Keynote Speakers
Prof. Mauro
Vallati
University of Huddersfield, UK
Mauro Vallati is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and ACM Distinguished Speaker on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the UK. He is a Professor of AI at the University of Huddersfield, where he leads the Autonomous Intelligent Systems research center and the AI for Urban Traffic Control research team. Prof Vallati has extensive experience in real-world applications of AI methods and techniques, spanning from healthcare to train dispatching. In 2014, he started working on AI applied to the field of urban traffic control, a line of research that led to numerous high-impact academic publications, patents filed in the United Kingdom, China, and the United States, as well as the deployment of the resulting techniques in urban areas of the United Kingdom.
University of Huddersfield, UK
Mauro Vallati is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and ACM Distinguished Speaker on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the UK. He is a Professor of AI at the University of Huddersfield, where he leads the Autonomous Intelligent Systems research center and the AI for Urban Traffic Control research team. Prof Vallati has extensive experience in real-world applications of AI methods and techniques, spanning from healthcare to train dispatching. In 2014, he started working on AI applied to the field of urban traffic control, a line of research that led to numerous high-impact academic publications, patents filed in the United Kingdom, China, and the United States, as well as the deployment of the resulting techniques in urban areas of the United Kingdom.
Prof. Dezong Zhao
University of Glasgow, UK
Dr. Dezong Zhao is a Professor of Autonomous Systems at the James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, UK. He obtained his BEng and MSc degrees from Shandong University and his PhD degree from Tsinghua University, all in Control Engineering. His research focuses on autonomous vehicles, robotics, machine intelligence, control engineering, and digital twinning. He was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship in 2025, a Turing Fellowship in 2024, a Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship in 2020, and an EPSRC Innovation Fellowship in 2018. He has secured multiple major grants from EPSRC, Innovate UK, the Royal Society, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is a Co-Investigator on the £46m EPSRC Digital Twinning Hub for Decarbonising Transport (2024–2029) and the Glasgow Principal Investigator on the £1.82m EPSRC Network+ Hub on Multimodal AI (2025-2027). He has published over 150 papers in high-impact journals and conferences and has received many accolades.
University of Glasgow, UK
Dr. Dezong Zhao is a Professor of Autonomous Systems at the James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, UK. He obtained his BEng and MSc degrees from Shandong University and his PhD degree from Tsinghua University, all in Control Engineering. His research focuses on autonomous vehicles, robotics, machine intelligence, control engineering, and digital twinning. He was awarded a Royal Academy of Engineering / Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship in 2025, a Turing Fellowship in 2024, a Royal Society-Newton Advanced Fellowship in 2020, and an EPSRC Innovation Fellowship in 2018. He has secured multiple major grants from EPSRC, Innovate UK, the Royal Society, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is a Co-Investigator on the £46m EPSRC Digital Twinning Hub for Decarbonising Transport (2024–2029) and the Glasgow Principal Investigator on the £1.82m EPSRC Network+ Hub on Multimodal AI (2025-2027). He has published over 150 papers in high-impact journals and conferences and has received many accolades.
Assoc. Prof. Lyu Chen
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Dr. LYU, Chen is an Associate Professor at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, with a joint appointment at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He is also the Director of the AutoMan Research Lab, Cluster Director at ERI@N, and Program Lead at the Schaeffler-NTU Joint Lab. Dr. Lyu obtained his Ph.D. in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University, China, with a joint Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Prior to joining NTU, he was a Research Fellow at Cranfield University, UK. His research interests include autonomous driving, human-machine collaboration, robotics, and CPS. He has authored four books, published over 100 papers, and holds 12 patents. He serves as an Associate Editor for top-tier journals, including IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. He is elected as IEEE VTS Motor Vehicles Committee Member, the only delegate from Asia. He has received numerous awards, including the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (2023), the Nanyang Research Award (Young Investigator) in 2022, and the Machines Young Investigator Award (2021).
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Dr. LYU, Chen is an Associate Professor at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, with a joint appointment at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He is also the Director of the AutoMan Research Lab, Cluster Director at ERI@N, and Program Lead at the Schaeffler-NTU Joint Lab. Dr. Lyu obtained his Ph.D. in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University, China, with a joint Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Prior to joining NTU, he was a Research Fellow at Cranfield University, UK. His research interests include autonomous driving, human-machine collaboration, robotics, and CPS. He has authored four books, published over 100 papers, and holds 12 patents. He serves as an Associate Editor for top-tier journals, including IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. He is elected as IEEE VTS Motor Vehicles Committee Member, the only delegate from Asia. He has received numerous awards, including the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (2023), the Nanyang Research Award (Young Investigator) in 2022, and the Machines Young Investigator Award (2021).
Prof. Phil Blythe CBE FREng CEng FIET FCIHT
Newcastle University, UK
Phil is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) at Newcastle University where he leads the Future Mobility Group. Phil’s research focus has been in the interface between policy and technology in areas, such as: connected and autonomous vehicles; electro-mobility; decarbonising transport, smart traffic management, resilience; and age-friendly, accessible transport. Previously, Phil was Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK’s DfT (2015-2021). In this role at the DfT he provides a challenge function to the Department on the use of science and engineering evidence in policy making and also ensuring the Department was best informed on new innovations and technologies that may impact on the delivery of transport schemes and policy, he was also Director of Governments Future Mobility Grand Challenge. In his CSA role, he also led the science team that developed the underpinning science advice for the re-start and recovery of UK Transport during the Covid-19 pandemic and was a member of SAGE throughout the emergency. Phil is currently leading DARe the national Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable and climate Resilient transport Infrastructure funded by the DfT and UKRI. Phil’s research team are also part of the regional innovation activities delivering automated road vehicles and smart traffic management in Sunderland and the NE. Phil is a member of the National Advisory Group helping to deliver the 2027 ITS World Congress in Birmingham. Phil was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to Science and Engineering in Transport and Government.
Newcastle University, UK
Phil is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) at Newcastle University where he leads the Future Mobility Group. Phil’s research focus has been in the interface between policy and technology in areas, such as: connected and autonomous vehicles; electro-mobility; decarbonising transport, smart traffic management, resilience; and age-friendly, accessible transport. Previously, Phil was Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK’s DfT (2015-2021). In this role at the DfT he provides a challenge function to the Department on the use of science and engineering evidence in policy making and also ensuring the Department was best informed on new innovations and technologies that may impact on the delivery of transport schemes and policy, he was also Director of Governments Future Mobility Grand Challenge. In his CSA role, he also led the science team that developed the underpinning science advice for the re-start and recovery of UK Transport during the Covid-19 pandemic and was a member of SAGE throughout the emergency. Phil is currently leading DARe the national Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable and climate Resilient transport Infrastructure funded by the DfT and UKRI. Phil’s research team are also part of the regional innovation activities delivering automated road vehicles and smart traffic management in Sunderland and the NE. Phil is a member of the National Advisory Group helping to deliver the 2027 ITS World Congress in Birmingham. Phil was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to Science and Engineering in Transport and Government.
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