The 4th Edition of the FutuRe Optical NeTworking (FRONT) Workshop, held on November 9th in Rome, marked a significant milestone in the field of optical networking. This year’s event expanded its scope to cover two crucial areas: AI-factories/DCI interconnects and 6G-xhaul/FTTx short-reach networks, attracting leading experts from around the globe.
Workshop Organizers
The success of the FRONT Workshop 2024 can be attributed to the leadership of its distinguished organizers:
- Prof. Ioannis Tomkos: Co-Chair from the University of Patras and Director of our Optical Communications Systems & Networks (OCSN) Lab/Group
- Prof. Josep Prat: Co-Chair from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Keynote Speakers
The workshop featured four distinguished keynote speakers who traveled from overseas:
- Elaine Wong: Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Melbourne, focusing on tactile haptic communications over optical and wireless networks.
- David Plant: Professor at McGill University, sharing expertise in broadband communications and transformative research initiatives.
- Keren Bergman: Professor at Columbia University, discussing optical signal processing and WDM optical networking for high-performance computing.
- Ben Yoo: Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Davis, covering photonic-electronic integration and energy-efficient computing.
Invited Speakers
The event also showcased 12 invited speakers based in Europe, offering valuable insights on technology developments:
- Chris Roeloffzen: Chief Scientific Officer of LioniX International, with extensive experience in photonics research.
- Antonio Teixeira: Holds a Ph.D. from the University of Aveiro and an Executive Certificate from MIT Sloan School of Management.
- Dan Marom: Full Professor at the Hebrew University, Israel, leading research in novel photonic devices.
- Paraskevas Bakopoulos: Director at Photonic Systems in NVIDIA, focusing on optical interconnects in data center networks.
- Ernesto Ciaramella: Full Professor at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa, with research interests spanning various areas of optical communications.
- Ivan Cano: Research engineer at Huawei, specializing in high-speed optical access networks.
- Massimo Tornatore: Full Professor at Politecnico di Milano, expert in optical networking technologies and machine learning applications.
- Jochen Maes: Head of Fixed Networks research at Nokia Bell Labs, focusing on Passive Optical Networks.
- Francesco Matera: Researcher at FUB, expert in optical fibers, systems, networks, and nonlinear effects.
- Nick Parsons: CTO Communications at HUBER+SUHNER, with expertise in advanced integrated optical technologies.
- Giorgio Maria Tosi Beleffi: Works at the Ministry of Economic Development in Italy, with a background in telecommunications and microelectronics engineering.
- Liam Barry: Established a photonics communications laboratory at Dublin City University and served as co-chair for ECOC 2019.
The workshop included two panel discussions focusing on AI-factories/DCI interconnects and 6G-xhaul/FTTx short-reach networks. These discussions, along with the presentations from keynote and invited speakers, are expected to contribute significantly to the development of roadmaps for short-reach optical communications systems and networks.
By bringing together experts from academia and industry under the guidance of Prof. Tomkos and Prof. Prat, the FRONT Workshop continues to foster collaboration and innovation in the field of optical networks. As we move towards more advanced AI systems and the era of 6G communications, the insights gained from this workshop will be invaluable in addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
