Events

May 4 - May 10, 2025

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  The 2025 Iberian Blackout: Anatomy of a Grid Collapse

  Charalambos (Harrys) Konstantinou, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  May 6, 09:00 - 11:00

  B9 L2 R2322

  renewable energy resilience power grid

  This talk provides a data-informed timeline of the April 28 Iberian blackout, examining how system conditions and possible instabilities may have shaped the cascade of events.

Jul 9 - Jul 15, 2023

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  Cybersecure and Resilient Power Systems with Distributed Energy Resources

  Ioannis (Yannis) Zografopoulos, Ph.D. Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  Jul 10, 14:00 - 16:00

  B5 L5 R5209

  Power systems constitute a pillar of the critical infrastructure, and, as a result, their cybersecurity is paramount. Traditional power system architectures are moving from their original centralized nature to a distributed paradigm. This transition has been propelled by the rapid penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage, etc. However, with the introduction of new DER devices, the threat surface of power systems is inadvertently expanding.

Nov 27 - Dec 3, 2022

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  Opportunities and Challenges in Free Space Optics

  Prof. Ozdal Boyraz, University of California, Irvine, USA

  Nov 28, 14:15 - 15:00

  B2 5220

  nter-Satellite Communications PNT satellite communication FSO systems

  Opportunities and Challenges in Free Space Optics: Inter-Satellite Communications, Lidars, and PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing). Abstract Recent developments in communications, such as providing broadband access to rural areas and enabling high bandwidth inter-satellite communications open new opportunities in free space optical communications. In this talk, recent testbed development efforts on more than 10km free space optical communication link development with more than 80Gb/s data capacity under the NSF PAWR program in rural Iowa State. Additionally, present challenges associated
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  Data Assimilation for Flood Real Time Estimation: Challenges and Methods

  Prof. Christian Claudel, The University of Texas at Austin

  Nov 28, 13:15 - 14:00

  B2 5220

  data assimilation real time estimation

  Abstract Flash floods are one of the most common natural disasters worldwide, causing thousands of casualties every year. A combination of fixed and mobile sensors can be used to track these events. In particular, the emergence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) could enable the monitoring of floods over large geographical areas. In this talk, we focus on the problems of sensing, data assimilation, and trajectory planning for a swarm of mobile agents (for example UAVs) sensing floods We first show that deep-learning can efficiently approximate the flood evolution over time, given external
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  Towards Enhancing Security in Intelligent Surface-enabled Wireless Networks

  Prof. Galymzhan Nauryzbayez, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

  Nov 28, 10:45 - 11:30

  B2 5220

  wireless networks

  Abstract The rampage of incessant cyber attacks have caused the disclosure of billions of users’ private data. In response, various data privacy laws and regulations have emerged, forcing the academia and industry to change their practice and bringing the demand for large-scale secure wireless networks to the spotlight. Such a demand, however, cannot be met by the state-of-the-art cryptographic techniques. To narrow the gap, recent years have seen rapid progress in physical layer security (PLS) solutions. In this talk, I will present our research on understanding and addressing the security
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  Formal Verification of Neural Network Controlled Cyber-Physical Systems

  Prof. Yasser Shoukry, University of California, Irvine, USA

  Nov 28, 10:00 - 10:45

  B2 5220

  Resilient

  Abstract Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are increasingly being used to control physical/mechanical systems. Self-driving cars, drones, and smart cities are just examples of such systems to name a few. However, regardless of the explosion in the use of DNNs within a multitude of cyber-physical systems (CPS) domains, the safety, and reliability of these DNN-controlled CPS is still an understudied problem. Mathematically based techniques for the specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems, also known as formal methods, hold the promise to provide appropriate
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  Model-based Design of Cyber-physical Systems with Learning Components

  Prof. Panagiotis Katsaros, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

  Nov 27, 14:30 - 15:15

  B2 5220

  cyber-physical systems

  Abstract Cyber-physical system design involves heterogeneous components for sensing, control, actuation, networking and relies on models for the system’s physical dynamics, and all interactions with its environment. Since safety and security are critical, model-based engineering methods are often used to increase the confidence and guide the validation testing of the system under design. An abundant of results from modern system theory (discrete, continuous and hybrid) provides the foundations for modeling, simulation, testing and formal verification. Mature tools and languages offer advanced
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  Cross-Layer Security of Embedded and Cyber-Physical Systems

  Prof. Mohammad Alfaruque, University of California, Irvine, USA.

  Nov 27, 13:45 - 14:30

  B2 5220

  cyber-physical systems

  Abstract Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computation and physical components . Embedded systems comprising of hardware and software systems are the major enabling technology for these cyber-physical systems. Today, CPSs can be found in security-sensitive areas such as aerospace, automotive, energy, healthcare, manufacturing transportation, entertainment, and consumer appliances. Compared to the traditional information processing systems, due to the tight interactions between cyber and physical components
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  Hardware security and trust for wireless integrated circuits

  Prof. Haralampos Stratigopoulos, Sorbonne Université

  Nov 27, 10:15 - 11:30

  B2 5220

  Hardware Network wireless

  Abstract We will discuss Integrated Circuit (IC) security and trust threats and corresponding countermeasures with a focus on wireless ICs. We will present solutions to protect RF transceiver ICs against piracy attempted by malicious System-on-Chip (SoC) integrators, foundries, or end-users via reverse-engineering. We will also present hardware Trojan attacks on RF transceivers aiming at creating a covert channel for stealing sensitive information, i.e., cypher keys. Brief Biography Haralampos-G. Stratigopoulos received the Diploma in electrical and computer engineering from the National
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  Trust, But Verify: Towards Self-Aware, Safe, Autonomous Self-Driving Systems

  Prof. Fadi Kurdahi

  Nov 27, 09:30 - 10:15

  B2 5220

  Autonomous system

  Abstract Mobile autonomous devices use sophisticated algorithms to automatically navigate diverse physical environments in a safe manner. Guaranteeing system safety while optimizing resource-usage of an autonomous device’s computer is an outstanding challenge. Runtime verification helps provide robustness by monitoring application execution at runtime. These systems operate in dynamic environments, requiring self-aware runtime management to maximize lifetime while enforcing safe execution. Safe execution and lifetime management require consideration of performance and efficiency, two
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  Embedded and Cyber Connected Systems (ECCS) Workshop

  Prof. Ahmed Eltawil, Prof. Charalambos Konstantinou, Prof. Khaled Nabil Salama

  Nov 27, 08:00 - Nov 28, 17:00

  B2 L5 R5220

  cybersecurity machine learning 5G networks hardware security

  The workshop aims to bring together experts to present their latest research efforts related to Embedded and Cyber Connected Systems architectures and platforms that can scale efficiently, as well as operate securely and resiliently to provide the necessary resources demanded by current and future network applications.

Nov 7 - Nov 13, 2021

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  Lessons Learned In Building Trustworthy Systems with Trusted Execution Environments

  Valerio Schiavoni, Scientific Coordinator and Lecturer, Centre of Competence for Complex Systems and Big Data, University of Neuchâtel

  Nov 11, 12:00 - 13:00

  B9 L3 R3223

  Available as dedicated hardware components into several mobile and server-grade processors, and recently included in infrastructure-as-a-service commercial offerings by several cloud providers, TEEs allow applications with high privacy and confidentiality demands to be deployed and executed over untrusted environments, shielding data and code from compromised systems or powerful attackers. After an introduction to basic concepts for TEEs, I will survey some of our most recent contributions exploiting TEEs, including as defensive tools in the context of Federated Learning, as support to build secure cache systems for edge networks, as protection mechanisms in a med-tech/e-health context, shielding novel environments (ie, WebAssembly), and more. Finally, I will highlight some of the lessons learned and offer open perspectives, hopefully useful and inspirational to future researchers and practitioners entering this exciting area of research.