Everything in the modern world depends on computers. We have digitized everything - our cars, our houses, our communication and our healthcare. We are connecting and automating everything - smart grids and smart cities, intelligent transportation systems and industrial informatics. 

As hardware and software engineers, how can we keep up with this phenomenal demand? Can we boost our productivity, so we design systems faster? Can we increase the number of engineers available by making engineering more accessible via redesigning our tools to make them easier to use and learn? And can we make our systems safer, by trying to detect and prevent possible cyberattacks before they occur?

These are the questions that I and my students seek to answer at UNSW Sydney, with active research looking into the following topics:

• Cybersecurity risks by AI technologies including Large Language Models (ChatGPT)

• Cybersecurity applications of new AI technologies (autonomous coding and security tests)

• Embedded systems and hardware cybersecurity

• Hardware and Firmware Trojan Design and Detection (red-team / blue-team)

• Cybersecurity of manufacturing systems with a focus on guaranteeing safe operations using hardware enforcement techniques

• Cybersecurity risks and mitigation strategies for infrastructure and cyber-physical systems including smart power grids

• Automatic bug fixing for/in hardware designs

My supervision style tends to work well for self-directed and self-motivated students keen on taking ownership of their own research agenda. I want you to work on what you're passionate about!

So if you’re looking for funded opportunities in graduate research and these topic areas sounds interesting to you, please feel free to reach out to me!

It would be great to have you join us in sunny Sydney, Australia!