Prof. Dr. Otilia Manta | Artificial Intelligence | Innovative Research Award

Prof. Dr. Otilia Manta | Artificial Intelligence | Innovative Research Award

Professor PhD, Romanian Academy, Romania

Prof. Dr. habil. Elena Otilia Manta  is a renowned economist, academic, and scientific researcher, currently serving as a Professor at the Romanian-American University and a Scientific Researcher at the Romanian Academy. With over two decades of experience in economic sciences, she is widely respected for her expertise in finance, FinTech, AI integration, and sustainable development. She also holds various leadership roles in international organizations, including Vice President of EUExperts in Brussels, reflecting her strong influence in policy and academic circles globally. 🌍💼

Publication Profile

🎓 Education Background

Prof. Manta holds a Ph.D. in Economics and the academic title of “habilitation,” enabling her to supervise doctoral research. Her education has been complemented by continuous development in areas like finance, international economic relations, and technological integration, laying a solid academic foundation for her contributions in both national and international academic communities. 🎓📖

💼 Professional Experience

Since 2014, Prof. Manta has been a Scientific Researcher at the Romanian Academy and since 2019, a full Professor at the Romanian-American University in Bucharest. She also serves as Vice President of the European Union Experts (EUExperts) and the International Research Institute for Economics and Management (IRIEM), among others. As founder and CEO of The Romanian Group for Investments and Consultancy (RGIC), she combines academic depth with real-world financial leadership. She has also served as an EU Expert and Rapporteur with the European Commission. 🌐🏛️📊

🏆 Awards and Honors

Prof. Manta has received numerous honors, including the “2006 Woman of the Year Commemorative Medal” by the American Biographical Institute. She is a respected honorary member of the Romanian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and holds various affiliations with prestigious academic, financial, and developmental organizations such as the UN HLPF Mechanism and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (NY). 🥇🎖️🌟

🔬 Research Focus

Her research focuses on FinTech, artificial intelligence integration in banking, sustainable economic development, academic transparency, and financial innovation. As an active participant in multidisciplinary fields, Prof. Manta is a frequent contributor to leading journals and conferences, continuously shaping discussions on the future of finance and digital transformation. 💡📈🤖

🔗 Publications – Top Notes

Banking Transformation Through FinTech and the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Payments – FinTech, 2025 | DOI: 10.3390/fintech4020013 – A highly impactful paper exploring AI’s role in revolutionizing payment systems.

FinTech and AI as Opportunities for a Sustainable Economy – FinTech, 2025 | DOI: 10.3390/fintech4020010 – Widely cited for linking technology to green and inclusive finance.

The Transfer of Managerial Expertise in Romanian Companies through the Application of the DEMATEL Method – Journal for Future Society and Education, 2025 – Emphasizes decision science in corporate governance.

Ensuring Academic Integrity: Tools and Mechanisms for a Transparent Educational Environment – Preprints, 2025 – Focuses on digital tools fostering academic ethics.

🔚 Conclusion

Prof. Dr. habil. Otilia Manta is a distinguished leader, bridging the worlds of academia, finance, and international consultancy. Her career reflects a strong commitment to innovation, transparency, and global collaboration in economics. Through her scholarly research, institutional leadership, and consultancy, she continues to inspire future generations in both Romania and abroad. 🌟📘🌍

QIANG QU | Artificial Intelligence Award | Best Researcher Award

Prof. QIANG QU | Artificial Intelligence Award | Best Researcher Award

PROFESSOR, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Dr. Qiang Qu is a distinguished professor and a leading researcher in blockchain, data intelligence, and decentralized systems. He serves as the Director of the Guangdong Provincial R&D Center of Blockchain and Distributed IoT Security at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Additionally, he holds a professorship at Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology and has previously served as a guest professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). Dr. Qu has also contributed as the Director and Chief Scientist of Huawei Blockchain Lab. With a strong international academic presence, he has held research positions at renowned institutions such as ETH Zurich, Carnegie Mellon University, and Nanyang Technological University. His pioneering work focuses on scalable algorithm design, data sense-making, and blockchain technologies, making significant contributions to AI, data systems, and interdisciplinary studies.

Publication Profile

🎓 Education

Dr. Qiang Qu earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Aarhus University, Denmark, under the supervision of Prof. Christian S. Jensen. His doctoral research was supported by the prestigious GEOCrowd project under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. He further enriched his academic journey as a Ph.D. exchange student at Carnegie Mellon University, USA. He holds an M.Sc. in Computer Science from Peking University, China, and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Dalian University of Technology.

💼 Experience

Dr. Qu has a diverse professional background, reflecting his global expertise. Since 2016, he has been a professor at SIAT, leading groundbreaking research in blockchain and distributed IoT security. He also served as Vice Director of Hangzhou Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT’s Hangzhou branch). Prior to this, he was an Assistant Professor and the Director of Dainfos Lab at Innopolis University, Russia. His research journey includes being a visiting scientist at ETH Zurich, a visiting scholar at Nanyang Technological University, and a research fellow at Singapore Management University. He also gained industry experience as an engineer at IBM China Research Lab.

🏅 Awards and Honors

Dr. Qu has received several national and international research grants, recognizing his impactful contributions to blockchain and AI-driven data intelligence. He is a prominent editorial board member of the Future Internet Journal and serves as a guest editor for multiple high-impact journals. As an active contributor to the research community, he has been a TPC (Technical Program Committee) member for prestigious conferences and regularly reviews top-tier AI and data systems journals.

🔬 Research Focus

Dr. Qu’s research interests revolve around data intelligence and decentralized systems, with a strong focus on blockchain, scalable algorithm design, and data-driven decision-making. His work has been instrumental in developing efficient data parallel approaches, AI-driven network analysis, and cross-blockchain data migration techniques. His interdisciplinary contributions bridge AI, IoT security, and geospatial analytics, driving innovation in secure and intelligent computing.

🔚 Conclusion

Dr. Qiang Qu stands as a thought leader in blockchain and data intelligence, combining academic excellence with real-world impact. His contributions to AI-driven decentralized systems and scalable data solutions continue to shape the fields of computer science and IoT security. His extensive research collaborations, editorial roles, and international experience make him a key figure in advancing secure and intelligent computing technologies. 🚀

📚 Publications

SNCA: Semi-supervised Node Classification for Evolving Large Attributed Graphs – IEEE Big Data Mining and Analytics (2024). Cited in IEEE 📖

CIC-SIoT: Clean-Slate Information-Centric Software-Defined Content Discovery and Distribution for IoT – IEEE Internet of Things Journal (2024). Cited in IEEE 📖

Blockchain-Empowered Collaborative Task Offloading for Cloud-Edge-Device Computing – IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (2022). Cited in IEEE 📖

On Time-Aware Cross-Blockchain Data MigrationTsinghua Science and Technology (2024). Cited in Tsinghua University 📖

Few-Shot Relation Extraction With Automatically Generated Prompts – IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems (2024). Cited in IEEE 📖

Opinion Leader Detection: A Methodological Review – Expert Systems with Applications (2019). Cited in Elsevier 📖

Neural Attentive Network for Cross-Domain Aspect-Level Sentiment ClassificationIEEE Transactions on Affective Computing (2021). Cited in IEEE 📖

Efficient Online Summarization of Large-Scale Dynamic Networks –  IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering (2016). Cited in IEEE 📖

Narmilan Amarasingam | Artificial Intelligence | Best Researcher Award

Mr. Narmilan Amarasingam | Artificial Intelligence | Best Researcher Award

PhD student, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Researcher specializing in drone-based remote sensing solutions for environmental and surveillance needs, focusing on precision agriculture and biosecurity. Expertise includes UAV remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and multispectral/hyperspectral image processing. Currently pursuing a PhD in Precision Agriculture at Queensland University of Technology.

Profile

Google Scholar

 

🎓 Education

PhD: Precision Agriculture, Queensland University of Technology (2021 – Present). MSc: Agricultural Engineering, Eastern University, Sri Lanka (2016 – 2018). BSc: Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Eastern University, Sri Lanka (2010 – 2015). BIT: Software Engineering, University of Colombo School of Computing, Sri Lanka (2011 – 2015)

🔍 Experience

Research Assistant at Charles Sturt University and Sunshine Coast Council on projects integrating AI and drone technology for environmental monitoring and invasive species detection.

🏆 Awards

QUT/Accelerate Higher Education Development Expansion and Development (AHEAD) World Bank Project Scholarship. Vice Chancellor’s Award for Early Career Researcher, Faculty of Technology, 2022.

🌍 Research Interests

Precision Agriculture, UAV-based Remote Sensing, Multispectral Image Processing, AI, Biosystems Engineering, Environmental Management.

📚 Publications

Co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in Q1 and non-Q1 ranking journals on topics related to UAV-based remote sensing and AI applications in agriculture and environmental management.

A review of UAV platforms, sensors, and applications for monitoring of sugarcane crops
Predicting canopy chlorophyll content in sugarcane crops using machine learning algorithms and spectral vegetation indices derived from UAV multispectral imageryDetection of white leaf disease in sugarcane using machine learning techniques over UAV multispectral images
Detection of White Leaf Disease in Sugarcane Crops Using UAV-Derived RGB Imagery with Existing Deep Learning Models
N Amarasingam, F Gonzalez, ASA Salgadoe, J Sandino, K Powell
E-agricultural concepts for improving productivity: A review