Leadership
Massimiliano Albanese
Director
Dr. Massimiliano Albanese is a Professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology at George Mason University. He serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Secure Information Systems (CSIS) and as the Associate Chair for Research of the Department of Information Sciences and Technology. Dr. Albanese received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering in 2005 from the University of Naples Federico II, and joined George Mason University in 2011 after serving as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park.
His research interests are in the area of Information and Network Security, with particular emphasis on Modeling and Detection of Cyber Attacks, Cyber Situational Awareness, Network Hardening, Moving Target Defense, Configuration Security, and Vulnerability Metrics. Dr. Albanese has participated in sponsored projects totaling $13M, with a personal share of $3.5M. He holds four U.S. patents and has co-authored 2 books and over 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. Dr. Albanese is one of the three recipients of the 2014 Mason Emerging Researcher/Scholar/Creator Award, one of the most prestigious honors at Mason.
He has served on the technical program committee of numerous conferences, and he is a member of the Editorial Board of IEEE Internet of Things Journal, Springer International Journal of Information Security, Elsevier Computer & Security, and IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing.
Amarda Shehu
Deputy Director
Dr. Shehu is an accomplished administrator, teacher, and scholar. She currently serves as George Mason’s Inaugural VP and Chief AI Officer, in which capacity she also continues to provide leadership for the Institute of Digital InnovAtion (IDIA) for which she served as Associate Vice President for Research during 2022 and 2024. Shehu also serves as the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), where she is also a tenured Professor in the Department of Computer Science.
She is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a member of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (VASEM), and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Dr. Shehu has received numerous awards, including the 2022 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the 2021 Beck Family Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Research and Scholarship, the 2018 Mason University Teaching Excellence Award, the 2014 Mason Emerging Researcher/Scholar/Creator Award, the 2013 Mason OSCAR Undergraduate Mentor Excellence Award, and the 2012 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award.
Her research is regularly supported by various NSF programs, the Department of Defense, as well as state and private research awards.
External Collaborartors
Prakash Ranganathan
University of North Dakota
Dr. Ranganathan is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the Data Energy Cyber and Systems (DECS) Laboratory at the University of North Dakota (UND). He is also a Senior Member of the IEEE. His research tackles complex challenges in smart grids, cybersecurity, data science, and uncertainty quantification in renewable energy.
In addition to leading the DECS Lab, Dr. Ranganathan serves as Director of UND’s Center for Cyber Security Research (C2SR) and the NSF-funded IUCRC site for Infrastructure Security in the Era of Artificial Intelligence (ISEAI). He also holds a leadership role in cybersecurity education and research initiatives within the North Dakota University System (NDUS).
Dr. Ranganathan has received several prestigious awards, including the 2024 Outstanding Advisor Leadership Award, the 2019 Founders Day Award for Creative Work, the 2018 CEM Dean’s Outstanding Faculty Award, and the 2013 North Dakota Spirit Faculty Achievement Award. In 2014, he was named a Public Scholar by UND’s Center for Community Engagement.
With over 130 peer-reviewed publications and a patent, he has made significant contributions to engineering and computer science. He has secured more than $10 million in external research funding as PI or Co-PI, and mentored eight postdoctoral scholars along with numerous graduate and undergraduate students.
Dr. Ranganathan holds a Ph.D. in Software and Electrical Engineering from North Dakota State University. For over 18 years, he has also been committed to mentoring Native American students and faculty across North Dakota tribal colleges, promoting diversity and inclusion in STEM fields.
Dong (Kevin) Jin
University of Arkansas
Dr. Dong (Kevin) Jin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Arkansas. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research focuses on cybersecurity, networking, cyber-physical system security and resilience, as well as the modeling and simulation of large-scale systems.
Dr. Jin has co-authored over 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, with 6 Best Paper Awards. He has secured more than $9 million in external research funding as PI or Co-PI. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for ACM Transactions on Modeling and Computer Simulation (TOMACS) and is a member of the steering committee for ACM SIGSIM PADS. He also created the CS Master of Cybersecurity Program at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he served as the Founding Program Director. Dr. Jin is a recipient of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) award.
Chris Farnell
University of Arkansas
Dr. Farnell is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department at the University of Arkansas.
His research interests include Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure, Embedded System Design, FPGA Design, Advanced Control Algorithms, and Power Electronics.
He is currently serving as an Associate Director for the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission (NCREPT) located at the University of Arkansas.
This 12,000 ft2 laboratory provides the equipment, technical staff, and instrumentation to test and evaluate power electronic circuits and systems at realistic industrial and distribution voltage levels up to 6 MVA power ratings.
Dr. Farnell is the current chair for the IEEE Ozark Section, treasurer for the newly formed IEEE Computer Society Chapter, the CyberHogs Registered Student Organization (RSO) faculty mentor, and remains active in K-12 outreach activities.