Biography
Assaf Mansour joined The University of the South Pacific (USP) in 2010. Prior to USP, he was associated with the Centre for Information and Communications Technology, at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). Before that, he served as a Research Scholar and Lecturer in The School of Information Technology and Engineering of The University of Ottawa (UOO), Ottawa, ON, Canada. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UOO where he also received his M.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and the B.A.Sc. degree in Telecommunications. His research interests are in the areas of computer architecture, mixed-signal analysis, hardware/software co-design and test, fault-tolerant computing, sensor networks, image processing, and RFID technology. He is author of over 82 refereed journal and proceedings papers, 42 of which are with high impact factor, and one book. Assaf is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a senior member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), a professional member of Engineers New Zealand, and a professional member of Engineers Fiji. He received the 2003 IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award.

Interest
Dr. Assaf has a profound interest in fostering innovative research in computer engineering and related fields. His interests include developing advanced technologies for real-time applications, enhancing the integration of higher education and industry, and contributing to the advancement of renewable energy solutions. He is also dedicated to the professional development of engineers and fostering youth empowerment through community service and awareness programs.

Ph.D. in Computer Engineering
School of Information Technology and Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada (2003)

M.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering
Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Electrical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada (1996)

B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada (1994)

Honours in Applied Physics
Faculty of Science, The Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon (1989)

• Postdoctoral Fellowships at DISCOVER Laboratory, University of Ottawa, Canada (2004)
• Over 20 years of experience in academic, research, and administrative roles in higher education institutions worldwide.
• Initiated innovative postgraduate programs and strengthened links between higher education and industry.
• Successfully secured funding for multiple research projects focused on technology, renewable energy, and climate change.

• Vice Chair of the IEEE Fiji SubSection (2016 – Present)
• Council Elected Member of the Fiji Institute of Engineers (2021)
• Active involvement in professional development and assessment panels
• Engagement in projects such as empowering youth and community awareness of long-term environmental change, and supporting students with disabilities through technological innovations.

Undergraduate Courses:

• EE212 (Analog Electronics I)
• EE224 (Signal & Systems),
• EE326 (Embedded Systems)

 Postgraduate Course:

• EE492 (Digital Signal Processing)
• EE467 (Telecommunication Systems and Networks)

Dr. Assaf’s research interests encompass a wide range of topics within computer engineering and technology, including:

• Real-time applications of deep learning and artificial intelligence
• Assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities
• Blockchain technology in higher education
• Renewable energy systems and their integration with weak grids
• Drone technologies for environmental monitoring
• Development of algorithms for feature extraction and molecular recognition
• Embedded Systems Applications
• Hardware/Software Co-design
• RFID Technology Applications
• Design for Testability Techniques
• Fault Tolerant Computing
• Sensor Networks

• Senior Member of the IEEE (since 2002)
• Senior Member of the ACM (since 2006)
• Member of Engineering New Zealand (since 2018)
• Member of the Fiji Institute of Engineers (since 2018)
• Vice Chair of the IEEE Fiji SubSection (since 2016)

2003 IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award
Dr. Assaf received this prestigious award in recognition of his outstanding paper, marking a significant achievement and contribution to the field of electrical and electronics engineering.

Journals:

• Kumar, A.K., Mai, N.N., Kumar, A., Chand, N.V., and Assaf, M. (2022). “Quantum classifier for recognition and identification of leaf profile features”. The European Physical Journal D, 76 (110). ISSN 1434-6060.
• Assaf, M., Kumar, R.R., Sharma, K., and Sharma, B. (2022). “Optimized Tongue Driven System Using Artificial Intelligence”. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization, 11. pp. 1-16. ISSN 2168-1163, 2168-1171.
• P. Khadilkar, S.R. Das, M.H. Assaf, and S. Biswas, “Face Identification Based on Discrete Wavelet Transform and Neural Networks,” International Journal of Image and Graphics, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 1-20, September 2019.
• Patel J., Assaf M., Mehta U., Singh S., “Verification of data sparsification technique in smart grid communication”, WSEAS Transactions on Communications, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 57-65, 2019.
• Williams, M. Assaf. “Intelligent Public Transportation System”, International Journal of Mathematics and Computers in Simulation”, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 124-132, 2018.

Conferences:

• Assaf, M., “Molecular Recognition and Feature Extraction System” presented at the International Conference on Paradigms of Communication, Computing and Data Analytics (PCCDA 2023), April 22-23, 2023, Delhi, India.
• Assaf, M., “Automated Fall Detection System” presented at the Congress on Control, Robotics, and Mechatronics (CRM 2023), March 25-26, 2023, Kota, India.
• Kumar, A., and Assaf, M., and Mehta U. V. (2016) Real time classification of American sign language for finger spelling purpose. In: Internet of Vehicles – Technologies and Services. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 10036. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland.

Books:

Assaf M. H., DIGITAL CORE OUTPUT TEST DATA COMPRESSION ARCHITECTURE, VDM Verlag Dr. Muller, ISBN: 978-3-639-19098-4, 2009.

Chapters:

• Assaf, M. H., Williams M., Das, S. R., Biswas S. N., and Morton S. (2013) Use of session initiation protocol in multimedia communications: Evaluation of server performance based on software profiling. In: S.C.Suh, U.J. Tanik, J.N. Carbone, and A. Eroglu (Ed/s.), Applied Cyber-Physical Systems (pp.230-251). New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-7335-0.
• Kumar, S., Lal, R., Ali, A., Rollings, N., Mehta, U., Assaf, M. (2024). A Real-Time Fish Recognition Using Deep Learning Algorithms for Low-Quality Images on an Underwater Drone. In: Pandit, M., Gaur, M.K., Kumar, S. (eds) Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Computing. ICSISCET 2023. Algorithms for Intelligent Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0327-2_6
• Tebuka, T. et al. (2024). Scalable Communication Protocol in Wired Control Area Network for Electric Vehicles. In: Uddin, M.S., Bansal, J.C. (eds) Proceedings of International Joint Conference on Advances in Computational Intelligence. IJCACI 2022. Algorithms for Intelligent Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0180-3_58
• Elisha, D., Sanau, J., Assaf, M.H., Kumar, R.R., Sharma, B., Sharma, R. (2023). Molecular Recognition and Feature Extraction System. In: Yadav, A., Nanda, S.J., Lim, MH. (eds) Proceedings of International Conference on Paradigms of Communication, Computing and Data Analytics. PCCDA 2023. Algorithms for Intelligent Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4626-6_43

• RERIPA 1 – Mapping & diagnosis of R&I ecosystems, networking facilitation, shared R&I vision and strategy (with a focus on climate change) (2022 – 2024) – OACPS – European Union (USP Project Partner) – In progress.
• Internal Tongue Drive System for Students with Disabilities (2018); under the University Research Innovations in Technology (USP-TEL). (Project Principal Investigator) – Completed.
• Blockchain Decentralized Higher Education Bursary Scheme (2018); under the University Research Innovations in Technology (USP-TEL). (Project Principal Investigator) – Completed.
• REFEPICS 2 – Design of a Renewable Energy source generator with a Flywheel Energy storage system for supplying energy in Pacific Island Countries with weak grid (2016 – 2017), French project funds – FONDS PACIFIQUE. (Project co-Investigator) – Completed.
• Sea soundscape in Fiji waters as tool for the local management of the marine and coastal zones – SySTeMiC – Sea Soundscape Tool Management Costal (2016 – 2017), under the University Strategic Research Theme funds (USP-SRT). (Project co-Investigator) – Completed.

• Executive Insight for Exceptional Leaders. Pacific Telecommunications Council. Honolulu, HI, USA, October 2022.
• Leadership Skills for Supervisors Cyber Security in the Connected World, IEEE, August 2018.
• TELMOOC – Massive Open Online Course – Introduction to Technology-Enabled Learning. Offered jointly by Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University, Canada, January 2017.
• Designing a Blended Course. The University of Ottawa, Canada, September 2017.

Dr. Assaf has supervised numerous graduate and postgraduate engineering students in their research projects. His supervision has covered a wide range of topics, including real-time applications of AI, renewable energy systems, assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities, and blockchain technologies in education.