PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Octavia Dobre

Also known as Octavia A. Dobre, Octavia Adina Dobre

Octavia Dobre is a telecommunications engineer at Memorial University of Newfoundland whose research brings machine learning and artificial intelligence to wireless networks, from blind signal identification to 6G. She earned a PhD at Politehnica University of Bucharest in 2000 and joined Memorial in 2005. From 2016 she was editor-in-chief of IEEE Communications Letters, from 2019 the inaugural editor-in-chief of the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, and from 2022 interim dean of engineering. An IEEE Fellow in 2020, a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2021 and a member of Academia Europaea since 2025, she holds a Tier-1 Canada Research Chair in ubiquitous connectivity. She is a professor at Memorial and editor-in-chief of IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine.

Works
890
Citations
30,726
h-index
81
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2000–2001

    A doctorate and early fellowships

    She earns a master's degree and a PhD in electrical engineering at Politehnica University of Bucharest, completing the doctorate in 2000. She holds a Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellowship at Westminster University in 2000 and a Fulbright Fellowship at Stevens Institute of Technology in 2001.

  2. 2002–2015

    Joining Memorial University

    From 2002 until 2005, she works at Politehnica University of Bucharest and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She joins Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2005, and in 2015 she receives the President's Award for Outstanding Research.

  3. 2016–2022

    Editing IEEE communications journals

    In January 2016, she is elected editor-in-chief of IEEE Communications Letters, where she leads more than 100 editors handling about 3,000 submissions a year. From 2019 to 2022, she is the inaugural editor-in-chief of the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society.

  4. 2020–2021

    IEEE Fellow for signal intelligence

    She becomes an IEEE Fellow in 2020 for contributions to the theory and practice of signal intelligence and emerging wireless technologies, and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2021. Her work on blind signal identification and on 5G and beyond networks draws on machine learning and statistical signal processing.

  5. 2022–2024

    Interim dean of engineering

    In May 2022, she becomes interim dean of Memorial's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, after serving as associate dean of research from 2020, and holds the post until 2024. In 2022, she is also named a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association.

  6. 2024

    Canada Research Chair appointment

    In 2024, she is appointed a tier 1 Canada Research Chair in ubiquitous connectivity and is named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In November 2024, Memorial appoints her dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, for a five-year term starting in January 2026.

  7. 2025

    Election to Academia Europaea

    Academia Europaea elects her in 2025 in recognition of her sustained academic excellence and global standing in telecommunications engineering. Her research drives wireless technologies for 6G and beyond, and her expertise includes artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing applied to communications and networks. One of her innovations, STAR-RIS (simultaneous transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surfaces), enhances the spectral efficiency and coverage of wireless networks.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and magazine editor

    She is a professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair at Memorial University and editor-in-chief of IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine.

Career

  1. Since 2005Memorial University of NewfoundlandProfessor, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
  2. 2022–2025Kyung Hee University
  3. 2020–2023Khalifa University of Science and Technology
  4. 2002–2005Politehnica University of Bucharest
  5. 2002–2005New Jersey Institute of Technology
  6. From 2001Stevens Institute of TechnologyFulbright Fellow
  7. From 2000University of WestminsterPostdoctoral Fellow

Education

  1. 2000Politehnica University of BucharestMaster's degree

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Power-Domain Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) in 5G Systems: Potentials and Challenges2016 · IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials · 2,455 citations
  2. 6G Internet of Things: A Comprehensive Survey2021 · IEEE Internet of Things Journal · 1,458 citations
  3. Survey of automatic modulation classification techniques: classical approaches and new trends2007 · IET Communications · 1,394 citations
  4. Federated Learning for Smart Healthcare: A Survey2022 · ACM Computing Surveys · 821 citations
  5. STAR-RISs: Simultaneous Transmitting and Reflecting Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces2021 · IEEE Communications Letters · 534 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Memorial University of Newfoundland. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Politehnica University of Bucharest. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. 5 of the 25 people with the most-cited recent papers also lead on career citationsIncludes Khalifa University of Science and Technology. We compare citations to 2023–2025 papers with career citations and h-index, after correcting reviewed publication-date errors: who leads, when they started and where they work.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Commitment to research excellence gazette.mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Octavia A. Dobre engr.mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Octavia Dobre - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Dr. Octavia Dobre elected as editor-in-chief of international journal mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Multiple hats gazette.mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Academy of Europe: Dobre Octavia ae-info.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Dean appointed gazette.mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. All things to all people gazette.mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. International impact gazette.mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Octavia A. Dobre | Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science | Memorial University of Newfoundland mun.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.