Elaine Wong received her Ph.D. (2002) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and is currently Pro Vice Chancellor (People & Equity) of the University. Her current research interests focus on advancing optical communication and networking technologies to enable future human–to-machine immersive applications. Elaine currently serves on the IEEE Communications Society Emerging Technologies Committee and previously served on the IEEE Technical Activities Board Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is a former elected member of the IEEE Photonics Society Board of Governors and past Chair of the IEEE Communications Society Optical Networking Technical Committee. Elaine previously served as General Chair of the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2025 and has held editorial roles on several leading journals, including IEEE Network, IEEE/Optica Journal of Optical Communications and Networking and IEEE/Optica Journal of Lightwave Technology. She is a Fellow of Optica and Engineers Australia.