multiple Antenna Communications and Reconfigurable Surfaces (2024). She is dedicated to reproducible research and has published much simulation code. Her research interests focus on signal processing and optimization in wireless communications, massive MIMO, cell-free massive MIMO, beyond 5G multiple antenna technologies, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, near-field communications, and green mobile networks. She is also an Editor of Wireless Communication Theory and Systems for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications. https://sites.google.com/view/otdemir
Haobo Zhang:
Haobo Zhang is a postdoc researcher at University of Cambridge. His research interests include metasurfaces, integrated sensing and communication, and foundation models for wireless systems. He has served as a track/workshop/session chair and TPC Member for several IEEE conferences, including IEEE GLOBECOM, ICC, and VTC. He is also a guest editor for Electronics and an editor for Physical Communications. He is the recipient of IEEE ComSoc TCCN Publication Award in 2025. He has also organized tutorials on reconfigurable holographic surfaces and integrated sensing and communication at several IEEE conferences, including IEEE ICC and CCNC. He received the B.S. degree from the School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, Peking University, Beijing, China, in 2019, and the Ph.D. degree from the School of Electronics, Peking University, in 2024. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=28Z5s5UAAAAJ&hl=en
Rang Liu:
Rang Liu received the B.S. degree in Electronic Information Engineering from Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China, in 2018, and the Ph.D. degree from the School of Information and Communication Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, in 2023. She is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on optimization and signal processing for wireless communication systems, with an emphasis on integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and massive MIMO. She received the National Scholarship in 2020 and 2022, the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the China Education Society of Electronics (CESE) in 2023, and the Exemplary Reviewer Certificate from IEEE Wireless Communications Letters in 2024. She was listed in Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists list in 2024 and 2025. She has organized special sessions at IEEE SAM and IEEE ICASSP and has served as a TPC member for various flagship international conferences. https://rangliu0706.github.io

Paper submission deadline Extended: 19 May 2026 
Acceptance notification: 16 June 2026
Final paper submission deadline: 30 June 2026

Submission requirements: 5-page paper (without overlength charge) and up to 2 additional pages are allowed with the purchase of additional page charges in the amount of $100 USD per additional page at the time of registration and final paper submission.

Paper submission can be located here: https://vtc2026f-rr-wks.trackchair.com/