Alvi Ataur Khalil
Dr. Alvi Ataur Khalil is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. He completed his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Florida International University (FIU), USA, in 2025. During his PhD, he contributed to research projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). Dr. Khalil's research focuses on blockchain security, particularly off-chain Layer-2 vulnerabilities and defenses, intelligent UAV control using reinforcement learning, and AI-driven cybersecurity solutions for cyber-physical systems. He has authored over twenty peer-reviewed papers published in leading venues, including IEEE TNSM, Elsevier Computer Networks, IEEE/IFIP DSN, ACSAC, EAI SecureComm, IEEE CNS, ACM DLT, IEEE LCN, CNSM, IEEE SMARTCOMP, and IEEE COMPSAC. He is a recipient of several awards, including the Outstanding Graduate Scholar of the Year at FIU (2023–24), the Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) Honor Society Scholarship (2024), the FIU Dissertation Year Fellowship (2025), NSF I-Corps Grant as Entrepreneur Lead, and multiple NSF and IEEE travel awards.
Education:
- Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering: Florida International University (FIU), USA, 2025
- M.S. in Computer Engineering: Florida International University (FIU), USA, 2024
- B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering: Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), 2018
Courses Taught:
Fall courses:
- CS413 & CS513: Digital Forensics (Undergraduate and Graduate Levels)
Spring courses:
- CS201: Problem Solving with Computers
Current Research:
- Cybersecurity: Securing distributed and cyber-physical systems (CPSs) against adversarial threats, with emphasis on resilience, trust, and attack mitigation strategies.
- Reinforcement Learning: Adaptive AI techniques to design intelligent defense mechanisms and optimize security policies in dynamic environments.
- Blockchain: Security, scalability, and incentive design, particularly in Layer-2 protocols, decentralized finance (DeFi), and off-chain ecosystems.
- Game Theory: Analyze strategic behavior, incentive compatibility, and adversarial interactions in decentralized and multi-agent systems.
- Intrusion Detection: AI-driven intrusion detection systems for networked, distributed, and blockchain-enabled infrastructures.
- Formal Verification: Verify protocol correctness, security guarantees, and system robustness against adversarial manipulation
- Zero-Knowledge Techniques: Privacy-preserving cryptographic mechanisms to enable secure, scalable, and trustworthy digital systems.
Principle Investigator: Transformative Innovation for Trustworthy AI and Network Security (TITANS) Lab