Keynote Speaker

Biography: James Kwok is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is an IEEE Fellow. Prof Kwok received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Hong Kong and his Ph.D. degree in computer science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He then joined the Department of Computer Science, Hong Kong Baptist University as an Assistant Professor. He returned to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and is now a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He is serving as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, Neural Networks, Neurocomputing, Artificial Intelligence Journal, International Journal of Data Science and Analytics, and on the Editorial Board of Machine Learning. He is also serving / served as Senior Area Chairs of major machine learning / AI conferences including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, IJCAI, and as Area Chairs of conferences including AAAI and ECML. He is on the IJCAI Board of Trustees. He is recognized as the Most Influential Scholar Award Honorable Mention for "outstanding and vibrant contributions to the field of AAAI/IJCAI between 2009 and 2019". Prof Kwok will be the IJCAI-2025 Program Chair.

Biography: Dr. Yongsheng Ma has joined Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China since July, 2021 as a full professor. Before that, Dr. Ma had been a full professor with the University of Alberta (UA) since 2007. He was an associate professor with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore during 2000-2007. Dr. Ma started his career as a polytechnic lecturer in Singapore (1993-1996); and then a research fellow, senior research fellow and group manager (1996-2000) at Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology. Dr. Ma received his B.Eng. from Tsinghua University, Beijing (1986), both M.Sc. (1990) and Ph.D. (1994) from UMIST, UK. Dr. Ma has had an established research profile with many research projects from different sources, and published more than 200 papers internationally in recognized top journals, conferences, and book chapters. Dr. Ma had served as an Editorial Board Member of Advanced Engineering Informatics (ADVEI, Elsevier) since 2012, and became an associate editor since 2020. Concurrently, he also serves as an associate editor for ASME Journal of Computer Information Science and Engineering (JCISE), and an Editorial Member of Scientific Reports (Springer Nature). Dr. Ma had also been an associate editor of IEEE Transaction of Automation Science and Engineering (2009-2013). Dr. Ma is a member of ASEE, SME, SPE, ASME, CSME and a Canada (Alberta) registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) since 2009. In 2012, he won the prestigious ASTech award sponsored by The Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation together with Drader Manufacturing Ltd. Dr. Ma had also served as a senator of UA during 2014-2016. His research interests include Engineering informatics for design and manufacturing, CADCAM, and product lifecycle management. He has been teaching a number of courses including mechanical engineering design, manufacturing systems, engineering informatics, and engineering management.