Muhammad Umar Masood is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. His research lies at the intersection of photonics and artificial intelligence, with a focus on optical transport networks, photonic integrated circuits, and multi-band wavelength-selective switching. He develops AI- and machine learning based frameworks for quality-of-transmission estimation, state-of-polarization monitoring, anomaly detection, and predictive restoration in optical fiber systems. His work contributes to the design of scalable, energy-efficient, and programmable infrastructures that support next-generation 5G/6G networks. He is also engaged in advancing disaggregated and elastic optical architectures, promoting automation, resilience, and sustainability in modern communication systems.