Keynote Speaker
Prof. Makoto Iwasaki
Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
Bio: Makoto Iwasaki received his B.S., M.S., and Dr. Eng. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Nagoya Institute of Technology (NIT), Japan, in 1986, 1988, and 1991, respectively. He is currently Vice President of NIT, responsible for international affairs, and a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. As an active contributor to the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES), he has served in various leadership roles, including Chair of the IES Fellow Evaluation Committee (2022–2023), Co-Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (2016–2022), and Vice President for Planning and Development (2018–2021), among others. He was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 2015 for his "contributions to fast and precise positioning in motion controller design." He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) and a member of the Science Council of Japan. Dr. Iwasaki has received numerous prestigious academic, foundation, and government awards, including the Best Paper and Technical Awards from IEEJ, the Nagamori Award, the Ichimura Prize, and the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Japanese Minister of Education. He has also been recognized in the World’s Top 2% Scientists 2024 by Stanford University and Elsevier. His current research interests focus on the application of advanced control theories to linear and nonlinear modeling, precision positioning, and intelligent motion control, through extensive collaboration with industry.
Prof. Wei-Hsin Liao
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Bio: Wei-Hsin Liao received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA. At Penn State University, he received the Inventor Incentive Award and Sigma Xi Graduate Research Award. Since August 1997, Dr. Liao has been with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he was Department Chairman of Mechanical and Automation Engineering from August 2018 to July 2024. His research has led to publications of over 400 technical papers in international journals and conference proceedings, and 27 patents. He was the Conference Chair for the 20th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies in 2009; the Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, SPIE Smart Structures/NDE in 2014 and 2015. He received the T A Stewart-Dyer/F H Trevithick Prize 2005, awarded by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). He is a recipient of the 2008 Best Paper Award in Structures, 2017 Best Paper Award in Mechanics and Material Systems, 2021 Energy Harvesting Best Paper Award, and 2023 Best Paper Award in Structures and Structural Dynamics, from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). At CUHK, Prof. Liao was awarded the Young Researcher Award 2007, the Research Excellence Award (2010-11), and Outstanding Fellow of the Faculty of Engineering (2014-19). As the Chair of Joint Chapter of Robotics, Automation and Control Systems Society (RACS), IEEE Hong Kong Section, Dr. Liao received 2012 Chapter of the Year Award from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. Prof. Liao is the recipient of 2020 ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Award and 2018 SPIE SSM Lifetime Achievement Award, to recognize his outstanding contributions to the advancement of smart structures and materials. He is also the recipient of 2023 ASME Leonardo Da Vinci Award for the eminent achievement in the design and invention which are universally recognized as an important advance in machine design. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, and on the Executive Editorial Board of Smart Materials and Structures. Dr. Liao is a Fellow of ASME, HKIE, and IOP.