Awards & Recognitions

  • IEEE Communications Theory Technical Committee Early Achievement Award, 2023
    “For outstanding contributions to UAV communications and Wi-Fi and their dissemination”

  • IEEE Globecom Best Paper Award, 2022 (∼2,800 submitted, ∼1,100 accepted, 16 awarded)

  • IEEE Future Networks, Non-terrestrial Networks for B5G and 6G, Runner-Up Award, 2022

  • IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Distinguished Lecturer, 2021–present

  • IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer, 2021–2023

  • “Ramón y Cajal” Fellow, 2021–2023 (one of the most competitive early-career grants in Spain)

  • IEEE PIMRC Best Paper Award, 2019 (536 submitted, 268 accepted, 4 awarded)

  • IEEE Senior Member Elevation, 2019

  • IEEE Communications Society EMEA Outstanding Young Researcher Award, 2018
    (Given to the top-3 researchers under 35 across Europe, Middle East, and Africa for “promising research activities for the benefity of the society”.)

  • “la Caixa” Junior Leader Fellow, 2018–2021 (< 10% success rate)

  • Exemplary Reviewer for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 2017 and 2018

  • Nokia Bell Labs Ireland Certificate of Outstanding Achievement, 2017 (for “thought leadership”)

  • Runner-up in IEEE Australia Council Student Paper Contest, 2013

  • Postdoctoral Writing Fellowship, UNSW, 2013

  • Research Grant to visit UT Austin, CSIRO, 2013

  • Practicum Exchange Program Scholarship to visit UT Austin, UNSW, 2013

  • Best Poster Award, IEEE Technologies of the Future NSW, Australia, 2011

  • Travel Grant to attend ISWCS conference in Germany, UNSW, 2011

  • Ph.D. top-up scholarship, CSIRO ICT, 2010–2013

  • International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, Australian Government, 2010–2013

  • Best M.Sc. Thesis Award from Milan Academy of Sciences and Arts, Italy, 2009

  • Exchange Scholarship to UNSW Sydney, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 2008

  • Special mention for an outstanding B.Sc. career (highest GPA), Università di Palermo, Italy, 2005

 

Industry R&D Projects

  • HORIZON-JU-SNS-2024-STREAM-B-01-05 project “6G-MIRAI” on “Machine Intelligence based Radio Access Infrastructure” (Telefónica, 2025-2028).

  • HORIZON-SESAR-2023-DES-ER-02 project “ANTENNAE” on “Data driven cost effective 5G integrated CSN as a service” (Telefónica, 2024–2026).

  • Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and the European Union NextGenerationEU, UNICO I+D Project TSI-063000-2021-59 “RISC-6G” on “Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces and Low-power Technologies for Communication and Sensing in 6G Mobile Networks” (Telefónica, 2022–2024).

  • Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and the European Union NextGenerationEU, UNICO I+D Project TSI-0630002021-138 “6G-SORUS” on “Sustainable orchestration of VRANs, UAVs and surfaces for 6G” (Telefónica, 2022–2024).

  • Horizon Europe project 101120684 “CUSTODES” on “A certification approach for dynamic, agile and reusable assessment for composite systems of ICT products, services, and processes” (Telefónica, 2024–2026).

  • H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020 “META WIRELESS” on “Future Wireless Communications Empowered by Reconfigurable Intelligent Meta-Materials” (Telefónica, 2023–2024).

 

Academic R&D Projects

  • Ayuda de Consolidación Investigadora CNS2023-145384 “INTENSE” on “Integration of Terrestrial and Non-terrestrial Networks for Aerial Services” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2024–2026), Principal Investigator.

  • CHISTERA IV Cofund 2022 PCI2023-145958-2 “MLDR: A Machine Learning-Driven Radio Interface” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2024–2026), Co-Investigator.

  • Nokia Germany R&D Project on “The study of the performance limits of current and upcoming unlicensed spectrum technologies” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2021–2024), Principal Investigator.

  • MINECO Project PID2021-123999OB-I00 “INTERTWINE” on “Integrated Non-terrestrial Wireless Networks” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2022–2025), Principal Investigator.

  • Ayuda Ramón y Cajal on “Tecnologías de la información y de las comunicaciones” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2021–2026), Principal Investigator.

  • MINECO Project RTI2018-101040-A-I00 “WiND” on “Wireless networks for drones” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2019–2022), Principal Investigator.

  • “la Caixa” Banking Foundation Junior Leader Fellowship on “Cellular networks for drone communications” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2018–2021), Principal Investigator.

  • H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018 “PAINLESS” on “Energy-autonomous portable access points for infrastructure-less networks” (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2018–2022), Associated Partner.