Dalma Novak
VP of Engineering,
Octane Wireless, Maryland, USA
Biography: Dalma Novak is VP of Engineering at Octane Wireless (formerly Pharad, LLC) where she develops high-performance RF-over-fiber technologies. Prior to co-founding Pharad in 2004, she spent 12 years as a Professor and Chair of Telecommunications in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests include microwave photonics, fiber-radio systems, wireless technologies, and optical communications. She has published more than 300 papers in these areas, including seven book chapters. In 2007 she was elected to the grade of IEEE Fellow for her contributions to enabling technologies for the implementation of fiber-radio systems. In 2018 she received the IEEE Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award. Dalma is the
2025 IEEE Technical Activities VP-Elect and is the current Chair of the IEEE Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. She was also the Chair of the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from 2021 – 2023.
Invited Speech Title
Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in
the IEEE and Beyond
Abstract: Diversity of thought is essential for innovation. This presentation will discuss how the IEEE is advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within its communities and highlight some of the best practices being implemented. The benefits of DEI in workforce development will also be described.