Plenary Talks
Distinguished Industry Speaker Plenary Session for the 2026 IEEE AP-S/USNC-URSI Symposium
DATE: Monday, 13 July, 2026
TIME: Morning - as part of the Opening Ceremony
SPONSOR: IEEE AP-S Industrial Initiative Committee
The IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) is proud to present the Distinguished Industry Speaker Plenary Session at the 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas & Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting. This two-hour special event brings together senior technology leaders from the world's leading engineering software and consumer electronics companies to share their vision for the future of AI-driven engineering and design.
The session opens with two 40-minute keynote presentations by distinguished industry speakers, followed by a 40-minute plenary panel discussion on "AI for Engineering and Design" - with a focus on the fields of Antennas, Electromagnetics, Microwaves, and Propagation.
Keynote Presentations
Harmonizing the Physical and Digital Worlds: Driving Product Innovation Through Lifecycle Intelligence
Sam Mahalingam, Executive Vice President, Siemens Software
Abstract: The future of product design is being rewritten by advances in Industrial AI. In this keynote, Sam Mahalingam discusses the strategic necessity of adopting a comprehensive digital twin to navigate the increasing volatility of global technology demands. The focus shifts from individual physics-based simulation methodologies to an integrated "Adaptive Engineering" environment. By embedding intelligence into every stage of the product lifecycle, from initial product concept to field deployment, we can unlock new levels of performance and sustainability. This talk will highlight real-world applications of lifecycle intelligence, demonstrating how a unified digital strategy enables engineers to solve the most daunting challenges with speed and precision.
KEYNOTE II
Use of HPC, GPUs, AI/ML, and Quantum Computing in Electromagnetics Simulation
Prith Banerjee, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Synopsys
Abstract: Electromagnetics Simulation has been used in the area of Antennas and Propagation for the past 50 years. This talk will start with a discussion of how electromagnetics simulation uses numerical methods (finite element, finite volume, finite difference) to solve second order partial differential equations (Maxwell's equations). The challenges in numerical simulation are to get increased accuracy, faster runtimes, ease of use, and convergence; these objectives are often in conflict with one another. We will then discuss four techniques for improving EM simulation. First we will discuss the use of high-performance computing using shared memory and message passing to accelerate EM simulation. Second, we will discuss how the latest GPU technology can be used to exploit fine grain parallelism in EM simulation. Third we will discuss how AI/ML is being used to speed up simulation using surrogate models and foundational models. Fourth, we will discuss the use of quantum computing to accelerate EM simulation in the future. We will conclude the talk by looking at the future of agentic AI workflows in chips to systems with five levels of autonomy which we call "Reengineering Engineering."
Plenary Panel Discussion: AI for Engineering and Design
Following the keynote presentations, a 40-minute plenary panel discussion will explore the impact and future of "AI for Engineering and Design" in the fields of Electromagnetics, Antennas, Microwaves, and Propagation.
The panel brings together the two keynote speakers alongside Jiang Zhu (Technical Director / Principal Scientist, Meta Reality Labs), who joins as a representative of the consumer electronics industry - offering a user's perspective - and on behalf of the IEEE AP-S Industrial Initiative Committee, which he chairs.
Executive Vice President,
Siemens Software
Prith Banerjee
SVP Innovation,
Synopsys
Jiang Zhu
Technical Director,
Meta Reality Labs
Distinguished Industry Speakers and Panelists
Sam Mahalingam
Executive Vice President, Siemens Software
Biography: Sam Mahalingam Sam Mahalingam is the Executive Vice President of Siemens Software, leading the strategic convergence of the simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), and AI portfolios. Leveraging his deep domain expertise gained during his tenure as Altair's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), his core mandate is to realize the full potential of the Siemens + Altair “Better Together” strategy to redefine the market and secure undisputed leadership. He is focused on delivering a seamless, end-to-end solution that converts fragmented data into unified knowledge, driving superior productivity and accelerated time-to-market for global customers.
Mr. Mahalingam's strategy accelerates the Siemens Xcelerator platform through two core, interconnected visions: the autonomous enterprise and the comprehensive digital twin. As a core contributor to the autonomous enterprise (AI Fabric), he utilizes technology to provide context (data meaning), intelligence (AI agents/models), and actions (integrated intelligent apps). His comprehensive digital twin strategy stitches all product lifecycle twins together with a single, traceable thread and a unified source of truth, moving far beyond traditional digital twin concepts.
His leadership is defined by a bold, forward-looking philosophy on engineering validation. Mr. Mahalingam predicts a future where engineering AI will drive all design exploration, while deep physics-based simulation serves as the final virtual validation. This strategic shift positions AI as the primary discovery engine, reserving simulation for precise validation, thereby dramatically minimizing the reliance on costly physical prototypes and transforming computational science into a true strategic advantage. Mr. Mahalingam holds a Bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering and an Executive MBA from the Indian School of Business.
Prith Banerjee
Senior Vice President of Innovation, Synopsys
Biography: Prith Banerjee is Senior Vice President of Innovation at Synopsys, and a member of the Executive Leadership team. Prior to that, he was CTO of Ansys, CTO of Schneider Electric, CTO of ABB, Managing Director at Accenture, and Director of HP Labs. Previously, he spent 20 years in academia as Professor, Chairman and Dean at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. In addition, Prith has founded two EDA software companies, Accelchip and Binachip. He has served on the Board of Directors of Cray, CUBIC, and Turntide. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, ACM, IEEE, and the National Academy of Inventors. He received a B.Tech. in electronics engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana.
Jiang Zhu
Technical Director / Principal Scientist, Meta Reality Labs
Chair, Industrial Initiative Committee, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society
Biography: Jiang Zhu is an accomplished engineer, scientist, engineering leader, and IEEE Fellow with over 15 years of experience driving innovation at Meta, Google, and Apple. He currently serves as a Technical Director and Principal Scientist at Meta Reality Labs, where he leads the introduction of new wireless technologies. Previously, he led Google's Wearable Wireless Hardware team, overseeing the development of their first-generation consumer electronics. A prolific inventor, Jiang holds over 100 granted and pending U.S. patents, many of which feature in successful commercial products.
Dedicated to bridging industry and academia, Jiang directs several of Meta's university collaboration programs focused on AI, augmented/virtual reality, and wireless communications. He serves on the Industrial Advisory Boards for the Electrical and Computer Engineering departments at both the University of Toronto and UC San Diego.
Highly active within the research community, Jiang serves on the Industry Ad-Hoc Committee for the Proceedings of the IEEE and has held and completed Senior and Associate Editor roles for six IEEE journals. Additionally, he has chaired the Industrial Initiative Committee and served on the IEEE Fellow Evaluation Committee for the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, his Master's degree from McMaster University, and his Bachelor's degree from Zhejiang University.