Yinbiao Shu

Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering

President of Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering

The 36th President of International Electrotechnical Commission

Dr. Shu is a professor-level senior engineer and Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering. He has been mainly engaged in the research and development of energy and power development strategy, power grid operation and power system planning, construction of major ultra/extra-high voltage transmission projects and key technology. His research results have promoted the implementation of the "West-East Power Transmission" strategy and national power grid interconnection, and promoted the large-scale development and utilization of clean energy. Dr Shu has won two Grand Prizes and one First Prize of National Science and Technology Progress, and the 2018 Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award.

Fabrizio Pilo

CIRED Technical Committee President

Vice-Rector for Innovation and Technology Transfer, University of Cagliari

Fabrizio Giulio Luca Pilo earned his Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cagliari in 1992 and completed his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Pisa in 1998. He established himself as a researcher in 1996, going on to become an associate professor in 2001 and a full professor of Power Systems in 2014. Currently, he holds for the University of Cagliari the position of vice-Rector responsible for innovation and technology transfer. He has already held the post of Director of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (2006-2012, 2015-2021), of Senator (2018-2021), coordinator of the PhD School in Industrial Engineering, vice president of the faculty of Engineering and Architecture. He is also a delegate of the university on the board of the Inter-university Consortium for Energy and Electrical Systems and deputy president of the NEST Consortium on future energy in Italy.

Prof. Pilo is the CIRED (International Community on Electricity Distribution) Technical Committee President and a member of the CIRED board. He has been a member of the CIRED Technical Committee for more than 20 years.

He is president of CT 316 of the Italian Electrotechnical Committee (CEI), which develops the Italian national technical standards for connection to high-, medium-, and low-voltage distribution networks. He is a Senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Distinguished member of the CIGRE (Board on large electrical systems), and a Co-chairman of Annex 3 - Cost-Benefit Analysis on ISGAN (International Smart Grid Action Network of the International Energy Agency, UN), and the Electricity Association of AEIT. He has carried out consultancy and evaluation assignments for the Italian National Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA), and national and international public and private bodies.

The main areas of interest of his scientific research concern the planning and management of energy systems, the integration of renewable sources, energy efficiency, and the digitization of electrical systems. Author of over 250 scientific works indexed in the main international databases, Prof. Pilo ranks in the top 2% of the world's researchers according to the Stanford index. He chairs international research groups and scientific reference conferences on the distribution of electricity; he has also participated in and coordinated several national and international research projects funded through competitive calls. He coordinated activities and projects funded by key national and international industrial partners totaling more than $20M grants.

Weijiang Chen

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Consultant to State Grid Corporation of China

Weijiang Chen is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He currently serves as a Consultant to State Grid Corporation of China. He was a Standing Committee Member of the 9th and 10th National Committees of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), and is an Executive Council Member of both the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering (CSEE) and the China Electrotechnical Society (CES).

His research focuses on fundamental theories and engineering applications of power system electromagnetic transient analysis, insulation coordination, and lightning science and protection. He has led research on electromagnetic and insulation characteristics of AC and DC ultra‑high‑voltage (UHV) transmission systems, as well as high‑intensity electromagnetic transient processes and fault defense for power infrastructure. He has spearheaded the development of key technologies and serial equipment development for flexible AC transmission and distribution systems, and promoted the indigenous development of polyolefin materials for high‑voltage cables and high‑performance epoxy insulating materials. His achievements have been widely applied in power systems, rail transit, aerospace and other industries. He has been awarded the Second Prize of the National Award for Technological Invention, the Special Prize of the National Award for Science and Technology Progress, and the Second Prize of the National Award for Science and Technology Progress. He has authored over 300 papers and holds more than 150 authorized Chinese invention patents.

Peter Childs

Professorial Lead in Design Engineering at Imperial College London

Professor at Large in Innovation Design Engineering (Imperial College London and Royal College of Art)

Peter Childs FREng is the Professorial Lead in Design Engineering at Imperial and Professor at Large in Innovation Design Engineering (Imperial College London and Royal College of Art). He was the Founding Head of the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, helping to grow the school from an initial idea to a community of practice of over 900 students and staff. His general interests include creativity, innovation, design, energy and sustainability, and robotics. He teaches design engineering and sustainable entrepreneurship at Imperial. He is also Honorary Professor at the School of Art and Design, Guangdong University of Technology, Professor of Excellence at MD-H, Germany, and Founder Director at Q-Bot Ltd, providing robotic applied thermal insulation, and Chair and Director at BladeBUG Ltd, providing wind turbine inspection services. He is Chief Editor for the Journal of Design for Augmented Humanity.

Norela Constantinescu

Deputy Director, IRENA Innovation and Technology Center, Germany

Norela Constantinescu is Deputy Director at IRENA Innovation and Technology Center. Until May 2024 she was Head of Innovation Section with ENTSO-E, the European Network for Transmission System Operators for electricity for which she worked for 10 years, starting in 2014. In the period June 2022 – March 2024 she was Chair of the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Smart Network for Energy Transition. Previously she worked with the European Commission DG Energy on low carbon technologies, wind and smart cities and communities. She is an Energy Engineer with post graduate studies in business administration and applied computer science.