About Me
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). I received my Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, advised by Dr. Jiang Ming.
My research lies at the intersection of **AI/Machine Learning and Software/System Security**. I am passionate about developing automated techniques to analyze software, discover vulnerabilities, and defend against malicious attacks, especially in scenarios where source code is not available. My work focuses on binary analysis, program behavior modeling, and applying novel AI techniques (like GNNs and LLMs) to solve challenging security problems.
I am fueled by code, curiosity, and a dash of optimistic nihilism (In a universe where intrinsic meaning is undefined, the act of creating meaning yields maximum existential fulfillment. Q.E.D. - Quite Enjoyable, Dude!) .
Prospective Students
I am actively looking for self-motivated Ph.D. students to join my lab with full financial support (starting Spring 2026 and later). If you have a strong background in computer science/engineering, solid programming skills (C/C++/Python), and a keen interest in security, systems, or AI, please feel free to reach out.
To apply, please email me with the subject line `[PhD Application] Your Name - Your University`. Please include your CV, transcripts, and a brief description of your research interests and previous experience.
Honors & Awards
- ACM Student Research Competition Grand Finals – Second Place, 2022
- PLDI Student Research Competition – First Place, 2021
- IEEE Top Picks in Hardware and Embedded Security - Shortlisted, 2023
- UTA CSE Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, 2022
Selected Publications
(My name is in bold. Full list available on Google Scholar.)
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[ASPLOS '22]
One Size Does Not Fit All: Security Hardening of MIPS Embedded Systems via Static Binary Debloating for Shared Libraries
27th International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems. (Shortlisted for IEEE Top Picks '23) -
[USENIX Security '23]
On the Feasibility of Malware Unpacking via Hardware-assisted Loop Profiling
32nd USENIX Security Symposium. -
[ESORICS '23]
Intelligent Zigbee Protocol Fuzzing via Constraint-Field Dependency Inference
28th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security. -
[USENIX Security '21]
Obfuscation-Resilient Executable Payload Extraction From Packed Malware
30th USENIX Security Symposium. -
[CCS '20]
PatchScope: Memory Object Centric Patch Diffing
27th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security.
Lab Members
Excited to build my research team at NJIT! If you are interested in joining us, please see the information for prospective students on the home page.
Current Students
- Looking for new members!
Mentoring
- Cristian C. Garces, Ph.D. Student at Tulane University (Co-mentored with Dr. Jiang Ming)
- Kun Liu, Ph.D. Student at Tulane University (Co-mentored with Dr. Jiang Ming)
Teaching at NJIT
- Fall 2025: CS 647/CS 485 - Counter Hacking Techniques
Past Teaching Experience (at UT Arlington)
As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, I was involved in the following courses:
- CSE 4380/5380: Information Security (Designed Capture the Flag Labs)
- CSE 4382/5382: Secure Programming
- CSE 5324: Software Engineering
- CSE 3330: Database Systems And File Structures