• The total number of best paper candidates is set at 10% of all accepted papers. ZPEC2026 accepted 147 papers, resulting in 14.7 candidate slots, which is rounded up to 15 candidates.

• The shortlist of candidates is determined from the top 15 accepted papers ranked by review scores, according to the following criteria:

a. The confidence-weighted average total score

b. In the event of a tie, the unweighted average total score will be used as the tiebreaker.

• The final Best Paper Award recipients are selected by the Awards Committee based on the following four dimensions:

a. Originality and Innovation (30%) — Does the paper propose new theories, topologies, algorithms, or application scenarios?

b. Technical Depth and Rigor (30%) — Are the theoretical derivations and experimental designs rigorous? Is the conclusion well supported by the presented results?

c. Practical Value and Impact (20%) — Does it demonstrate clear application potential? Does it address a critical real-world problem?

d. Presentation Quality (20%) — Is the paper well organized? Are the figures and tables clear and informative? Is the manuscript written in clear, professional English consistent with IEEE standards?