Agostinho Linhares is Executive Director of the Institute for Research on the Digital Economy (IPE Digital) and has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), as well as a Master's degree and a Ph.D. in Telecommunications from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the University of Brasília (UnB), respectively. He also holds Executive MBAs in Business Management from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) and in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and Big Data for Business from IBMEC, in addition to specializations in Telecommunications Services Regulation and Public Administration.
He has held several key positions at the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), including Manager of Spectrum, Orbit and Broadcasting, Acting Superintendent, and Advisor to the Board of Directors. He also served as Head of the Brazilian Delegation at the 2015 and 2019 World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs). He is a member of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations Board and has authored more than 40 scientific papers.

After spending more than 16 years leading an atomic, molecular, and optical physics academic research group, Dr. James Shaffer joined Quantum Valley Ideas Lab as its first senior fellow to pursue his passion for applying quantum science and engineering to solving real-world problems. James received his bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and his PhD in optics at the University of Rochester. After a two-year stay at the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences at the National Research Council in Ottawa following his dissertation, James joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma where he was appointed the Homer L. Dodge Professor of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. James’ diverse research interests span quantum sensing, quantum signal transduction, novel light-matter interactions, and highly excited atoms.