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. 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.