REU Site: Trustable Embedded Systems Security Research

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

This funding renews a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site focused on embedded systems security research at the University of Connecticut. The vast number of embedded devices and their wide-spread usage in all aspects of our daily life and work has made their security vulnerabilities much more dangerous and costly than traditional software vulnerabilities. Students will participate in research projects that are timely and in an area of national priority. Specific activities include collaborative projects in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the Computer Science and Engineering Department, including research in practical quantum communication, network routing and communication security, secure mobile computing, secure voting systems, neuromorphic systems security, embedded hardware authentication, secure processor architecture, and provable secure embedded systems. A series of seminars will equip students with knowledge specific to the various research projects as well as general skills required in graduate school. In addition, the undergraduate students will have the opportunity to participate in a professional conference. The intellectual merit of this project lies with the strong research team and the focus on computer systems security, an area of national need and of interest to students. The students will participate in research initiatives that investigate hardware and software design principles, computer architecture, verifiable computing and other aspects of trustable computing systems. The objectives of the REU Site project are to introduce trustable computing systems research work to undergraduate students in the early stages of their academic careers and spark their interests; to prepare students for graduate school to create next generation of computer systems security researchers; to attract students from underrepresented groups to become researchers and computing professionals; and to attract students from institutions where they may not have the opportunity to participate in research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.