Executive team
Industry Professor Ray Owen
Head of the Telecom Research Unit
Principal Investigator and Director of the National Telecom Resilience Centre
Ray is an industry leader in the field of telecommunications engineering and the former CTO of NBN Co. At UTS, he oversees a long-term industry research portfolio valued at more than $16 million.
NBN Co – ASTRID
Professor Mehran Abolhasan
Program Lead and Chief Investigator, NBN Co. ASTRID
Mehran is a communication engineering leader with research expertise in wireless networking, Internet of Things, cybersecurity, software defined networking, intelligent transportation systems, urban greening and digital agriculture.
Nathan Rees
Nathan is a PhD candidate and the lead researcher in the Build Technology team focussed on robotic and sensing solutions to inspect NBN Co’s underground pipe infrastructure.
Dr Tanzeela Altaf
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Tanzeela’s research is focused on AI and network communications, including programmable data planes, IoT cybersecurity, graph-based machine learning and data-driven modelling. She leads the Broadband Technology Insights team within the TRU.
Dr Duc Minh Pham
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Duc is a data scientist with more than 10 years’ experience in industry. His work spans data usage forecasting, data analytics to measure network speed and congestion, investigations of user behaviour and potential new applications/device demand on broadband networks.
Professor Ren Ping
Ren is the Head of Discipline, Network and Cybersecurity at UTS. An award-winning research leader, certified network professional and full stack web developer, Ren has produced more than 200 publications. He is a former recipient of the CSIRO Chairman’s medal.
Associate Professor Daniel Franklin
Daniel is an electrical engineer specialising in telecommunications engineering. His research is focused on signal and image processing and high-performance networks.
Mr Leigh Finch
Leigh is a sought-after information and communications technology consultant and industry speaker and the former Deputy CTO for Riverbed Technology.
Dr Ying He
Ying is a senior researcher specialising in LEO/5G non-terrestrial networks and physical layer optimisation using machine learning. She has developed O-RAN systems and real-time SDR test beds. Ying holds seven patents.
Amplitel – Project SMaRTER
Distinguished Professor Fang Chen
Chief Investigator, Project SMaRTER
Fang is a globally recognised AI and data science expert and the Executive Director of the UTS Data Science Institute. She is known for developing innovative, data-driven solutions to complex telecommunications challenges across large-scale networks.
Professor Sarath Kodagoda
Chief Investigator, Project SMaRTER
Sarath is an award-winning teacher and researcher recognised for his expertise in robotics and mechatronics. He is the Director of the UTS Robotics Institute and designed the university’s Robotic Remote Lab facility.
Dr Shamendra Egodawela
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Shamendra has expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision. His work focuses on applied solutions in condition monitoring, leveraging intelligent systems to enhance infrastructure reliability and performance.
Project DART
Professor Massimo Piccardi
Chief Investigator, Project DART
Massimo is a professor of natural language processing, computer vision and machine learning. He has co-authored more than 200 scientific papers.
Dr Chenhan Zhang
Chenhan Zhang is an award-winning researcher specializing in graph deep learning, AI-driven network modelling and cybersecurity. His research extends across a wide range of practical AI applications, including cyber-physical systems and intelligent transportation systems. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers.