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REU 2020

New York Tech is doing its part in helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In an abundance of caution, we have canceled the summer 2020 REU program. For those who submitted applications, the application materials, with the exception of transcripts, will be honored for applications for the summer 2021 REU program. The applicant must inform reu@nyit.edu that they wish to reapply before the 2021 application deadline (February 12, 2021) and they must still be eligible to participate.

REU 2019

REU 2019 Student Fellows

New York Tech commenced its seventh REU program on May 28, 2019, welcoming 10 fellows from ten universities. The program received more than 100 applications. NSF-funded REU fellows learned from presentations by New York Tech faculty members on topics ranging from research approaches, the security of smartphone, wireless and social networks, to public speaking and technical writing; attended lectures by industry experts; went on field trips; prepared for professional publications at professional conferences; and participated in cultural and social activities.

RESEARCH TOPICS

  • Analysis of multimodal smartphone behavioral biometric data
  • Eddy current Imaging
  • Cognitive distraction to improve cybersickness in virtual reality environments
  • Malware detection in Android smartphones
  • Impact of net neutrality repeal in the presence of malicious users in HetNets
  • Analysis of eye fixations during emotion recognition in faces
  • Low-power data acquisition for wearable and implantable devices

UNIVERSITIES REPRESENTED

  • Duke University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Kean University
  • New York City College of Technology
  • New York Institute of Technology
  • Oberlin College
  • Rowan University
  • Rutgers University
  • The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences
  • Wesleyan University

2019 PROJECTS

  1. Project:“Analysis of Multimodal Smartphone Behavioral Biometric Data”
    REU Fellows: Ariana J. LaCue (Kean University) and Matthew A. Lombardo (Johns Hopkins University)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Associate Professor Paolo Gasti, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Kiran Balagani, Ph.D.
  2. Project: “Eddy Current Imaging”
    REU Fellow: Anwar Hussein (Rowan University)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Reza Amineh, Ph.D.
  3. Project: “Cognitive Distraction to Improve Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Environments”
    REU Fellows: Luisa Bryan (Wesleyan University), Celina Zhou (Duke University), and Evan Wang (Rutgers University)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan, Ph.D.
  4. Project: “Malware Detection in Android Smartphones”
    REU Fellow: Neha Bala (New York Institute of Technology)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Wenjia Li, Ph.D.
  5. Project: “Impact of Net Neutrality Repeal in the Presence of Malicious Users in HetNets”
    REU Fellow: Alon S. Levin (The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Anand Santhanakrishnan, Ph.D.
  6. Project: “Analysis of Eye Fixations During Emotion Recognition in Faces”
    REU Fellow: Forest P. Elliott (Oberlin College)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Houwei Cao, Ph.D.
  7. Project: “Low-power Data Acquisition for Wearable and Implantable Devices”
    REU Fellow: Ralph Castro Ramirez (New York City College of Technology)
    New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan, Ph.D.

    8. REU 2018

    REU 2018 student fellows

    New York Tech commenced its sixth REU program on May 30, 2018, welcoming 12 fellows from eleven universities to conduct research with faculty mentors. The program received more than 168 applications. NSF-funded REU fellows learned from presentations by New York Tech faculty members on topics ranging from research approaches, the security of smartphone, wireless and social networks to public speaking, technical writing; attend lectures by industry experts; go on field trips; prepare for professional publications at professional conferences; and participate in cultural and social activities.


    Research Topics

    • Adversarial text generation for Google Perspective’s toxic comment detection
    • Minimizing cybersickness through increased-intensity habituation in a virtual reality environment
    • Continuous biometric authentication in haptic cues
    • Game-based authentication and its effectiveness on mimicry attacks
    • Android malware detection framework
    • Energy analysis of lightweight encryption algorithms on smartphone applications
    • Modeling of the effect of net neutrality on user - Internet service provider relationship

    Universities Represented

    • Cooper Union
    • Georgia State University
    • Hobart and William Smith Colleges
    • Jackson State University
    • New York Institute of Technology
    • The Pennsylvania State University
    • Tuft University
    • University of California Berkeley
    • University of Connecticut
    • University of Dallas
    • University of Michigan

    2018 Projects

    1. Project: “Adversarial Text Generation for Google’s Perspective”
      REU Fellows: Stephan Brown (New York Tech), Edwin Jain (Tuft University), Jeffrey Chen (University of California Berkeley), Mohammad Baidas* (New York Tech), and Erin Neaton (University of Michigan)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan, Ph.D., Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Huanying (Helen) Gu, Ph.D.
    2. Project: “Minimizing Cybersickness through Increased-Intensity Habituation”
      REU Fellows: Erin Neaton (University of Michigan), Mohammad Baidas* (New York Tech), Jeffrey Chen (University of California Berkeley), Edwin Jain (Tuft University), and Stephan Brown (New York Tech)

      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan, Ph.D., Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Huanying (Helen) Gu, Ph.D.

    3. Project: “Continuous Biometric Authentication in Haptic Cues”
      REU Fellows: Dennis Agnew Jr. (Jackson State University), Stephen Sam♦ (University of Connecticut), Angela Chan• (The Pennsylvania State University), and Brittney Hill (Georgia State University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor Paolo Gasti, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Kiran Balagani, Ph.D.
    4. Project: “Game-Based Authentication: Mimicry Attack”
      REU Fellow: Camera Finn (Hobart and William Smith Colleges)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Jonathan Voris, Ph.D.
    5. Project: “MalDetector: A Permission and Inter-Component Communication-Based Detection Approach”
      REU Fellows: Evelyn Bailey (University of Pennsylvania)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Wenjia Li, Ph.D.
    6. Project: “Analyzing the Energy Cost of Cryptographic Ciphers on an Android Smartphone”
      REU Fellows: Michael Bolot (University of Dallas)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Professor Tao Zhang, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D.
    7. Project: “The Effect of Net Neutrality on User – ISP Relationship”
      REU Fellows: Guy Bar-Yossef (Cooper Union)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Professor Anand Santhanakrishnan, Ph.D.

    ♦ Funded by NSF REU supplement grant
    * Undergraduate Research Assistant

    For more information, please contact Dr. Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong at ziqian.dong@nyit.edu or 646.273.6129.


    REU 2017

    REU student fellows

    New York Tech commenced its fifth REU program on May 31, 2017, welcoming 12 fellows from ten universities to conduct research with faculty mentors. The program received more than 130 applications. NSF-funded REU fellows learned from presentations by New York Tech faculty members on topics ranging from research approaches and the security of smartphone and wireless networks to public speaking, technical writing; attend lectures by industry experts; go on field trips; prepare for professional publications at professional conferences; and participate in cultural and social activities.


    Research Topics

    • Visible light communication and localization
    • PIN inferences at ATMs by side channel attacks
    • Authentication of vehicular drivers through posture
    • Energy analysis of lightweight encryption algorithms on smartphone applications
    • PrivateMD

    Universities Represented

    • Bryn Mawr College
    • Case Western Reserve University
    • Fordham University
    • Lewis & Clark College
    • New York University
    • New York Institute of Technology
    • Rochester Institute of Technology
    • Transylvania University
    • University at Buffalo
    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    2017 Projects

    1. Project: “Indoor Localization through Visible Light Characterization using Front-facing Smartphone Camera”
      REU Fellows: Charles Carver (Fordham University), Adriana Rogers (Lewis & Clark College), Matthew Stafford (University at Buffalo), and Shela Wu (NYU)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan and Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D.
    2. Project: “TETRIS: Smartphone-to-Smartphone Screen-Based Visible Light Communication”
      REU Fellows: Matthew Stafford (University at Buffalo), Adriana Rogers (Lewis & Clark College), Charles Carver (Fordham University), and Shela Wu (NYU)

      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan and Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D.

    3. Project: “PIN Inference at ATMs by Side-Channel Attacks”
      REU Fellows: Tristan Gurtler♦ (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Charissa Miller♦ (Rochester Institute of Technology), Kendall Molas (New York Tech), and Lynn Wu (Bryn Mawr College)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor Paolo Gasti, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Kiran Balagani, Ph.D.
    4. Project: “Authorizing Drivers Based on Posture”
      REU Fellow: Chris Hadiono (Case Western Reserve University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Jonathan Voris, Ph.D.
    5. Project: “PrivateMD”
      REU Fellows: Daler Norkulov (New York Tech) and Randy St. Fleur (New York Tech)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Huanying (Helen) Gu, Ph.D.
    6. Project: “Energy Analysis of Lightweight Encryption Algorithms on Smartphone Application for Wireless Body Area Network Communication”
      REU Fellows: Kelsey Clater (Transylvania University) and Yuncong Ma∗ (New York Tech)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Professor Tao Zhang, Ph.D.

    ♦ Funded by NSF REU supplement grant
    ∗ Partially funded by New York Tech


    REU 2016

    REU student fellows

    New York Tech commenced its fourth REU program on May 31, 2016, welcoming 10 fellows from eight universities to conduct research with faculty mentors. The program received more than 150 applications. NSF-funded REU fellows learned from presentations by New York Tech faculty members on topics ranging from research approaches and the security of smartphone and wireless networks to public speaking, technical writing; attend lectures by industry experts; go on field trips; prepare for professional publications at professional conferences; and participate in cultural and social activities.


    Research Topics

    • Continuous smartphone user authentication
    • Indoor smartphone localization
    • Smartphone malware detection
    • Electromyogram as a new biometric modality
    • Authentication of vehicular drivers
    • Geolocation of computers through network measurement
    • Behavior study of patients with Parkinson's disease using smartphones

    Universities Represented

    • Fordham University
    • Hofstra University
    • Macalester College
    • New York Institute of Technology
    • Stony Brook University
    • University of California, Berkeley
    • University of Georgia
    • Vanderbilt University

    2016 Projects

    1. Project: “Multi-floor Indoor Localization for Smartphones”
      REU Fellows: Tiffany Montoya (New York Tech) and Matthias Wilder (University of Georgia)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Associate Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Tao Zhang, Ph.D.
    2. Project: “Continuous User Authentication”
      REU Fellows: Colin Monteil-Anatra (Stony Brook University) and Tayeb Zaidi (Macalester College)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professors Paolo Gasti, Ph.D., and Kiran Balagani, Ph.D.
    3. Project: “Authentication of Vehicular Drivers”
      REU Fellow: Angela Burton (Vanderbilt University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Jonathan Voris, Ph.D.
    4. Project: “Electromyogram (EMG) as a Biometric Modality”
      REU Fellows: Ernesto Jorge (New York Tech)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan, Ph.D.
    5. Project: “Gait Study of Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease”
      REU Fellow: Maid Husic (New York Tech)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Huanying (Helen) Gu, Ph.D.
    6. Project: “Malicious Mobile Application (Malware) Detection in Smartphones”
      New York Tech REU Fellows: Kendra Campbell (Hofstra University) and Monica Kumaran (University of California, Berkeley)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Wenjia Li, Ph.D.
    7. Project: “Geolocation of Network Computers”
      REU Fellow: Nadine Moukdad (Fordham University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Anand Santhanakrishnan, Ph.D.

    REU 2015

    REU student fellows

    New York Tech’s competitive REU program had an acceptance rate of less than 10 percent in 2015. Participants were mentored by New York Tech faculty members on topics ranging from research approaches to public speaking, lectures by industry experts, field trips to AT&T Security Research Center and Rutgers WinLab, attending and volunteering at ACM WiSec and RFIDSec conferences, and cultural and social activities.

    New York Tech concluded the 2015 NSF-funded program on July 29, 2015, with fellows making presentations on mobile/smartphone security to an audience of faculty members, graduate students, and family. REU fellows gave poster presentations at the New York Tech 6th Cybersecurity Conference on Sept. 24, 2015.


    Research Topics

    • Smartphone authentication, indoor localization using power consumption, and malware detection
    • Secure protocols design for implantable devices
    • Behavior study of patients with Parkinson's disease using smartphones
    • Human robot interaction using Baxter

    Universities Represented

    • Center College
    • Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
    • Cornell University
    • Florida Atlantic University
    • Gonzaga University
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • New York Institute of Technology
    • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    • University of Rochester
    • University of Texas at Austin
    • University of West Florida

    2015 Projects

    1.  “Smartphone Indoor Location through Power Consumption”
      REU Fellows: Rajan Khullar (New York Tech) and Akshay Navada (Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professor Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Tao Zhang, Ph.D.
    2.  “User Authentication Using a Haptic Stylus”
      REU Fellows: Janina Grayson (New York Tech) and Adam Scrivener (University of Rochester)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentors: Assistant Professors Paolo Gasti, Ph.D., and Kiran Balagani, Ph.D.
    3.  “Biometric User Authentication on Mobile Deices through Gameplay”
      REU Fellow: Kirsten Giesbrecht (Center College)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Jonathan Voris, Ph.D.
    4.  “A Feasible IMD Communication Protocol: Security without Obscurity”
      REU Fellows: Jason Wang (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Kevon Mohebzad (University of Texas at Austin) and Luke Johnson (Gonzaga University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor N. Sertac Artan, Ph.D.
    5.  “Using Smartphones for Behavior Study of Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease”
      REU Fellow: Bruno Correa (University of West Florida) and Yang Peng (Cornell University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Huanying (Helen) Gu, Ph.D.
    6.  “Malicious Mobile Application (Malware) Detection in Smartphones”
      REU Fellows: Nadeen Saleh (Florida Atlantic University)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Wenjia Li, Ph.D.
    7. Project: “Modeling Safe Physical Human-Robot Interaction with Baxter”
      REU Fellow: Eghosa Eke (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
      New York Tech Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Chung Hyuk Park, Ph.D.

    REU 2014

    REU student fellows

    The conclusion of New York Tech’s second successful summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) was capped by presentations on July 29 from the fellows to an audience of faculty and graduate students.

    The highly competitive 10-week program, which accepted only 10 students from 110 applicants, included presentations by New York Tech faculty on topics ranging from research approaches to public speaking; lectures by industry experts; field trips to AT&T and Motorola; and cultural/social activities including a July 4 barbecue.


    Research Topics

    • Indoor Localization Using Wifi and Sensor Fusion—real-world applications from advertising to emergency to cybersecurity
    • Continuous Authentication of Mobile Devices
    • Robotic Telepresence for Fall Detection and Prevention
    • Android Application for Medical Diagnosis
    • Energy Consumption in Mobile Phones During Data Transmission and Encryption for WBAN

    Universities Represented

    • New York Institute of Technology
    • York University (City College)
    • Gordon College
    • Missou
    • University of Redlands
    • Lewis & Clark College, Mills College
    • University of Central Florida

    REU 2013

    New York Tech’s first successful summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) concluded with presentations from the 10 fellows to an audience of faculty and graduate students. Student teams presented on research topics under the New York Tech REU’s main theme of mobile/smartphone security, including smartphone authentication, indoor localization using wifi, and the development of an Android app.

    The highly competitive 10-week program, which accepted only 10 students from more than applicants, included presentations by New York Tech faculty; lectures by industry experts; field trips; and cultural/social activities.

    Led by Dr. Ziqian (Cecilia) Dong, New York Tech’s REU program is funded by prestigious three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for the three-year period of April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2016. Two of the five research papers co-authored with 2013 REU fellows were published or accepted to peer-reviewed international conferences, while another two poster presentations were featured at the 2013 New York Tech Cybersecurity Conference.