Professor Elaine Wong is a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and Pro Vice-Chancellor (People and Equity) at the University of Melbourne. Elected as a Fellow of Optica and Fellow of Engineers Australia, Elaine is an international research leader on optical communication networks and subsystems technology, contributing to the success of broadband network deployments around the globe and impacting how society digitally connects today. She currently leads a team innovating immersive human-to-machine communications. With the goal of delivering experiential capabilities over large geographical areas, such innovation will enable humans to equitably and immersively participate in social and economic settings from afar.
Elaine currently serves on the Australian Research Council College of Experts, the IEEE Technical Activities Board - Committee of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the IEEE Photonics Society Board of Governors, and is Chair of the IEEE Communication Society Optical Network Technical Committee (ONTC). She is Technical Editor of IEEE Network and General Chair of Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2025. In the past, she contributed extensively to numerous IEEE conferences, serving in key roles such as General Chair, Technical Program Committee (TPC) Chair, and TPC member. Additionally, she has served on many editorial boards, including that of the IEEE/Optica Journal of Optical Communications and Networking as well as the IEEE/Optica Journal of Lightwave Technology.
Lecture Topics
- Next-Generation of FTTx Networks: Transforming Connectivity into Immersive Experiences
- Machine Intelligence in Next-Generation FTTx Networks: Rationale, Challenges, and Emerging Solutions
- Harnessing Explainable AI in Human-to-Machine Applications