Prof.Mohammad S. Obaidat, University of Jordan, Jordan

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat ( Life Fellow of IEEE) is recognized around the World for his pioneering and lasting contributions to several areas in ICT. He is an internationally known academic/researcher/ scientist/scholar. He received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering with a minor in Computer Science from The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA. He has received extensive research funding and published, to date, over One Thousand and three hundred (1,300) refereed technical articles —about half of which are journal articles, over 110 books, and 70 Book Chapters. He is the Editor-in-Chief of three scholarly journals and an editor of numerous other international journals.  He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Wiley International Journal of Communication Systems and Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Wiley Security and Privacy Journal. He is also the founding Advisory Editor of the Cybersecurity and Applications Journal, KeAi.

Moreover, he is founder or co-founder of 5 IEEE International Conferences.

Among his previous positions are Advisor to the President of Philadelphia University for Research, Development and Information Technology, President and Chair of Board of Directors of the Society for Molding and Simulation International(SCS), Senior Vice President of SCS, SCS VP for Membership and SCS VP for Conferences, Dean of the College of Engineering at Prince Sultan University, Founding Dean of the College of Computing and Informatics at The University of Sharjah, Chair and tenured Professor at the Department of Computer and Information Science and Director of the MS Graduate Program in Data Analytics at Fordham university, Chair and tenured Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Director of the Graduate Program at Monmouth University, Chair and Professor of Computer Science Department at University of Texas-Permian Basin, Distinguished Professor at IIT-Dhanbad, Tenured Full Professor at King Abdullah II School of Information Technology (KASIT), University of Jordan, The PR of China Ministry of Education Distinguished Overseas Professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, China and an Honorary Distinguished Professor at the Amity University- A Global University. He is now a Distinguished Professor at KASIT, University of Jordan. He is also a Distinguished Professor at SRM University, the University of Science and Technology Beijing, and Amity University.

He has chaired numerous (Over 185) international conferences and has given numerous (Over 185) keynote speeches worldwide. He has served as an ABET/CSAB evaluator and on the IEEE CS Fellow Evaluation Committee. He has served as an IEEE CS Distinguished Speaker/Lecturer and an ACM Distinguished Lecturer. Since 2004, he has been serving as an SCS Distinguished Lecturer. He received many best paper awards for his papers, including ones from IEEE ICC, IEEE Globecom, AICSA, CITS, SPECTS, DCNET, IEEE ICCCA, and international conferences. He also received Best Paper awards from the IEEE Systems Journal in 2018 and in 2019 (2 Best Paper Awards). In 2020, he received 4 best paper awards from IEEE Systems Journal, and in 2021 received the best paper award from IEEE Systems Journal.

During his tenure as Founding Dean of the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of Sharjah, the Computer Sciences program has been ranked by Times for Higher Education (THE) as NUMBER 1 in the UAE and for the first time in the history of the University.

He also received many other worldwide awards for his technical contributions including: The 2018 IEEE ComSoc-Technical Committee on Communications Software 2018 Technical Achievement Award for contribution to Cybersecurity, Wireless Networks Computer Networks and Modeling and Simulation, SCS prestigious McLeod Founder's Award, Presidential Service Award, SCS Hall of Fame –Lifetime Achievement Award for his technical contribution to modeling and simulation and for his outstanding visionary leadership and dedication to increasing the effectiveness and broadening the applications of modeling and simulation worldwide. He also received the SCS Outstanding Service Award. He was awarded the IEEE CITS Hall of Fame Distinguished and Eminent Award.

He also received the Nokia Distinguished Fellowship Award and Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award, among others.

He has been listed on the World's Top Career-long 2% Scientists as per Elsevier/Stanford University’s list since its inception.

Professor Obaidat has been ranked recently by ScholarGPS as the Lifetime scholar in the World in Telecommunications Systems Management and the top scholar in Telecommunications in the World in the prior 5 Years. He is also ranked in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide according to the most recent 2025 ScholarGPS.

For the past several years, including 2025, he has been ranked by research.com agency as the number ONE Computer Scientist and number ONE Scholar in Electronics and Electrical Engineering in Jordan.

In recognition of his significant scientific contribution, Springer published recently a book honoring his contributions in Computing, Informatics, Networking, and Cybersecurity. It is entitled: Advances in Computing, Informatics, Networking and Cybersecurity - A Book Honoring Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat’s Significant Scientific Contributions. Prof. Obaidat is a Life Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of AAIA, a Fellow of FTRA, a Fellow of AIIA, and a Fellow of SCS.

Prof. Claudio Cañizares, University of Waterloo, Canada

Dr. Claudio Cañizares is a University Professor and the Hydro One Endowed Chair at the Electrical and Computer Engineering (E&CE) Department, and the Executive Director of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) at the University of Waterloo, where he has held various academic and administrative positions since 1993 and has received multiple recognitions, in particular the 2021-2022 Awards of Excellence in Graduate Supervision from both the University and the Faculty of Engineering. He obtained the Electrical Engineer degree from the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN) in Quito-Ecuador in 1984, where he held different academic and administrative positions between 1983 and 1993, and his MSc (1988) and PhD (1991) degrees in Electrical Engineering are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research activities focus on the study of stability, control, optimization, modeling, simulation, and computational issues in bulk power systems, microgrids, and energy systems in the context of net-zero, competitive energy markets, smart grids, and energy access. In these areas, he has led or been an integral part of multiple grants and contracts from government agencies and private companies worth over $92 million CAD, and has collaborated with various industry and university partners in Canada and abroad, supervising/co-supervising over 190 research fellows and graduate students. He has authored/co-authored over 400 publications with close to 39,000 citations and an 88 h-index, including journal and conference papers, technical reports, book chapters, disclosures, and patents, and has been invited to deliver keynote speeches, seminars, tutorials, and presentations at many prestigious venues worldwide.

Dr. Cañizares was the 2020-2024 Editor-In-Chief of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (IEEE) Transactions on Smart Grid, the 2022-2023 IEEE Division VII Director of the IEEE and Power & Energy Society (PES) Boards, and is the 2025 Vice-Chair and 2026 Chair of the IEEE Technologies for a Sustainable Climate Matrix Organization (TSCMO). He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, where he was the Director of the Applied Science and Engineering Division of the Academy of Science from 2017 to 2020, and a Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering. He is also the recipient of the 2025 IEEE PES Ramakumar Family Renewable Energy Excellence Award, the 2017 IEEE PES Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award, the 2016 IEEE Canada Electric Power Medal, and of multiple IEEE PES awards and recognitions, holding leadership positions in several IEEE and PES Committees, Working Groups, and Task Forces.

Title: The Energy Transition in Canada and the Role of the IEEE in the World's Decarbonization

Abstract: This talk will provide an overview of Canadian provincial and remote community power grids, and a detailed discussion of Ontario's provincial grid, market, and future expansion plans, in the context of zero-emission power systems as the backbone of the energy transition. A critical overview of the decarbonization status and policies for energy systems in Canada will be also presented, focusing on zero-emission power grid, EV, and Hydrogen plans and strategies to enable a Net-Zero 2050.   Furthermore, the role that the IEEE is playing in decarbonization efforts across the globe will be discussed, providing an overview of relevant initiatives led by the Institute. Finally, concluding remarks will include a personal plea for a commitment to eliminating emissions in our daily energy use and to getting involved in relevant IEEE decarbonization programs and initiatives.

Keywords: Net-Zero, Energy Transition, Canada, Ontario, decarbonization, IEEE.