Marcelo Sampaio de Alencar was born in Serrita, Brazil in 1957. He received his Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering, from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil, 1980, his Master Degree in Electrical Engineering, from the Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB), Brazil, 1988 and his Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo, 1993. Marcelo S. Alencar has more than four decades of engineering experience, and is currently IEEE Life Senior Member. For 18 years he worked for the Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Paraiba, where he was Full Professor. From 2003 to 2017, he was Chair Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil. Between 1982 and 1984, he worked for the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC). From 2017 to 2019 he was with the Federal University of Bahia, and from 2019 to 2021 he worked for the Senai Cimatec, Salvador. He is now with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil. He worked for MCI-Embratel and was visiting professor at the University of Toronto. He is founder and President of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Communications (Iecom), founder and Vice-president of the Academy of Sciences of Paraiba (ACParaiba). He has been awarded several scholarships and grants, from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CNPq), two grants from the IEEE Foundation, scholarships from the University of Waterloo and from the Federal University of Paraiba, an achievement award for contributions to the Brazilian Telecommunications Society (SBrT), an award from the Medicine College of the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), and an achievement award from the College of Engineering of the Federal University of Pernambuco, during its 110th year celebration. Marcelo S. Alencar published over 550 engineering and scientific papers and 31 books. He also wrote chapters for 12 books. Marcelo S. Alencar has contributed in different capacities to the following scientific journals: Editor of the Journal of the Brazilian Telecommunication Society; Member of the International Editorial Board of the Journal of Communications Software and Systems (JCOMSS), published by the Croatian Communication and Information Society (CCIS); Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Networks (JNW), published by Academy Publisher; creator and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Communication and Information Systems (JCIS), a joint edition of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) and SBrT. He also served on the Board of Directors of SBrT and on the SBMO Council. He is a Registered Professional Engineer, worked as a columnist for the traditional Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Commercio for two decades, and was Vice-President External Relations of SBrT. He is a member of the following societies: IEEE, IEICE (Japan), SBrT, SBMO, SBPC, ABJC and SBEB (Brazil). Marcelo S. Alencar is a laureate of the prestigious Attilio Giarola Medal, of the Brazilian Microwave and Optoelectronics Society (SBMO).
Valdemar Cardoso da Rocha has a BSc degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Escola Politécnica, Recife, Brazil, 1970. PhD degree in electronics from the University of Kent, England, 1976. Faculty Member at Department of Electrical Engineering (1976-1979) and Department of Electronics and Systems (1979-2022), Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, Professor of Telecommunications at Federal University of Pernambuco (1993-2022). Consultant to the Brazilian Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Defence on postgraduate education and research in electrical engineering. Chairman of the Electrical Engineering Committee in the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Founding member, former President, and Emeritus Member of the Brazilian Telecommunications Society. Life Senior Member of the IEEE Communications Society and the IEEE Information Theory Society. Member of the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal Committee. Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (1992 to 2022). Visiting Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-Zurich, the University of Leeds and Lancaster University.
