People
Faculty members associated with the center conduct a wide range of researches on major cybersecurity topics, including cryptography, network security, distributed/decentralized system security, digital forensics, AI/ML security, and many others.
The researches are supported by federal agencies like NSF, DHS, DARPA, DOE, the State of Ohio, and privacy companies.
Faculty Research Areas
Javed Khan
Research areas: Network security, healthcare information security
Dr. Javed I. Khan is a professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science at Kent State University. Dr. Khan's research team specializes in applying multi-areas expertise to cross-cutting problems in large-scale cyber/network infrastructure, perceptual engineering, and modeling of complex systems. Dr. Khan's lab is currently working on network-based systems, next-generation network architecture, cross-layer communication, and active and programmable networking. His cross-area research has been funded by various agencies including the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the State of Ohio, and the international financial institute, World Bank. Dr. Khan has authored over one hundred peer-reviewed publications and has served as editor for more than one hundred articles in his field, and served on national panels about next-generation communications.
Gokarna Sharma
Research area: Distributed system security
Hassan Peyravi
Research areas: Network security, cybersecurity education
Lei Xu
Research areas: Applied cryptography and confidential computing
Dr. Lei Xu is an assistant professor at the Computer Science Department at Kent State University. He has more than 15 years of experience in cybersecurity research on a wide range of topics, including applied cryptography, cloud/IoT security, hardware-aided security, and blockchain technology. When affiliated with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (2019 - 2022), he led the curriculum development of the new B.S. program on cybersecurity and developed almost all the core courses of the program independently. He also developed the course “Advanced Cryptography Engineering” for EC-Council. His research has been supported by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Science Foundation, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Younghun Chae
Research area: Digital forensics
Raiful Hasan
Research area: CPS security
Dr. Raiful Hasan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Kent State University since 2023. His specialization in cybersecurity research primarily focuses on the security and privacy of autonomous vehicles, cyber-physical systems, and the Internet of Things, with a special emphasis on pedestrian interactions, safety, and privacy. His work explores the intersection of machine learning and security, enhancing the resilience of systems against cyber-attacks through predictive analytics and adaptive defense mechanisms. He is an active contributor to the academic and research community, having served as an editor at ACM XRDS and as a Sparkman Fellow at the Sparkman Center.
Maha Allouzi
Research area: Network security
Dr. Allouzi is an associate professor in the Computer Science department at Kent State University since 2016. As an NTT, her workload is focused on teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, mainly in the cybersecurity concentration. She has developed key security courses, and is dedicated to curriculum development that extends beyond the classroom. Dr. Allouzi's research focuses on Authentication and Authorization in the Internet of Medical Things environment Her work with her graduate students also focuses on developing lightweight cryptosystems for constrained environments like the IoT.
William (Bill) Reed
William Reed is a Lecturer in the Computer Science Department at Kent State University since 2022. Before joining Kent State, Bill was a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Carnegie Mellon's CERT where he was responsible for the development of cyber security training and exercises, as well as the design and operation of cyber ranges. He has been an IT and cybersecurity professional since 2003 and holds a Master of Science in Information Technology degree with a concentration in Information Security and Assurance from Carnegie Mellon University. Bill is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).