Keynote Speaker
Dezhen Song
Biography: Dezhen Song is a Professor and Deputy Chair with Department of Robotics in MBZ University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), Abu Dhabi, UAE, and was a Professor and former Associate Department Head with Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA. Song received his Ph.D. in 2004 from University of California, Berkeley; MS and BS from Zhejiang University in 1998 and 1995, respectively. Song's primary research area is robot perception, networked robots, visual navigation, automation, and stochastic modeling. From 2008 to 2012, Song was an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics (T-RO). From 2010 to 2014, Song was an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE). Song was a Senior Editor for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) from 2017 to 2021 and currently is a Senior Editor for IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE). He is also a multimedia editor and chapter author for Springer Handbook of Robotics. His research has resulted in one monograph and more than 150 refereed conferences and journal publications. Dr. Song received the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award in 2007, the Kayamori Best Paper Award of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), the 2022 Best Paper Award of the LCT 2022 Affiliated Conference, the 1st place in the GM/SAE AutodriveChallenge II competition in 2022, and the Amazon Research Award in 2020.
Speech Information
Title: TBA
Abstract: TBA
Speaker: Prof. Dezhen Song
Affiliations: Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Speaker: Prof. Yang GAO
Affiliations: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China
Yang GAO
Biography: Professor Yang Gao FIET FRAeS, is a world-renowned space roboticist with over 20 years of R&D and space mission experience including European Space Agency (ESA)’s ExoMars, Proba-3 and lunar VMMO; UK's CLEAR, MoonLITE and Moonraker; and China's Chang'E-3. She has led research projects for the European Space Agency, UK Space Agency, UK Research and Innovation, the European Union, and industrial companies. Her honours include the Mulan Award for Contributions to Science, Technology and Engineering (2019) and Distinguished Global Leadership Award (2025), and research under her leadership has won IAF 3AF Edmond Brun Silver Medal (2013), COSPAR Outstanding Paper Award (2016), ESA SysNova Challenge First Prize (2018), IEEE-ICRA Space Workshop Wiley Poster Award First Prize (2020), and Sino-UK Entrepreneurship Competition First Prize (2022), among others.
Professor Gao joined The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in mid-2025 as Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. At HKUST, she founded the Centre for AI and Robotics in Space Sustainability (CAIRSS), dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies for orbital debris removal, autonomous space systems, and in-situ extraterrestrial resource utilization to provide innovative solutions for crewed/uncrewed deep space missions. She is also the Co-Director of HKUST's Space Science & Technology Institute and the Acting Director of Hong Kong Space Robotics & Engergy Centre. Prior to joining HKUST, she spent over twenty years in the UK as Professor of Robotics and Director of the Robotics Centre at King's College London. Earlier, as Professor of Space Autonomous Systems at the University of Surrey, she founded and led the award-winning Space Technology and Autonomous Robotic systems Laboratory (STAR-LAB).
On the global stage, Professor Gao holds several leadership positions in space and robotics, including Co-Chair of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE-RAS) Space Robotics Technical Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Wiley's Journal of Field Robotics, and Mentor for the United Nations' "Space4Women" program towards Sustainable Development Goals.
Speech Information
Abstract: TBA