Prof. Anthony Tzes
New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Biography: Anthony Tzes is a graduate of Electrical & Computer Engineering Department (1985) at University of Patras (UPAT), Greece. He received his doctorate from the Ohio State University in 1990. From 1990 until 1999 he was a tenured associate professor with Polytechnic University, now New York University Tandon School of Engineering. He has been a Visiting Professor (2009-2013) at University of Loughborough, UK and a Professor at UPAT since 1999. He has been the Chairman of IEEE's Control Systems Society Greek Chapter, a member of the national (Greek) committee of the European Control Association (EUCA), member of several committees of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), and the national representative (2006-2009) to EU's FP7's thematic area "Regions of Knowledge, Research Potential and Coherent Development of Policies." He has served in various positions (Program Chairman (MIM'00), Organizing Committee Chairman (ECC'07), General Chairman (MED2011), Program Chairman (MED2015), and as IPC-member at several international conferences.
Research interests include UAVs, Cooperative Control of Networked Systems, Surgical Robots, Mechatronics, and Control engineering applications. Professor Tzes has received research funding from various organizations including NASA, the National (US) Science Foundation, the European Union (Horizon2020), and the European Space Agency (ESA). He has over ten years of experience as the director of the Instrumentation and Control Laboratory at Polytechnic University, focusing on smart sensors and self-tuning systems. Concurrently, he served as the principal investigator of the Urban Intelligent Transportation Systems Center in New York, NY. While in Greece, he is the leader and principal investigator of the Applied Networked Mechatronics Systems group. He has authored more than 80 (240) papers published in international journals (conferences). He has received various awards as co-author of published articles including the best paper published in 2014 in IET Control, Theory & Applications and the ECC 2003 IST Prize Award. He has served on the editorial board of several journals (e.g., IEEE Control Systems Magazine, Circuits Systems, and Computers, Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks).
Prof. Dan Zhang
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Biography: Professor Dan Zhang is a Chair Professor of Intelligent Robotics and Automation, and Director of PolyU-Nanjing Technology and Innovation Research Institute, Director of Consortium for Intelligent Robotics Research at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Laval University, Canada in 2000. He joined Ontario Tech University (OTU), Canada, as Assistant Professor in 2004 and was promoted to Associate Professor and Professor in 2006 and 2011 respectively. During the appointment period in OTU, he also served as Founding Chair in the Department of Automotive, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (2012 – 2014) and was awarded the Canada Research Chair in Advanced Robotics and Automation (2009 – 2015). Since 2016, he transferred to York University, Canada as a Kaneff Professor and also took up the role of Department Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 2016 to 2018. Thereafter, he was awarded the Tier 1 York Research Chair in Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics in 2017.
Professor Zhang's research interests include synthesis and optimization of parallel and hybrid mechanisms; generalized parallel mechanisms research; reconfigurable robots; innovation design of parallel robots: parallelization of serial robots; micro/nano manipulation and mems devices (e.g., sensors); rescue robots; smart biomedical instruments (e.g., exoskeleton robots and rehabilitation robotics); AI/robotics/autonomous systems; Aerial and Underwater Robotics; Artificial Intelligence for Robotics; intelligent reconfigurable adaptive landing gear and manipulator (manipulander).
Professor Zhang is a well-accomplished educator and an internationally renowned expert in the areas of parallel robotic machines and their applications in manufacturing systems. His influential scientific contributions have led to novel robotic system designs and development of new comprehensive models for better understanding of globe stiffness and robotic calibrations. His research applications have tackled some of the world's most challenging problems in high dynamic performance manufacturing robotic systems. His leadership has resulted in significant contributions to the areas of robotics, mechatronics, reconfigurable/sustainable manufacturing systems and MEMS devices. His accomplishments have been recognized by many honors and awards including Canada Research Chair, Research Excellence Awards, Tier 1 York Research Chair, Lassonde Innovation Awards --- Established Researcher, Early Researcher Award by Ministry of Research and Innovation, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Fellow of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME).
Professor Zhang has published 316 journal papers and 202 conference papers, 12 books, 9 book chapters and numerous other technical publications. Professor Zhang has served as a General Chair for 106 International Conferences and delivered 186 keynote speeches. Professor Zhang is listed as the World’s Top Two Percent Researchers by Stanford’s Standardized Citation Indicators in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Prof. Mohd Rizal Arshad
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China
Biography: Professor Mohd Rizal Arshad is the Dean of the School of Robotics at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China. He received his B.Eng. in Medical Electronics and Instrumentation and PhD in Electronic Engineering from the University of Liverpool, UK, and an MSc in Electronic Control Engineering from the University of Salford, UK.
With more than 25 years of experience in robotics research and development, Professor Arshad's work spans intelligent robotics, autonomous marine systems, instrumentation, intelligent control, and AI-enabled robotic perception. His research bridges fundamental robotics with real-world industrial applications, particularly in challenging marine and underwater environments where sensing, navigation, control, and system reliability remain critical technological barriers.
His current interests include autonomous underwater and surface vehicles, marine inspection robotics, underwater sensing and mapping, bio-inspired intelligent systems, and the adaptation of land-based robotic technologies for ocean engineering applications. He has led numerous multidisciplinary research and industrial projects involving intelligent robotic systems for environmental monitoring, infrastructure inspection, and maritime operations.
Professor Arshad is a Chartered Engineer (UK), Chartered Marine Engineer (IMarEST), Professional Engineer (Malaysia), Professional Technologist (Malaysia), Senior Member of IEEE, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (F.ASc), Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (FIMarEST), Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (FAAIA), and recipient of the 2019 IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Presidential Award.
Dr. Teo Chek Sing
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR), Singapore
Biography: Dr Teo Chek Sing is the Research Division Director for the Smart Robotics and Automation Division at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR – SIMTech and ARTC). With nearly two decades of experiences in translational research, he is leading the division to focus on driving industrial impact through technological innovations. The division’s current works centre on three pillars: 1) advancing embodied AI for advanced manufacturing, 2) deploying AI-based robotics technologies and humanoids in industrial applications, and 3) democratizing AI-enabled robotics platform solutions to achieve composable and ubiquitous automation.
His research passion lies at the intersection of precision mechatronics and advanced motion control. More recently, by incorporating AI elements into advanced motion control and precision mechatronics system design, he is seeking to enabled smarter robotics solutions for advanced manufacturing processes, which learns and adapts to unstructured / high variability requirements. He is committed to bridging the gap between research and industry application, translating advanced manufacturing concepts into high-performance technologies that enhance industrial productivity and competitiveness. Furthermore, his work extends beyond isolated technological breakthroughs; focusing also on building a vibrant ecosystem through resilient, competent local supply chain upskilling to sustain manufacturing impact.
Assoc. Prof. Jen Jen Chung
The University of Queensland, Australia
Biography: Jen Jen Chung is an Associate Professor in Mechatronics within the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Queensland, and she is also a Visiting Scientist at CSIRO. Her current research interests include perception, planning and learning for robotic mobile manipulation, algorithms for robot navigation through human crowds, informative path planning and adaptive sampling. Prior to working at UQ, Jen Jen was a Senior Researcher in the Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) at ETH Zürich from 2018-2022 and was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Oregon State University researching multiagent learning methods from 2014-2017. She completed her Ph.D. on information-based exploration-exploitation strategies for autonomous soaring platforms at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics in the University of Sydney. She received her Ph.D. (2014) and B.E. (2010) from the University of Sydney.