Title: Shaping the Wireless World: Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces and the Road to 6G
Abstract: As we move beyond 5G, the vision of sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks brings a radical transformation in how we develop connectivity. Future applications—from immersive virtual reality to autonomous vehicles and real-time remote surgery—will demand extreme performance in terms of speed, reliability, and responsiveness. Meeting these challenges requires not just faster networks, but smarter environments. This seminar focuses on Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces (IRS)—engineered surfaces that can control how wireless signals propagate in space—as one of the key technologies shaping the future of wireless communication. We will explore how IRS can help build more adaptive and efficient wireless infrastructures. Emphasis will be placed on how these technologies aim at supporting the most demanding 6G use cases, such as connected autonomous vehicles, and the possibilities offered by the experimental infrastructure available within the Center of Excellence EX-EMERGE at the University of L’Aquila. The talk will bridge concepts from electromagnetism, signal processing, and networking offering an accessible overview of one of the most exciting frontiers in telecommunications.
Bio: Piergiuseppe Di Marco received the M.Sc. degree in telecommunications engineering from the University of L’Aquila, Italy, and the Ph.D. degree in telecommunications from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, in 2008 and 2013, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor of telecommunications with the University of L’Aquila. His research interests include modeling, design, and optimization in wireless networks, communication and control co-design, and machine learning. He received the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-hoc and Sensor Systems in 2009, the IEEE Sweden VT-COM-IT Chapter Award in 2014, and the IEEE Italy ComSoc/VTS Chapter Award in 2020. In 2022, he joined the editorial board of IEEE COMMUNICATIONS LETTERS.
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