Mehrdad Dianati
Queen's University Belfast
Mehrdad Dianati is a Professor of Connected and Cooperative Autonomous Systems at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Prior to this, he was the Head of the Intelligent Vehicles Research Directorate at the University of Warwick, where he also led the Centre for Doctoral Training on Future Mobility Technologies. His research is centered on the trustworthy system engineering of Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), with a focus on two key areas: (1) developing ultra-low-latency and highly reliable communication and computing frameworks for CAVs, and (2) applying these technologies to create resilient cooperative positioning, perception, and coordinated motion-planning systems.
With over 32 years of combined industrial and academic experience, including 20 years in leadership roles, Prof. Dianati has a proven track record in large-scale multidisciplinary R&D projects related to CAV technologies. He has played a key role in several significant autonomous vehicle trials in the UK and Europe, such as the EPSRC/JLR-funded CARMA project, Innovate UK's AutopleX, the EU FP7 L3Pilot, and Horizon Europe’s Hi-Drive.
Prof. Dianati maintains strong collaborations with the automotive and ICT sectors, which are central to his research. He was a Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute from 2021 to 2023, and he currently serves as the Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Future Transportation. In the past, he held editorial roles with IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology and other prominent international journals such as IET Communications.
At the QEPNT Hub, his research focuses on evaluating and adapting Quantum Positioning Technology for autonomous vehicles. This includes working closely with academic and industry partners to develop digital twin simulations and physical technology demonstrators, helping to assess the real-world applicability of quantum positioning in autonomous vehicle systems.