Conference General Co-chairs
Dr. Nikos Fistas, EUROCONTROL
Dr. Nikos Fistas has been with EUROCONTROL for almost 30 years and is currently leading the standardization team activities. In this role, he oversees the development and maintenance of operational and technical, civil and military standards, published in the form of EUROCONTROL specifications and guidelines and is also responsible for EUROCONTROL’s cooperation with standardization groups.
Before, Nikos has contributed to and led the development activities for new aviation communication systems, progressing from research and investigations to the definition and standardization of datalinks for communication, including both terrestrial and satellite-based systems, as well as surveillance. He supported the SESAR Deployment Manager datalink activities for 2 years and, for five years until 2024, served as the EUROCONTROL NM datalink manager, overseeing the CPDLC deployment and operations in Europe. Prior to that, he led initiatives related to the Future Aeronautical Communication Infrastructure (FCI) and coordinated the SESAR Joint Undertaking research activities, guiding the development and standardization of AeroMACS, LDACS, and SATCOM systems.
On behalf of EUROCONTROL and SESAR, Nikos has supported the international datalink coordination efforts with ICAO and the FAA as part of EU-U.S. coordination agreements, including DCOM, CCOM, and Action Plans CCOM. He has represented EUROCONTROL in multiple international standardization groups, including ICAO, EUROCAE, RTCA, AEEC, and ETSI. Additionally, he currently leads the ICAO Communication Panel Project Team SATCOM, which is tasked with updating ICAO SATCOM provisions, including SARPs and the SATCOM Manual.
Nikos has been an active supporter of the ICNS Conference since 2010, primarily focusing on organizing plenary sessions and fostering international participation.
Nikos holds a doctorate in signal processing and a Master of Science in computer networks from Imperial College London (UK), and an electrical engineering diploma from the University of Thessaloniki (Greece).
Brent Phillips, FAA
Brent Phillips is a senior systems engineer with the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen Organization and the U.S. panel member to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Communications Panel. Mr. Phillips is also the program co-lead for the joint FAA/SESAR Future Communications Infrastructure Study and the Next Generation SATCOM Systems. He is currently leading the internet protocol suite (IPS) standards development for aviation use in the FAA. He is also serving as the communications lead on the NAS Enterprise Architecture Roadmap Team.
Plenary Program Co-chairs
Cristian Pradera, SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM)
Cristian Pradera is an aeronautical engineer specialized in rocket engines, graduated in the Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2008. He started his professional career as a consultant in ENAIRE, working for 5 years in the Planning and Strategy division, where he contributed to the development of ENAIRE’s business plan and to the elaboration of the European ATM Master Plan under the SJU. He then joined EUROCONTROL for 3 years, working in the ATM Master Plan Unit and then he moved to the SESAR Deployment Manager in 2017, where he became the planning manager, in charge of the planning activities related to the implementation of the Common Projects, DataLink Services and ADS-B Out.
Sherry Yang, The Boeing Company
Sherry Yang is senior manager of Airspace Operational Efficiency (AOE) at Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T). She is responsible for executing AOE’s missions and collaborating with government agencies and industry partners for advanced technology development in the areas of trajectory-based operations (TBO), artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), air traffic management (ATM), and advanced air mobility (AAM). Working across technologies and businesses, Yang facilitates public and private partnerships to develop and evaluate new technologies and operation concepts for the aviation ecosystem. She is an associate fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a technical advisor to the ICC AIA Member of the ICAO Information Management Panel, and a member of AIA, ATCA, and CANSO.
Technical Program Chairs
Dr. Rainer Kölle, EUROCONTROL
Rainer Kölle heads the Operational Performance Review Service with EUROCONTROL, Directorate European Green Sky, Aviation Intelligence Unit, Brussels. Prior to joining EUROCONTROL in 2005, he served as a career officer in the German Air Force with 18 years of service experience. His professional career saw him working as aviator, air traffic controller, and in the wider field of air traffic management.
Rainer represents EUROCONTROL in standardization activities and performance related R&D projects and policy working groups (e.g., ICAO’s performance expert group, multi-national performance benchmarking group). His research interests apply data science to operational air transport and air navigation performance and promoting higher levels of transparency using open data for operational performance measurement.
Rainer holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering (communication systems) from the University of the German Federal Armed Forces, Hamburg, 1994, and a doctorate from Lancaster University, United Kingdom, 2013.
Paul Prisaznuk, ARINC (Retired), Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC)
Paul Prisaznuk is an aviation professional that has served ARINC, EUROCAE, RTCA, and ICAO in various technical capacities for over 35 years. Most recently Paul served as the head of standards development at ARINC. In that role Paul led the development of over 250 technical standards used in the design and construction of commercial air transport, large military aircraft, and other aircraft. These include many air/ground standards applied to communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) systems.
Paul is a contributing author to the CRC Press publication, Digital Avionics Handbook. His contributions describe the ARINC 429, Digital Information Transfer System, and the ARINC 653, Avionics Application Software Standard Interface. Paul has taught an introductory course on the “Fundamentals of Avionics” offered by the University of Kansas. Paul has briefed ICNS and DASC conferences on the application of ARINC Standards. He is a member of ICAO’s ICNS and Spectrum Task Force.
Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of Dayton. He is active in the collector car community and has owned several unique vehicles over his lifetime.
