Programme Committee Elections

Antonio Prado

Statement of Interest:
I have served on the PC since 2022, reviewing and selecting submissions for the RIPE community. I would like to continue, bringing a perspective that combines research, operations and public-sector experience.

Biography:
Passionately curious, active in IT since 1993. Open source enthusiast and IPv6 early adopter, I hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science on Internet routing security and work as an external researcher at the University of Padova, as well as a consultant for Italian Public Administration and network operators. I teach DNS, Internet Governance and BGP at the Namex School of Advanced Networking. Former MANRS ambassador and Steering Committee member, I co-authored "BGP, from theory to practice" (Italian and English) and write on RIPE Labs on routing security, IXPs and content blocking.

Tobias Fiebig

Statement of Interest:
Over the past years I had several opportunities to speak at RIPE meetings, and always enjoyed the experience. With my broad experience covering academic and technical topics, I would love to give back to the community by helping find interesting talks and topics that can contribute to a great RIPE program for all participants, while also encouraging better exchange between operators and the academic community.

Biography:
Tobias is a network and security researcher, and since March 2026 leading the 'Internet Infrastructures' research unit at TU Wien. He is heavily invested in IPv6, DNS related measurements and Internet governance. In addition, his work covers various security topics. Beyond research, he likes to operate systems and networks, and actively contributes to documents in the IETF on DNS and routing security.

Photo credit: Amélie Chapalain / TU Wien Informatics

Babak Farrokhi

Statement of Interest:
It has been a privilege to serve on the RIPE PC, and I would welcome the opportunity to continue serving another term.

I believe RIPE Meetings play important role in bringing the Internet technical community together to exchange knowledge, share operational experience, and learn from other members. I would like to continue helping shape a program that is technically relevant, engaging, and representative of the diverse perspectives within our community.

I hope to continue contributing my experience as a network operator and my involvement in the wider Internet community to this effort.

Biography:
Babak is the Director of Operations at Quad9, a nonprofit public DNS resolver focused on security, privacy, and reliable access to the Internet. He works with the team that operates and improves Quad9's global anycast infrastructure, with a particular interest in resilient DNS services and better connectivity in underserved regions.

He has spent over three decades building and operating Internet infrastructure, including service provider networks, and has worked in engineering, technical leadership, and training roles. He also contributes to the wider Internet community through technical programme committees and community initiatives, including the Middle East DNS Forum Programme Committee and FIRST's DNS Abuse SIG.

Babak has been involved in open-source software for more than two decades. He has been a FreeBSD committer since 2004 and is the author and maintainer of DNSDiag, a collection of tools for measuring and troubleshooting DNS performance.