Faculty
Ming Li
Research on wireless and cyber security, with current emphases on AI/ML-driven NextG wireless networks, security and robustness of networked autonomous systems, and trustworthy AI/ML. Read full bio →
Ph.D. Students
Chenyi Wang
Chenyi Wang is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) in the School of ECSE at the University of Arizona. His research is at the intersection of AI security, computer vision, and autonomous systems. He obtained his MA in Statistics from Columbia University, BS in Statistics and BA in Mathematics from University of Minnesota, and also spent time at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK-SZ). He was awarded the Herbold Fellowship by the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona in 2023. He worked as a perception research summer intern at Amazon's Zoox in 2026. He loves being in nature and thinking about big questions.
Jiahao Wang
Jiahao Wang is currently an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Ph.D. student in the School of ECSE at the University of Arizona. He is co-advised by Dr. Han Xu and Dr. Ming Li. He received his bachelor's degree from Shanxi University and master's degree from Shandong University. His research interests focus on trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the development of trustworthy AI technology in embodied AI systems, such as Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models in robotics.
Dhia Neifar
Dhia Neifar received the B.Eng. degree in Information and Communications Technology from the Higher School of Communications of Tunis (SUP'COM), Tunisia, in 2023, and the M.S.E. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan–Dearborn, USA, in 2025. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the School of ECSE at the University of Arizona. His research interests include robust and secure resource allocation for NextG wireless networks, as well as security and autonomy in cooperative perception systems for autonomous vehicles.
Abdullah Al Mamun
Abdullah Al Mamun is an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Ph.D. student in the School of ECSE at the University of Arizona. He completed his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), and B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET), Bangladesh. Previously, he worked as a Lecturer in the Department of EEE at Uttara University, Bangladesh. His research interests include reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and RIS-assisted wireless communications, deep reinforcement learning (DRL), and secure and intelligent wireless networks. Outside of research, he enjoys exploring new places, learning about new technologies, and playing soccer and cricket.
Walter Moy
Walter Moy is an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Ph.D. student in the School of ECSE at the University of Arizona. He received his BS in Computer Science (with a Computer Engineering focus) in 2024, and MS in Electrical Engineering in 2025, both from Colorado School of Mines. His research interests include ISAC, cyber-physical systems, wireless communications, AI/ML security, and network and cybersecurity. He worked as a student intern at Sandia National Laboratories from 2022–2026 and has supported national security initiatives through innovative technological solutions aimed at improving system security, data integrity, and analytical capabilities. Walter holds a Cyber Defense Education Certification from the NSA/DHS.
Zilin (Moira) Zhong
Zilin (Moira) Zhong is a Ph.D. student in Statistics and Data Science at the University of Arizona. She received her B.A. in Economics from Oberlin College and her M.S. in Applied Economics from Cornell University. Her previous training spans economics, statistics, and quantitative modeling, and her current research interests include stochastic processes, Markov decision processes and online learning algorithms, and AI/ML security, with applications to wireless intelligence such as cooperative perception. Outside of research, she enjoys video games, taking care of plants, and spending time with her cat.
Tyler Leake
Tyler Leake is a Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Ph.D. student in the School of ECSE, co-advised by Dr. Ming Li and Dr. Bo Liu. His research interests span reinforcement learning and control systems, including safety, environment representation, transfer, and applications. He earned his MS degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University and BS degree in Finance from Penn State University. Prior to graduate school, he worked at the financial technology company LoanStreet and the investment bank UBS. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, hiking, traveling, and reading.
Alumni
Postdoctoral Researcher
- Iraklis Leontiadis, Oct. 2015 – Oct. 2016 (Ph.D, Eurecom, France)
Initial Employment: Postdoctoral Researcher, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Second Employment: Senior Researcher at the Security and Cryptography Laboratory, EPFL
Current Employment: Senior Researcher at Inpher
Ph.D. Students
- Jingcheng Li, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Dec. 2025 (co-advised with Loukas Lazos)
Dissertation: “Secure Millimeter Wave Communications for Next Generation Networks” - Ziqi Xu, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Dec. 2025 (co-advised with Loukas Lazos)
Dissertation: “Cyber-Physical Trust Binding for NextG Networks and Applications” - Zhiwu Guo, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Jun. 2025 (co-advised with Marwan Krunz)
Dissertation: “Online Learning Based Successive Interference Cancellation for Fair Coexistence of Heterogeneous Systems Over the Unlicensed Spectrum”
Initial Employment: Apple, Inc. - Xiaolan Gu, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Aug. 2018 - Nov. 2024
Dissertation: “Privacy-Preserving and Robust Data Analytics under Distributed Settings”
Initial Employment: Data Scientist in Privacy-Enhancing Technologies, LinkedIn - Bo Jiang (co-advised with Ravi Tandon), Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Aug. 2017 - Aug. 2023
Dissertation: “Improving Privacy-utility Tradeoffs in Privacy-preserving Data Release with Context Information”
Current Employment: Senior Research Engineer, GenAI Security & Privacy, Apple, Inc. - Yanmao Man, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Aug. 2017 - Aug. 2022
Dissertation: “Attacks and Defenses on Autonomous Vehicles: From Sensor Perception to Control Area Networks”
Initial Employment: Senior Engineer, HERE Technologies - Mohamed Seif (co-advised with Ravi Tandon), Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Jan. 2017 – May 2022
Dissertation: “Security and Privacy in Information Systems: Algorithms and Fundamental Limits”
Initial Employment: Postdoctoral Researcher, Princeton University
Current Employment: Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Oakland University - Tianchi Zhao, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Aug. 2016 – May 2022
Dissertation: “Online Learning Based Performance Optimization in Wireless Networks with Context Information”
Initial Employment: Engineer, LitePoint - Mingshun Sun, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Aug. 2016 – Dec. 2021
Dissertation: “Secure Motion Claim Verification and Decision-Making for Vehicular Cyber-Physical Systems”
Current Employment: Software Engineer, Machine Learning at Meta. - Yanjun Pan, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Aug. 2016 – Aug. 2021
Dissertation: “Enhance Wireless Network Performance and Security with Reconfigurable Antennas”
Initial Employment: Postdoctoral Researcher, ECE department, Virginia Tech, VA
Current Employment: Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR - Boyang Wang, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Jan. 2014 – Jul. 2017
Dissertation: “Secure Geometric Search on Encrypted Spatial Data”
Current Employment: Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, OH - Yantian Hou, Ph.D. in Computer Science, USU, Jan. 2012 – Jul. 2016
Dissertation: “Interference Mitigation in Multi-Hop Wireless Networks with Advanced Physical-Layer Techniques”
Initial Employment: Assistant Professor, Boise State University, Boise, ID
Ph.D. Students Collaborated With
- Nirnimesh Ghose, Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, Jul. 2019 (Advised by Loukas Lazos)
Dissertation: “Authentication and Message Integrity Verification without Secrets”
Initial Employment: Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
M.S. Students Graduated
- Jesse Victors, M.S. in Computer Science, USU, Jan. 2014 – May 2015
Thesis: “The Onion Name System: Tor-Powered Distributed DNS for Tor Hidden Services”
Initial Employment: Cigital
Undergraduate Thesis Supervised
- Max Von Hippel, Aug. 2018 - May 2019, University of Arizona, B.S. in Math and Minor in CS
Honors Thesis: “Toward Automatic Vulnerability Discovery in CPS of Interdependent IoT Devices”
Initial Employment: Ph.D. Student in Computer Science, Northeastern University
Major Awards: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, First place in UA Computer Science Undergraduate Showcase, UA Math Department Excellence in Research Award
Undergraduate Student Internships Supervised
- Tyler Wong, Nick Smith, Summer 2021, AEOP URAP program (Co-advised with Loukas Lazos)
Research Topic: “Secure Vehicle Platooning Membership Verification”
High School Student Internships Supervised
- David Li, Ethan Sayre and Richard Peng, Summer 2021, AEOP HSAP program (Co-advised with Loukas Lazos)
Research Topic: “Secure Wireless Trust Establishment for Heterogeneous IoT Devices”