Date: Tuesday, Sept 1st, 2026

Time: 2:00 -3:00 PM

Venue: IB 1047

Zoom: 715 337 7467

Password: DNAS

Speaker

Dr. Abdulmotaleb El Saddik

Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa 

Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC 2020)

The Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE 2009)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (FIEEE 2009)

The Engineering Institute of Canada (FEIC 2010)

An ACM Distinguished Member from 2010

Abstract

Over the past decades, digital twins have evolved from ideas on paper into living companions that reflect and interact with the physical world. By staying in sync with their real counterparts, they help us monitor, understand, and improve systems in ways we could not imagine before. Today, with the power of AI, immersive technologies (AR, VR, XR), and 5G, digital twins are moving from simple replicas into intelligent partners. With multimodal large language models

(MLLMs), they can see, hear, and interpret data more like humans, opening the door to real-time, adaptive, and personalized interaction. The influence reaches far beyond industry. In healthcare, education, and smart cities, AI-augmented digital twins can enhance well-being, extend human abilities, and create new opportunities for societies around the world.

In this keynote, I will share how AI is changing digital twins from tools into transformative forces that shape our future. It is, in the end, a journey not only about technology, but about humanity building systems that enrich life. 

Bio
Abdulmotaleb El Saddik is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Ottawa, and a globally recognized scholar in intelligent multimedia, digital twins, and immersive technologies. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications and Applications (ACM TOMM) and has shaped the field as Associate Editor and Guest Editor for several leading journals. With more than 600 publications, 10 books, and supervision of over 150 researchers, his work has inspired new generations of scholars and innovators. He has chaired numerous international conferences and secured more than $30M in research funding to advance the frontiers of AI, haptics, and digital twins. Professor El Saddik is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, IEEE, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Engineering Institute of Canada. His awards include the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award, IEEE Canada C.C. Gotlieb Medal, the A.G.L. McNaughton Gold Medal, and the IEEE I&M Technical Achievement Award