302-831-4997 chengmo@udel.edu
Cyber Data Science

Cyber Data Science

Majors aligned with the IoT team

  • CE: cybersecurity, ML, Networks
  • CS: algorithms, programming languages, ML
  • Math: Coding, Algorithms, ML

Exciting Research Topics

  • Adversarial Machine Learning Protection
  • Intrusion detection and protection strategies
  • Traffic Analysis with ML
  • Secure communication protocols

Learning Opportunities

  • ML Programming, Network Intrusion Detection, Network Traffic Analysis, Network Capture Parsing, and Python

This VIP team studies applications of machine learning and data science techniques to defend against rapid complex cybersecurity threats. The focus of this research is on advancing machine learning applied to the detection of malicious network communications. The team will be actively working on and not limited to intrusion detection, network traffic analysis, and defenses against adversarial machine learning in a network context.

Contact: Prof. Michael De Lucia

Handout (PDF)

The Power of Sound

The Power of Sound

Research Issues

Sound is everywhere in our lives, brought alive by music and conversation. The unique properties of acoustic energy also make it ideal for transmitting energy in many environments from solid metals to the ocean to the human body.  This VIP team studies applications of acoustic waves for sensing, communication, energy harvesting and power transfer.

Research Areas

  • Musical Acoustic
  • Seismic communication
  • Acoustic energy harvesting
  • Ultrasound for wireless power transfer
  • Underwater sound and communications
  • Marine and environmental sounds

Majors Preparation and Interests

  • EE: signal processing, ML, control, power
  • CS: algorithms, programming
  • ME: actuation, control, mechanics
  • BME: wearables, implantables

Key Elements

Fundamentals of acoustics, transducer design and manufacturing, wireless power transfer, acoustic energy harvesting, sound signal processing and machine learning, musical synthesis.

Goals

The Acoustic Engineering and signal processing laboratory in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department seeks to develop understanding in a variety of fields related to sound propagation and engineering. These include instrumentation, signal processing and analysis, as well as algorithm development for AI and ML dealing with sound signals.

Faculty

Mohsen Badiey, Professor, ECE, badiey@udel.edu

Nathan Lazarus, Professor, ECE, nlazarus@udel.edu

Cloud Crypto

Cloud Crypto

Data security for the new age

Research Issues

Lattice‐based Cryptography, Homomorphic Encryption, Post‐quantum Security, Security Proofs, Side‐channel Attacks, Dynamic Message Authentication, Confidential Querying, Network Security, Massively Parallel Computation, Blockchain

Research Areas

Cryptography, Homomorphic Encryption, Penetration Testing, ATM Security, Blockchain Applications, Secure Web Applications

Majors Preparation and Interests

Mathematics – Algebraic Number Theory, Lattice Invariants, Diophantine System Solving, Probabilistic Analysis, Modular Interval Arithmetic CSI – Complexity Analysis, Proofs of Security, Penetration Testing CmpE, CS – Optimizations, High Performance Implementations, Parallel Algorithms, Logic circuit obfuscation, FPGAs, GPUs MIS – Bringing these solutions to market, distributed record management, confidentiality preservation, secure data‐mining

Key Elements

Computational Mathematics, Management Information Systems, Healthcare IT, High‐Performance Computing, Cryptography, Quantum Computing, ATM Security, Biometrics, Pen Testing, Cryptographic Currencies

Goals

The Cloud Crypto team has several aims. We are working actively on ATM security using biometrics, Blockchain voting systems, Penetration Testing, Secure Software Design, and Fully Homomorphic Encryption. Overall, this project aims to create practical and economically disruptive security solutions. Currently, every medical, financial, and governmental institution that must update and search confidential records has to have secure hardware, secure software, and secure staff. They are unable to take full advantage of the internet‐sized economies of scale that drive our modern economy. The central technological hurdle is creating practical security schemes that allow untrusted machines to perform queries and updates on encrypted data. Until very recently this was considered impossible, but in the last few years theoretical, yet infeasible, schemes have been devised. This project aims to push the boundaries of cryptographic applications. From blockchain, to an untrusted cloud, into our post-quantum future. We will need both technological and political breakthroughs to progress.

Faculty

Andy Novocin, PH.D., Professor, ECE, andynovo@udel.edu

Drone

Drone

FLIE — Flying Labs employing Intelligent Engineering

Research Issues

Autonomous control of a single drone as well as cooperative control of a drone swarm; methods for collecting multispectral images as well as other appropriate remote environment sensors; fusion of sensor collected data and intelligent data processing, volume reconstruction, feature detection, and object tracking; visualization, defect detection, and security applications.

Research Areas

Image processing, multispectral imaging, data fusion, autonomous control, machine learning

Majors Preparation and Interests

Electrical Engineering — signal/image processing, control theory, systems & sensors; Computer Engineering — programming, embedded systems, circuits/systems & sensors; Computer Science — algorithms, programming/software; Mechanical Engineering — control systems; Mathematics — algorithms, stochastic systems

Key Elements

Image Processing, Sensor Fusion, Control Systems, Volume Reconstruction, Object Detection In Images, Adaptive Systems And Machine Learning

Goals

The FLIE — Flying Labs employing Intelligent Engineering — project seeks to develop algorithms, methods, and systems to enable drones that function as autonomous flying labs that address challenging contemporary problems. Challenges addressed include intelligent autonomous control, multifaceted sensing, and data fusion and processing. Intelligent control includes single and cooperative (swarm) drone control. Sensing methodologies include 3D imaging, multispectral imaging, and environmental sensing, with applications spanning visualization, defect detection, and security applications.

Faculty

Ken Barner, Professor, ECE, barner@udel.edu

Embedded System Design

Embedded System Design

Building tools and technology for critical systems

Research Issues

Developing embedded computer systems to support the safety of electric vehicle charging and robust HWIL testing for imaging systems.

Research Areas

Embedded computers are becoming increasingly pervasive and powerful. They provide functionality for a broad range of systems including household appliances, toys, vehicles, defense systems and medical devices. They surround and sometimes exist inside people. Some of these applications involve critical systems, and the performance of the embedded devices is key to maintaining a safe environment. Performance requirements must be met while maintaining sometimes stringent requirements for power and speed. Electric vehicle charging presents one scenario in which embedded computers are critical for safe operation. Most vehicles today contain dozens of electronic control units (ECUs) which control key systems when the vehicle is driving. To these, electric vehicles add a set of control systems for managing high-power charging, battery management and, in some systems, grid-integration. These systems are also important for maintaining the safety of electric vehicles, and so supporting their increased adoption. Another area in which embedded computers play a key role is that of high speed dynamic displays for hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing of imaging systems. These imaging systems may be integrated in devices used for missile defense. Providing high speed, accurate imagery is key to testing these devices and supporting their development. Testing requires novel displays driven by robust embedded systems.

Majors Preparation and Interests

EE, CE – Electronic circuit design, testing and evaluation of electric circuits and equipment, design, assembly, installation and operation of electric vehicle charging stations.CS – Embedded computing; data analysis and algorithm development

Key Elements

Electric vehicle, Electric grid, Scene projectors, Embedded computing, Computer algorithms

Goals

The Embedded System Design team aims to develop tools and technology for multiple applications. One branch of the project focuses on managing electric vehicle charging. In another branch of the project aims to build technology supporting the development of infrared scene projectors (IRSPs), which are an important tool for HWIL testing of systems used by the military. We are well-situated for this project, as our research group has been involved in developing IRSPs for over ten years. These projectors, based of superlattice light emitting diodes (SLEDs) are the only projectors of their kind in the world, and serve as a platform for the project.

Faculty

Fouad Kiamilev, Ph.D., Professor, ECE, kiamilev@udel.edu

IoT: Internet of Threats

IoT: Internet of Threats

Defending next generation mobile and IoT devices

Research Issues

Mobile malware detection techniques; Intrusion detection and protection for embedded systems; Side-channels and covert-channels in mobile and IoT devices, detection and mitigation strategies; Threat analysis and protection strategies for Cyber-Physical Systems.

Research Areas

Mobile computing security; IoT security; Cyber-Physical System security; Trust-oriented embedded system design; Deep learning-based system diagnosis; Security and privacy of emerging devices.

Majors Preparation and Interests

Electrical Engineering – Signal Processing, Machine Learning, Control theory; Computer Engineering – Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Mobile Devices, Cybersecurity; Computer Science – Neural Networks, Algorithms, Complexity Analysis, Programming/Software; Mechanical Engineering – Cyber-Physical Systems, Robotics, Dynamics, Control systems; Mathematics – coding, algorithms, complexity analysis.

Key Elements

Programming of mobile, IoT, and embedded devices, Signal processing, Deep learning, Neural networks, Hardware Performance Counters (HPC), Differential power attacks, Energy harvesting devices.

Goals

Internet-of-Things (IoT) is a global information network that allows different smart devices (or “things”) to collect and exchange data seamlessly. What comes with this trend, however, is an Internet-of-Threats: sophisticated attacks can be initiated from any IoT device over the Internet. The fact that these devices are widely deployed in critical applications, such as smart manufacturing, transportation and healthcare, also makes them “ideal” targets for attackers to cause serious damage. This VIP team centers on the study of various cybersecurity threats coming with the global information network, as well as defense of mobile phones, IoT, and embedded devices against these cyberattacks. The team will be working actively on intrusion detection, malware detection and side-channel attacks in mobile phones and embedded devices. The team will collect both digital signals (e.g., hardware performance counters) and analog signals (e.g., dynamic power traces, electromagnetic signals) from the target devices, and adopt signal processing and deep learning techniques for filtering, enhancing, and classifying the obtained signals. The team will also study the security and privacy challenges in energy harvesting devices built with emerging technologies.

Faculty

Chengmo Yang, PhD, Professor, ECE, chengmo@udel.edu