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. 🌟📘🌍

Huan Zhao | Machine Learning | Best Researcher Award

Assoc. Prof. Dr . Huan Zhao | Machine Learning | Best Researcher Award

Associate Professor, School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China

Huan Zhao is an associate professor at the School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), China. He specializes in aerodynamics, multidisciplinary design optimization, uncertainty quantification, and machine learning, focusing on CFD simulation, AI-based global optimization, and surrogate modeling. He is also the executive deputy director of the Institute of Digital Intelligence for Flight Mechanics and Aerodynamic Design (IDIFMAD). Zhao has made significant contributions to the fields of aerodynamic shape optimization, high-dimensional global optimization, and uncertainty-based robust design. He holds several patents and has authored many high-impact publications. 🌐✈️

Publication Profile

Education

Huan Zhao completed his Ph.D. in Fluid Dynamics at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in 2020, following a B.Eng. in Aircraft Design and Engineering from the same university in 2014. 📚🎓

Experience

Zhao served as a tenure-track assistant professor at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) before joining NPU as a tenure-track associate professor in 2023. He has directed and participated in numerous research projects focusing on aerodynamic design optimization, high-speed rotor airfoil design, and surrogate-assisted design techniques. He is a principal investigator (PI) for multiple projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). 👨‍🏫🔬

Awards and Honors

Huan Zhao has received several awards and honors, including recognition as part of the “Hundred Talents Plan” Young Academic Backbone at SYSU and multiple patents for his innovative contributions to aerodynamic design. 🏆🎖️

Research Focus

Zhao’s research interests lie in aerodynamics, including multi-fidelity polynomial chaos-Kriging models, aerodynamic shape optimization, and uncertainty quantification. His work has contributed significantly to the design and optimization of high-lift airfoils, laminar flow airfoils, and robust design methods under uncertainty. His expertise also includes machine learning, AI-based global optimization, and the application of surrogate models in complex design scenarios. 🔍🧑‍💻

Conclusion

Huan Zhao’s innovative work has had a profound impact on the field of aerodynamics and optimization. His research has not only advanced the understanding of aerodynamic design but has also led to practical improvements in the development of high-performance aircraft and related technologies. He continues to drive forward cutting-edge research in aerodynamics and multidisciplinary design optimization. 🚀🌍

Publications

An efficient adaptive forward–backward selection method for sparse polynomial chaos expansion, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 2019.

Review of robust aerodynamic design optimization for air vehicles, Archives of Computational Methods in Engineering, 2019.

Effective robust design of high lift NLF airfoil under multi-parameter uncertainty, Aerospace Science and Technology, 2017.

Adaptive multi-fidelity sparse polynomial chaos-Kriging metamodeling for global approximation of aerodynamic data, Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 2021.

Uncertainty-based design optimization of NLF airfoil for high altitude long endurance unmanned air vehicles, Engineering Computations, 2019.

 Efficient aerodynamic analysis and optimization under uncertainty using multi-fidelity polynomial chaos-Kriging surrogate model, Computers & Fluids, 2022.

Research on efficient robust aerodynamic design optimization method of high-speed and high-lift NLF airfoil, Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, 2021.

Research on Novel High-Dimensional Surrogate Model-Based Aerodynamic Shape Design Optimization, Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, 2022.

Research on novel multi-fidelity surrogate model assisted many-objective global optimization method, Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica, 2022.

Adaptive multi-fidelity polynomial chaos-Kriging model-based efficient aerodynamic design optimization method, Chinese Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 2023.