Maikel Leon | Artificial Intelligence | Research Excellence Award

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maikel Leon | Artificial Intelligence | Research Excellence Award

University of Miami, United States

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maikel Leon is an accomplished academic and AI specialist with a Ph.D. in Computer Science focused on artificial intelligence applied to transportation from Hasselt University, Belgium, and summa cum laude degrees from the Central University of Las Villas, Cuba. Since 2015, he has been a faculty member at the Department of Business Technology, Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami, teaching and coordinating a wide range of courses in business analytics, programming, machine learning, databases, and artificial intelligence for business. His academic career spans institutions in the United States and Cuba, reflecting strong international teaching and research experience. Dr. Leon is an active reviewer and program committee member for leading journals and conferences, including IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems and FLAIRS. He has received prestigious honors such as the Best Paper Award at the IEEE ICTAI Conference and the Cuban National Academy of Sciences Award for outstanding research. Beyond academia, he is a frequent media commentator on AI, a certified professional in generative AI and cloud technologies, and a leader in innovative teaching, entrepreneurship, and international collaboration initiatives.

Citation Metrics (Scopus)

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Citations
355

Documents
38

h-index
11

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Christian Schachtner | Data Science | Research Excellence Award

Prof. Dr. Christian Schachtner | Data Science | Research Excellence Award

Full Professor at Hochschule RheinMain, Germany

Prof. Dr. Christian Schachtner has made significant scholarly contributions through his monographs and editorial work in the fields of smart governance, smart cities, and digital transformation in the public sector. In 2025, he edited Smart Public Governance, a volume in the Kohlhammer Publishing series, scheduled for publication in the first quarter of 2026. He also co-edited, with M. Brunzel, the Handbook Smart Cities / Smart Regions, likewise forthcoming from Kohlhammer Publishing in early 2026. His edited book The European Smart City Movement  Case Studies from Around Europe, published by Springer in Chur, presents comprehensive insights into smart city practices across Europe. In the same year, he authored CDOs im öffentlichen Sektor – Perspektiven auf Chief Digital Officers und Strategien zur digitalen Transformation, published by Springer, which explores the evolving role of Chief Digital Officers in public administration. Collectively, these works highlight his expertise in digital governance, urban innovation, and strategic public-sector transformation.

Citation Metrics (Scopus)

25
20
15
10
5
0

Citations
9

Documents
23

h-index
2

Citations

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h-index

View Scopus Profile

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Alaba Ayotunde Fadele | Computer Science | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Alaba Ayotunde Fadele | Computer Science | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Alaba Ayotunde Fadele | Federal University of Education | Nigeria

Dr. Alaba Ayotunde Fadele is a distinguished computer scientist and academic leader whose work spans blockchain, cybersecurity, IoT systems, and smart contract security. He is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Instituto de Estudos e Desenvolvemento de Galicia (IDEGA), Madrid, Spain, beginning in 2025. He holds two Ph.D. degrees: a Ph.D. in Computer Science with a specialization in Blockchain from the International University, Bamenda (2020–2023), where his research focused on smart contracts and cyber security, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Malaya (2016–2019), specializing in IoT and cyber security. His earlier academic foundations include a Master of Computer Science (2011–2014) from Ahmadu Bello University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (2011–2012) from Usman Danfodio University, and a First Class Honours Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (2004–2008) from Nasarawa State University. Dr. Fadele has held major administrative and academic leadership roles, including Director of the ICT Unit at the Federal University of Education, Zaria (from October 2025), Head of the Department of Computer Science (from June 2025), and Head of the Communications Advancement Unit in the Directorate of University Advancement (2024–2025). He has served as a full-time lecturer at the Federal University of Education, Zaria since 2010, a visiting lecturer at St. Francis of Assisi College of Education since 2021, and previously as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, as well as a Research Assistant at the University of Malaya. His outstanding contributions have earned him the 2019 JNCA Best Survey Paper Award, Best Presenter Award at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology Postgraduate Symposium in Malaysia (2017), and recognition as the Best Graduating Student in Computer Science at Nasarawa State University (2007/2008). Dr. Fadele has authored 20 scholarly publications, accumulating 1,253 citations from 1,245 documents, and holds an h-index of 10, reflecting his impactful contributions to cyber security, IoT research, blockchain systems, and advanced computing innovations.

Profiles: Scopus Orcid 

Featured Publications

Alaba, F. A., & Rocha, A. (2025). Conclusions, future directions, and recommendations. In F. A. Alaba & A. Rocha (Eds.), Studies in Systems, Decision and Control (Chapter 5). Springer.

Alaba, F. A., & Rocha, A. (2025). Implementation results. In F. A. Alaba & A. Rocha (Eds.), Studies in Systems, Decision and Control (Chapter 4). Springer.

Alaba, F. A., & Rocha, A. (2025). Machine learning algorithms on malware detection against smart wearable devices. In F. A. Alaba & A. Rocha (Eds.), Studies in Systems, Decision and Control (Chapter 3). Springer.

Alaba, F. A., & Rocha, A. (2025). Security challenges of wearable technology. In F. A. Alaba & A. Rocha (Eds.), Studies in Systems, Decision and Control (Chapter 2). Springer.

Hafiz Muhammad Raza ur Rehman | Data Science | Best Researcher Award 

Assist. Prof. Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Raza ur Rehman | Data Science | Best Researcher Award 

Assist. Prof. Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Raza ur Rehman | Yeungnam University | South Korea

Author Profiles

Scopus

Orcid

Google Scholar

Early Academic Pursuits

Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Raza ur Rehman began his academic journey with a strong foundation in information and communication engineering, culminating in a PhD from Yeungnam University, Korea. His doctoral research laid the groundwork for his later contributions in machine learning, multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), and data-science. His academic excellence and early engagement with algorithmic design and optimization established his trajectory as a dedicated researcher and educator in computational intelligence.

Professional Endeavors

Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Raza ur Rehman pursued a postdoctoral research position in Korea, focusing on sensor calibration for autonomous vehicles (AVs). Over 5.5 months, he conducted high-level interdisciplinary work aimed at improving the precision and reliability of AV sensor systems. He also gained substantial teaching experience 9 months as an Assistant Professor where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, and data-science. In addition, his collaboration with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea, on a US Air Force–funded project, exemplified his ability to contribute to large-scale international research efforts.

Contributions and Research Focus

Dr. Raza ur Rehman’s research portfolio reflects a deep commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary integration. His primary focus areas include multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), autonomous vehicle systems, natural language processing (NLP), and optimization algorithms. He has authored a patent centered on MARL techniques and published several impactful journal and conference papers. Key publications include “QsOD: MARL-based QMIX with Grey Wolf Optimization” and “Prediction-Based Model for Chemical Compounds.” Moreover, he has presented research such as “Camera Calibration with CNN” at IEEE conferences and six additional papers at Korean academic venues. His current research extends to seven articles under review in internationally reputed journals, reinforcing his commitment to advancing data-science and intelligent systems.

Impact and Influence

Dr. Raza ur Rehman’s interdisciplinary research bridges theory and application spanning from algorithmic optimization to real-world technological integration. His MARL-related patent and publications contribute significantly to the growing body of knowledge in intelligent agent systems. By integrating data-science with advanced computational models, his work influences emerging fields such as autonomous navigation, machine learning-based control systems, and intelligent automation. As a mentor, he continues to inspire students through hands-on projects, fostering innovation and critical thinking in the next generation of engineers and researchers.

Academic Cites

His scholarly output includes publications in peer-reviewed international journals, conference presentations, and ongoing submissions to high-impact outlets. The QsOD study and the chemical compound prediction model have attracted interest in computational optimization and artificial intelligence research circles. His IEEE presentation on CNN-based camera calibration further strengthened his academic visibility and recognition within the AI research community.

Legacy and Future Contributions

Looking ahead, Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Raza ur Rehman aims to expand his research on multi-agent reinforcement learning, autonomous systems, and optimization-driven AI architectures. His future work is poised to contribute substantially to global research in data-science, particularly in developing adaptive, intelligent algorithms for complex real-world problems. Through continued teaching, mentorship, and publication, he aspires to leave a lasting legacy in both academia and applied research bridging the gap between theoretical innovation and practical technological advancement.

Featured Publications

Raza, S. N., ur Rehman, H. M., Lee, S. G., & Choi, G. S. (2019). Artificial intelligence-based camera calibration. 2019 15th International Wireless Communications & Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC), 32. IEEE.

Nagulapati, V. M., ur Rehman, H. M. R., Haider, J., Qyyum, M. A., Choi, G. S., & Lim, H. (2022). Hybrid machine learning-based model for solubilities prediction of various gases in deep eutectic solvent for rigorous process design of hydrogen purification. Separation and Purification Technology, 298, 121651.

ur Rehman, H. M. R., On, B. W., Ningombam, D. D., Yi, S., & Choi, G. S. (2021). QSOD: Hybrid policy gradient for deep multi-agent reinforcement learning. IEEE Access, 9, 129728–129741.

ur Rehman, H. M. R., Saleem, M., Jhandir, M. Z., & Hafiz, H. G. I. A. (2025). Detecting hate in diversity: A survey of multilingual code-mixed image and video analysis. Journal of Big Data, 12(1), Article 5.

Younas, R., ur Rehman, H. M. R., Lee, I., On, B. W., Yi, S., & Choi, G. S. (2025). Sa-MARL: Novel self-attention-based multi-agent reinforcement learning with stochastic gradient descent. IEEE Access, 13, Article 5.

Khan, N. U., & ur Rehman, H. M. R. (2025). Real time signal decoding in closed loop brain computer interface for cognitive modulation. Ubiquitous Technology Journal, 1(1), 32–39.

ur Rehman, H. M. R., Haider, S. A., Faisal, H., Yoo, K. Y., Jhandir, M. Z., & Choi, G. S. (2025). A novel framework for Saraiki script recognition using advanced machine learning models (YOLOv8 and CNN). IEEE Access, 13, Article 2.