Dr. Michele Penza
ENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Department for Sustainability, Division of Technologies and Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing Industry, Brindisi Research Center, Brindisi, Italy

Title of the Presentation
Recent progress in chemical sensors for applications

Abstract
This lecture will review the recent advances in chemical sensors for environmental monitoring including gas, greenhouse, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter detection. The research achievements at the state-of-the art will be presented and discussed.

Short Bio
Michele Penza earned a degree in Physics from the University of Bari, Italy. He first worked with CNRSM SCpA (IT S&T Park) and then joined ENEA in 2001. Currently, he manages research projects (regional, national, and international) and teams, with a focus on material science, sensors, and solid-state devices, in the Brindisi Research Center, Italy. His research interests are in sensor materials, nanomaterials, gas sensors, portable sensor systems, functional applications, and environmental technologies and measurements. He was awarded with E2 Excellence (ENEA) in 2008 for a Special Mention in Environmental Research.

In addition to authoring 3 national filed patents, 180 scientific publications, and 3 book chapters, he has delivered 40+ invited talks, co-organized scientific meetings, and chaired conference sessions. He also has experience as a member of international scientific committees, as an international expert for FP7 and Horizon projects and a national research agency/council, as an international reviewer, as a research manager with SMEs’ partnership, as an associate editor, and as a guest editor of several Special Issues. Lastly, he was Chair of COST Action TD1105 EuNetAir - European Network on New Sensing Technologies for Air-Pollution Control and Environmental Sustainability from 2012 to 2016, and he was Head of the Laboratory Functional Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Applications in Brindisi from 2015 to 2024.

He is Adjunct Professor at University of Salento, Department of Engineering for Innovation, Bachelor Program in Engineering for Sustainable Industry, Course on Lab of Technologies for Sustainable Production, Teaching Pole in Brindisi (Italy). He has Italian National Scientific Qualification as Full Professor in Experimental Physics of Matter (02/B1 - ASN 2021-23) valid from 6 February 2023 to 6 February 2035. He is ranked as Top 2% Worldwide most-cited Scientist (2021 - now) in Analytical Chemistry and Applied Physics.

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Prof. Dr. Hamida Hallil
University of Bordeaux, Department of Electrical Engineering, IMS Laboratory, Bordeaux, France

Title of the Presentation
Emerging Trends in EM and Acoustic Wave-Based Chemical and Biosensing

Abstract
This presentation explores recent advancements in electromagnetic and acoustic wave-based sensors, highlighting their crucial role in environmental and medical health applications. By leveraging resonance phenomena, these sensors detect biological and chemical species and measure physical quantities. We will discuss the design and application of passive resonant sensors, such as acoustic, magnetoelastic, and electromagnetic transducers, emphasizing their integrability and energy autonomy. Additionally, we will highlight promising advancements in RF piezoelectric acoustic wave devices using two-dimensional materials like MoS2, addressing the demands of wireless communication, IoT, 5G, and sensing applications. Finally, we will address future challenges and opportunities for developing sustainable sensor technologies through international collaboration.

Short Bio
Hamida Hallil (Member, IEEE) received the Ing. degree in electrical engineering from the USTHB University, Algiers, Algeria, in 2005, and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France, in 2007, and the Ph.D. degree in nano and micro systems from Toulouse University in 2010. Since 2011, she has been an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering with Bordeaux University, and affiliated with the Laboratory IMS (CNRS, UMR 5218), France. Since 2018 for two years, she was assigned as a Research Scientist with the School EEE NTU and CNRS International-NTU-Thales Research Alliance (CINTRA), Singapore. Her research interests include the design and fabrication of innovative devices and sensors using electromagnetic and elastic waves. She is Fellow of the French National council of universities since 2015, Chair of IEEE Sensors Council France Chapter and of WiSe committee of the IEEE Sensors Council since 2021. From 2020, she was involved in the new Array Café podcast team sponsored by the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society and the IEEE Sensors Council. She also serves on the organizing or technical committees of several conferences, including IEEE : SENSORS ‘19, ‘21,’22 &’23 DTIP, NMDC ‘17,‘18,’19, & ‘20, and IEEE ICECS ’20, IEEE COINS ‘21. She is the coauthor of a book appeared in Wiley-IEEE Press in 2020, three book chapters, more than 80 publications in top-tier journals and conferences.

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Prof. Dr. César Vargas
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Department of Mechatronics, Monterrey, Mexico

Title of the Presentation
Sensing and Communications for Localization

Abstract
Position location is key to many different applications, especially for the next generation wireless communication systems. For more than thirty years, the vast gamma of algorithms and techniques used have been concentrating in minimizing errors in order to have a position estimate with precision and accuracy. These errors have been diminishing throughout the years by considering outdoor and indoor scenarios differently due to the available infrastructure for localization. For the next generation technologies, such precision needs to be almost perfect for applications yet even to come. The use of sensors to know the context and environment, integrated with opportune communications, provides a beneficial situation for localization, including some dynamism of the environment. During this presentation, some of the relevant issues that need to be addressed to have those future applications will be discussed.

Short Bio
Cesar Vargas-Rosales received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in communications and signal processing and electrical engineering from Louisiana State University, USA. He is the coauthor of the books Position Location Techniques and Applications (Academic Press/Elsevier) and Radio Wave Propagation in Vehicular Environments (IET). His research interests include B5G/6G, 5G/6G, cognitive radio, massive MIMO systems, RIS, intrusion/anomaly detection in networks, localization, channel coding, optimal receiver design, and quantum information processing. He is a Senior member of the IEEE, and an Associate Editor of IEEE ACCESS. He is a member of the Mexican National Researchers System (SNI), the Mexican Academy of Science, and the Academy of Engineering of Mexico. He is the IEEE Communications Society Monterrey Chapter Chair and the Faculty Advisor of the IEEE-HKN Lambda Rho Chapter with the Tecnologico de Monterrey. He was the Technical Program Chair of the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference. He was a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Communication Society from 2021 to 2023.

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Dr. Veronica Sberveglieri
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Bioscienze e Biorisorse (CNR-IBBR), URT Reggio Emilia, Italy

Title of the Presentation
MOX Sensors for Resilient Farming: Real-Time Insights from Field to Crop

Abstract
In the era of climate uncertainty and increasing agricultural demands, real-time monitoring tools are essential to build resilient and sustainable farming systems. Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOX) sensors represent a powerful technology for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by soil, plants, and microorganisms offering early insights into crop stress, disease onset, and soil dynamics. This presentation explores how tailored MOX sensor platforms, integrated with AI and IoT technologies, can support precision agriculture by providing continuous, non-invasive, and geolocated data from field to crop. Case studies across different European projects demonstrate applications in early pathogen detection, stress monitoring, and agro-waste valorization. By enabling timely and informed decisions, these systems pave the way for a new generation of smart, adaptive, and sustainable agriculture.

Short Bio
Dr. Veronica Sberveglieri is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (IBBR-CNR) and Head of the Territorial Research Unit (URT) in Reggio Emilia. Her research focuses on the development of chemical sensors, especially MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensors, for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). She is actively involved in national and international research projects aimed at applying innovative technologies in food safety, environmental monitoring, and non-invasive diagnostics.

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Dr. Alice Lemarquand
Applied Biomechanics Laboratory, UMR T24, Gustave Eiffel University / Aix-Marseille University, Marseille 13000, France
Laboratory ESYCOM, UMR 9007, Gustave Eiffel University, Noisy-Le-Grand 93160, France
CarMeN Laboratory, INSERM U1060, INRAE U1397 / University of Lyon, Lyon 69029, France

Title of the Presentation
iSafe project: wearable technologies for traffic accident management – comparison of a logical rule-based score versus artificial intelligence models

Abstract
The iSafe project aimed to investigate how wearable devices could be used to optimise the prehospital medical care management of traffic accident casualties. The first axis focused on hardware aspects. Requirements for such an application were identified and wearable solutions were explored, including technological scouting and prototyping. The second axis dealt with data processing aspects. In particular, a new logical rule-based severity score was developed. Unlike other existing severity scores such as the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), the new score enables continuous and real-time assessment without human evaluation. In the current version, the score’s computation uses heart rate, respiratory rate, and SpO₂, which are common physiological parameters monitored with wrist-wearables; but the score has been designed so that additional parameters can easily be added. Similarly to the Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment (START) protocol algorithm, the score is associated with a triage colour code. The new score has been validated on a clinical dataset of 84 subjects admitted to the intensive care unit, and leads to better results than machine learning models (with the dataset used in this project). Such score, combined with wearable technologies, would be especially useful in mass casualty incidents or for identifying sudden patient health deterioration.

Short Bio
Alice Lemarquand is a French postdoctoral researcher and biomedical engineer (Phelma, Grenoble, 2016) who is interested in biomedical measurement and processing techniques. Her doctoral research at CY Cergy Paris University focused on instrumentation for skin characterisation, with an optical and an ultrasonic technique, namely Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (CARS) and micro-rheology. She subsequently worked at Gustave Eiffel University on physiological parameters monitoring with wearables to optimise the emergency response chain for road accident victims; and she is currently involved on a brain MRI data processing project at Lyon University.

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