An international Advanced Research Workshop convening experts from academia, government, and industry to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure through trustworthy artificial intelligence.
This workshop is supported by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme · Co-directed by the University of Calabria (Italy) and the CenTRiS Foundation (Armenia)
Critical infrastructure sectors — energy, water, transportation, and communication — face escalating threats from complex, often cascading, natural and man-made disasters. This Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) convenes international experts to address this pressing security challenge by exploring the strategic application of Artificial Intelligence.
Through expert presentations and facilitated discussions, the workshop advances three interconnected pillars, and works towards concrete outcomes: policy recommendations, a collaborative research agenda, and a roadmap for a follow-on NATO SPS Multi-Year Project (MYP).
Advanced sensing, digital twins, and IoT for real-time structural health and anomaly detection across energy, water, and transport systems.
Secure, sovereignty-respecting frameworks and privacy-enhancing technologies for trusted cross-border data exchange.
Predictive models for multi-hazard, cascading-failure scenarios that shift response from reactive to anticipatory.
The full scientific programme is below. Participants arrive on 14 September; sessions run 15–18 September; departure is on 19 September. The complete programme is also available to download.
Download the full programme (PDF)| Date | Day | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 14 Sept | Arrival | Arrivals, registration desk, informal welcome |
| Tue 15 Sept | Day 1 | Opening ceremony · Pillar 01 — AI-Powered Monitoring |
| Wed 16 Sept | Day 2 | Pillar 01 (cont.) · Pillar 02 — Regional Data Sharing · hybrid threats · call to action |
| Thu 17 Sept | Day 3 | Pillar 03 — Early Warning Models · technical visit |
| Fri 18 Sept | Day 4 | Cascading failure · capacity building · conclusions · closing excursion and farewell dinner |
| Sat 19 Sept | Departure | Departures |
Session days are 15–18 September, all within the 09:00–17:30 access window agreed with YSU. Registration opens at 09:30 on Tuesday 15 September and at 09:15 on the other session days; sessions start at 09:30. Standard slot: 25 minutes (20-minute presentation + 5 minutes discussion); keynotes 30 minutes.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| From 12:00 | Arrivals, airport transfers, hotel check-in |
| 16:00–19:00 | Registration desk open (workshop materials, badges) |
| 19:30 | Informal welcome gathering (speakers and organising committee) |
| Time | Item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30–10:15 | Registration and coffee | |
| 10:15–10:30 | Participants take their seats | |
| 10:30–11:00 | Opening ceremony — Co-Directors; Prof. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, Rector of Yerevan State University; Ms. Tatev Aslanyan, Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry and Artificial Intelligence; H.E. Mr. Alessandro Ferranti, Ambassador of Italy, with Lt. Col. Andrea Cilento, Carabinieri; H.E. Mr. George Sharvashidze, Ambassador of Georgia; H.E. Mrs. Kirsti Narinen, Ambassador of Finland; Mr. Valerii Lobach, Chargé d’Affaires of Ukraine; Mr. Aaron Coe, Embassy of Canada; Ms. Meline Yeghoyan, Embassy of the Republic of Poland; Mr. Nerses Yeritsyan, Chairman of the Information Systems Agency; Prof. Gianluigi Greco, Rector of the University of Calabria [online]. | |
| 11:00–11:30 | Opening keynote — The New Security Frontier | Prof. F. Lamonaca and Dr. G. Babayan |
| 11:30–11:45 | Coffee | |
| Session 1.1 — Sensing foundations for critical infrastructure (chair: Prof. Kharchenko) | ||
| 11:45–12:10 | AI-powered distributed sensing and instrumentation for critical infrastructure monitoring [online] | Prof. P. Daponte (Univ. of Sannio, IT) |
| 12:10–12:35 | Advanced sensing for structural health monitoring of bridges, dams and pipelines | Prof. F. Lamonaca (UniCal, IT) |
| 12:35–13:00 | Building health monitoring solutions [online] | Dr. K. Shiwaku (OYO Corp., JP) |
| 13:00–14:00 | Lunch and group photograph | |
| Session 1.2 — Grids, networks and wireless sensing (chair: Prof. Arslan) | ||
| 14:00–14:25 | Low-cost AI-powered distributed sensors for power quality event detection and early warning in smart grids [online] | Prof. D. L. Carnì (UniCal, IT) |
| 14:25–14:50 | Fibre sensing for infrastructure monitoring using AI | Prof. R. Kvatadze (GRENA, GE) |
| 14:50–15:15 | Foundation models for wireless sensing | Dr. H. Khachatryan (YerevaNN, AM) |
| 15:15–15:35 | Coffee | |
| Session 1.3 — Assurance and cyber-physical resilience (chair: Prof. Paladi) | ||
| 15:35–16:00 | From early warning to assured action: cybersecurity assessment and security-informed safety for resilient cyber-physical systems | Dr. O. Illiashenko (Leeds Beckett Univ., UK) |
| 16:00–16:25 | Securing device identity in cyber-physical systems for resilient infrastructure monitoring | Dr. C. Felicetti (UniCal, IT) |
| 16:25–17:15 | Moderated discussion — what AI-powered monitoring must deliver operationally | Prof. A. N. Arslan (Univ. of Vaasa, FI) |
| 17:15–17:30 | Day close | |
| 19:00 | Opening reception | |
| Time | Item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:15–09:30 | Registration and coffee | |
| Session 2.1 — Aerial, unmanned and satellite sensing (chair: Prof. Lamonaca) | ||
| 09:30–09:55 | AI-powered heterogeneous unmanned systems for critical services: models, dependability assurance and implementation | Prof. V. Kharchenko (KhAI, UA) |
| 09:55–10:20 | A multiple-node power network simulation | Prof. Y. Mamasakhlisov (YSU, AM) |
| 10:20–10:45 | From UAV-acquired data to predictive models: computational modelling of environmental factors and infrastructure monitoring | Prof. F. Paladi (Moldova State Univ., MD) |
| 10:45–11:10 | From Space to Decisions: AI-Driven Earth Observation for Monitoring, Early Warning, and Resilient Critical Infrastructure | Prof. A. N. Arslan (Univ. of Vaasa, FI) |
| 11:10–11:35 | Large-scale seismic vulnerability assessment methods: advanced numerical methods and artificial intelligence [online] | Prof. G. Capparelli (UniCal, IT) |
| 11:35–11:55 | Coffee | |
| Session 2.2 — Governance and trust frameworks (Pillar 02) (chair: Dr. Babayan) | ||
| 11:55–12:25 | Keynote: From innovation to implementation — building governance frameworks for AI in critical sectors | Mr. P. Upmann (AIGN, DE) |
| 12:25–12:50 | Trusted sensing, trusted sharing, trusted warning: AI for the resilience of critical rail infrastructure | Eng. A. Lugarà (IT) |
| 12:50–14:00 | Lunch | |
| Session 2.3 — Hybrid threats, trust and the information layer (chair: Dr. Gajewski) | ||
| 14:00–14:25 | Critical infrastructure vulnerabilities in Armenia: hybrid threats, emerging risks and building national resilience | Dr. G. Melikyan (INFORS Armenia, AM) |
| 14:25–14:50 | AI-powered multimodal sensor fusion for 3D mapping, object detection and anomaly detection [online] | Prof. J. Aelterman · Ghent University – imec, Belgium |
| 14:50–15:15 | The missing hazard: information attacks as cascade amplifiers in multi-hazard early warning | Mr. S. Martirosyan (CenTRiS Foundation, AM) |
| 15:15–15:35 | Coffee | |
| 15:35–16:00 | Population as critical infrastructure: mass account compromise as a national cascading-failure vector | Mr. S. Martirosyan (CenTRiS Foundation, AM) |
| 16:00–16:25 | A call to action: forging international partnerships for a resilient future | Col. A. Hayrapetyan (112 Operational Management Centre, MoI, AM) |
| Session 2.4 — Hydrogeological risk and damage assessment (chair: Prof. Lamonaca) | ||
| 16:25–16:50 | AI-Powered Real-Time Decision Support for Hydro-Hydraulic Risk Management [online] | Prof. G. Capparelli (UniCal, IT) |
| 16:50–17:15 | Leveraging satellite imagery and computer vision for rapid disaster damage assessment | Dr. A. Vitale (UniCal, IT) |
| 17:15–17:30 | Day close | |
| 19:30 | Dinner | |
| Time | Item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:15–09:30 | Registration and coffee | |
| Session 3.1 — Hazard forecasting and early warning (chair: Dr. Karapetyan) | ||
| 09:30–10:00 | Keynote: AI algorithms for faster and more reliable earthquake and tsunami early warning | Dr. Q. Bletery (IRD — Géoazur, FR) |
| 10:00–10:25 | Smartphone networks as early-warning infrastructure: detecting and alerting where seismic instrumentation is sparse | Prof. R. Allen (UC Berkeley, US) |
| 10:25–10:50 | Spatial analysis and early warning for flood and dam-break hazards to critical infrastructure: Armenia’s operational experience | Lt. Col. T. Simonyan (112 Operational Management Centre, MoI, AM) |
| 10:50–11:15 | Artificial intelligence in geology: earthquake and geohazard assessment for critical infrastructure | Dr.Sci. K. Meliksetian (Institute of Geological Sciences SNCO, AM) |
| 11:15–11:35 | Coffee | |
| Session 3.2 — Water, climate and environmental risk (chair: Dr.Sci. Meliksetian) | ||
| 11:35–12:05 | AI-based prediction of earthen dam failure (joint presentation) | Prof. P. Baljyan & Dr. H. Karapetyan (AM) |
| 12:05–12:30 | Armenia’s new digital disaster risk management system: from risk assessment to forecasting and resilience | Mr. K. Atayan (Ministry of Internal Affairs, AM) |
| 12:30–13:20 | Round table — toward a regional data-sharing framework for critical infrastructure | Chairs: Mr. P. Upmann and Prof. R. Kvatadze |
| 13:20–14:00 | Lunch | |
| 14:00–17:00 | Technical visit — YSU supercomputer facility and CRISP Lab (alternative: YerevaNN) | |
| 17:00 onwards | Optional Yerevan cultural programme, at participants’ own arrangement and expense | |
| 19:30 | Dinner | |
| Time | Item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:15–09:30 | Registration and coffee | |
| Session 4.1 — Cross-sector resilience and cascading failure (chair: Dr. Tonoyan) | ||
| 09:30–10:00 | Keynote: Digital health as critical infrastructure for early risk prediction and safer care | Dr. L. Tonoyan (Univ. of Alberta, CA) |
| 10:00–10:25 | Implementation of Vulnerability Monitoring and Management System in RENAM | Dr. P. Bogatencov & A. Cacean (RENAM, MD) |
| 10:25–10:50 | Indirect attacks on small modular reactors: societal vulnerabilities as security issues | Dr. J. Gajewski (NCBJ, PL) |
| 10:50–11:15 | Long-endurance fixed-wing UAS for wide-area infrastructure survey: platform design and operational experience [online] | Eng. A. Danici (DanAero, MD) |
| 11:15–11:40 | One AI backbone, three specialisations: applied advanced training in cybersecurity, aerial robotics and electrical engineering for the critical infrastructure workforce | Dr. G. Babayan (CenTRiS, AM) |
| 11:40–12:05 | Utilization of AI in monitoring and early warning in the treatment and reuse potential of municipal wastewater | Prof. P. Samaras (International Hellenic Univ., GR) |
| 12:05–12:30 | Trustworthy AI for monitoring and early warning: from ethical principles to organisational risk management | Ms. M. Kaladjian (Salience Consulting, AM) |
| 12:30–12:50 | Coffee | |
| Session 4.2 — Follow-up and publication (chair: Co-Directors) | ||
| 12:50–13:15 | Publication plan: NATO Science for Peace and Security Series D, open access | Co-Directors |
| 13:15–14:20 | Lunch | |
| 14:20–15:30 | Round table — drafting the workshop recommendations. Rapporteurs report back: Prof. A. N. Arslan (Pillar 01), Col. A. Hayrapetyan (Pillar 02), Dr. L. Tonoyan (Pillar 03). Coffee served in the room | Chairs: Co-Directors |
| 15:30–16:15 | Adoption of conclusions and recommendations · next steps · closing remarks | Co-Directors |
| 16:15–16:30 | Assemble at the buses | |
| 16:30 | Departure — closing excursion: Geghard Monastery, then Garni Temple under evening illumination | |
| 19:30 | Farewell dinner — Garni village | |
Saturday 19 September — Departures. Airport transfers for departing participants.
Programme correct at the time of publication; sessions, speakers and timings may be subject to change. [online] indicates a remote presentation.
Invited speakers bring internationally recognized expertise across trustworthy AI, critical-infrastructure security, disaster monitoring, and international data governance.
Speakers are listed with their sessions in the programme above. Session chairs and rapporteurs are drawn from among them, and opening-ceremony remarks are given by invited dignitaries. Details may be subject to change.
The workshop is hosted by Yerevan State University (YSU), which provides the conference facilities, equipment, and local transport for participants.
Yerevan State University (YSU)
1 Alek Manukyan Street, Yerevan 0025, Armenia
Conference hall, equipment, and participant transport provided by the host university.
Arrive via Zvartnots International Airport (EVN), ~12 km from the city centre. Organized transfers between the airport, participant hotels, and the venue will be arranged by the hosts. City taxi apps: Yandex Go, GG, Utax.
Two recommended hotels in central Yerevan, within a short transfer of the venue. Booking details will be shared with confirmed participants.
The map shows the venue and the two participant hotels — click any pin for its name and address. Organised transfers run between the hotels, the venue, and the airport.
Participation in this Advanced Research Workshop is by invitation of the Co-Directors. Applications from qualified experts and researchers are welcome and reviewed on a merit basis.
Participation is limited to individuals holding the nationality of a NATO member state, or of a Partner country approved for this workshop: Armenia, Georgia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Officials of the United Nations and the European Union are also eligible. Nationals of other Partner countries cannot be accepted. There is no registration fee.
University of Calabria, Italy — Associate Professor of Electric and Electronic Measurements; Editor-in-Chief of Acta IMEKO.
CenTRiS Foundation, Armenia — Executive Director, Center for Technology and Risk Studies.
For participation, logistics, or documentation for your internal approval, please get in touch with the organizing secretariat.
CenTRiS Foundation
Center for Technology and Risk Studies
40 Sayat-Nova Ave., 0025 Yerevan, Armenia
Email: info@centris.am
Web: www.centris.am
