Prof. Lastra joined the Tampere University of Technology in 1997 and became University Full Professor in 2006. His research interest is in applying Information and Communication Technologies to the field of Automation. He leads the FAST-Lab with the ultimate goal of seamlessly integrating the knowledge of humans and machines in order to create smart environments. Prof. Lastra has co/authored over 300 articles and holds a number of patents in the field of Industrial Informatics and Automation. Prof. Lastra is an active member of the international research scene with a track record of 21 funded European Research projects. He serves as Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics and was a Technical Editor of the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics in 2015-2016. Prof. Lastra served as Guest Editor for the MDPI Sensors Journal and is an editorial member of the MDPI Machines journal. Furthermore, Prof. Lastra served as Technical Secretary for the IEEE Technical Committee on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems from 2017-2018. For the period 2019-2022, he serves as a Co-Chair for the IEEE Technical Committee on Industrial Cyber-Physical systems.