Qiaolun Zhang, a junior assistant professor (RTD-A) at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of Politecnico di Milano, received the Best PhD Award at the EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026, held in Málaga, Spain, from 2 to 5 June 2026.
The award recognises his PhD thesis, “Green, Resilient, and Secure Next-Generation Optical Networks”, supervised by Prof. Massimo Tornatore.
Zhang’s research focuses on next-generation optical networks, the infrastructure that carries large volumes of data across long-distance, metropolitan and data-centre systems. His work develops algorithms to make these networks more energy-efficient, resilient and secure, addressing key challenges linked to rising data traffic and the growing need for reliable communications.
The thesis explores emerging technologies such as ZR/ZR+ pluggable optics to reduce energy consumption, proposes solutions to improve network recovery after failures, and investigates the use of quantum technologies, including Quantum Key Distribution and entanglement routing, to enhance security.
His work contributes to building future communication networks that are greener, more robust and better protected.