NSSL Team

Angelos Stavrou

Professor

Dr. Angelos Stavrou is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Entrepreneurship Lead at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus. He is the founder of Kryptowire Inc. (now Quokka Inc.), a venture-backed mobile security startup. His research focuses on large-scale systems security, intrusion detection, and NextG cybersecurity. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications and served as PI on projects funded by NSF, DARPA, IARPA, DHS, and DoD agencies. Dr. Stavrou is a senior member of IEEE, ACM, and USENIX, an editor for IEEE security publications, and a former co-chair of the IEEE Blockchain initiative. His work has received multiple awards, including the DHS "Significant Government Impact Award" and IEEE Reliability Society's Engineer of the Year. Dr. Stavrou received his Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Computer Science (2007), and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (2002) from Columbia University, and his B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Patras (1997).

Phone: (571) 858-3145

Email: angelos[at]vt[dot]edu

Mailing Address: Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington, VA 22303

Office: 4-026 VT Research Center (Arlington)

Sudip Maitra

Sudip is a Ph.D. candidate in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, working under the guidance of Dr. Angelos Stavrou and Dr. Haining Wang. His research focuses on developing secure and robust frameworks for cellular applications. His broader areas of expertise include trusted computing, network security, and standard compliance. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, he earned his M.S. in Engineering from Central Michigan University.

Email: smaitra[at]vt[dot]edu

Shihua Sun

Shihua Sun received a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Science and Technology from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in 2018 and an M.Sc. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, USA, in 2020. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, USA. Her research interests include machine learning security, as well as the application of machine learning to network security and software security.

Email: shihuas[at]vt[dot]edu

Pragya Sharma

Pragya is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech and a member of the Networks and Systems Security Lab, advised by Prof. Angelos Stavrou and Prof. Haining Wang. Her research interests span cellular networks, wireless networks, systems security, and the application of machine learning in wireless environments. Before joining Virginia Tech, she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering with a specialization in Communication and Signal Processing from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in 2018.

Email: pragyasharma[at]vt[dot]edu

Kene Nwodo

Kene is a Ph.D. student in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research interests include software and mobile security. He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2020.

Email: nwodok[at]vt[dot]edu

Amirreza Ghafoori

Amirreza is a direct-Ph.D. student in Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, within the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on network measurement in high-mobility environments—such as 5G and satellite networks—as well as securing networks and systems using Named Data Networking (NDN), particularly in mobile and dynamic environments. He earned his B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) and defended his M.S. in Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2024 as part of his Ph.D. program.

Email: ghafoori[at]vt[dot]edu

Tanvi Garg

Tanvi Garg is a Ph.D. candidate in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. She earned an M.Eng. in Computer Science and Applications from Virginia Tech in 2023 and a B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering from NMIMS University, India. Her research focuses on data security and privacy, with a particular emphasis on differential privacy and its applications in real-world systems. Her broader interests include privacy-preserving technologies, and the intersection of machine learning and privacy.

Email: tanvigarg[at]vt[dot]edu

Yousef Akbar

Yousef Akbar received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 2017 and his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2020. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on cybersecurity for cyber-physical systems, with an emphasis on power systems and data centers. He also has a strong interest in cryptographic techniques, with a focus on applying post-quantum cryptography to secure 5G networks.

Email: akbary[at]vt[dot]edu

Chih-Hsuan Lin

Chih-Hsuan Lin received an M.Eng. degree in Computer Science from Virginia Tech in December 2024. She is currently working as a Research Engineer at the NSSL Lab at Virginia Tech. Her research interests include AI Security, Trustworthy AI, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Outside of research, she enjoys fitness training and solo traveling.

Email: chihhsuan[at]vt[dot]edu

Nidhi Sharma

Nidhi Sharma is currently pursuing her Master's in Computer Science at Virginia Tech. Previously, she worked as a software developer at Accenture, where she contributed to application development and enhancement while gaining experience in testing and the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Her research interests include software engineering, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Email: nidhisharma[at]vt[dot]edu

Sneha Magadi

Sneha Magadi is an accelerated masters student with a degree in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech, specializing in Cybersecurity. She will join the team in Fall 2025 as a Masters Student Researcher. She is interested in researching the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity as it relates to incident response, vulnerability scanning and patching, and more. She is also a published author of the novel, The Willow Sky.

Email: msneha[at]vt[dot]edu

Ayesha Mahajabin

Ayesha recently completed her Bachelor's degree in Computational Modeling and Data Analytics at Virginia Tech and is now pursuing her Master's in Computer Engineering. Her research interests lie at the intersection of data and networks. She brings both research and industry experience, particularly in applying machine learning to challenges in aerospace, healthcare, and supply chain optimization.

Email: ayesham[at]vt[dot]edu

Alireza Famili

Alireza is a research scientist specializing in high-accuracy localization, wireless communications, and next-generation tracking technologies. He earned his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tehran, his M.Sc. from Lehigh University, and his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2023, where he focused on secure wireless systems and precision positioning under the guidance of Professors Angelos Stavrou and Haining Wang. He is the co-founder of WayWave Inc., where he leads the development of advanced localization solutions, including AR/VR tracking, UAV detection via spaceborne RF signals, and photonic-based timing systems for ultra-precise ranging.

Email: afamili[at]waywave[dot]com

Tolga Omer Atalay

Tolga received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he was advised by Professors Angelos Stavrou and Haining Wang in the Networks and Systems Security Lab (NSSL). His research centered on 5G core networks, O-RAN, cloud computing, and system security. He continues to investigate scalability and security challenges in 5G and beyond networks, designing and evaluating new architectures to enhance the scalability, security, and efficiency of next-generation mobile systems. He earned his M.Sc. in Telecommunications from Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) and his B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University.

Email: tatalay[at]a2labs[dot]com

Mahsa Foruhandeh

Mahsa Foruhandeh is a systems engineer at Google Pixel TechEng, where she leads work on thermal system architecture. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech, where her research focused on lightweight security solutions for cyber physical systems, and machine learning-based device fingerprinting. With prior research roles in Canada and Turkey, she brings a strong background in secure hardware design and communication systems.

Email: mahsaf[at]google[dot]com

Sindhu Chava

Sindhu Chava is a skilled and dedicated Applied Scientist with over 6 years of experience specializing in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Science. She earned her Master's degree in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech, where she cultivated her passion for leveraging advanced technologies to solve complex problems. Throughout her career, Sindhu has contributed to leading organizations, including Amazon, A2 Labs, Noodle.ai, and Accenture AI. Her expertise includes building and deploying large-scale ML pipelines, enhancing forecasting models, and developing production-ready AI systems. She has successfully tackled diverse challenges such as time series forecasting for Amazon Prime Video, implementing computer vision solutions, optimizing supply chains, detecting anomalies, and applying Vision Transformers.

Poornima Athikari

Poornima Athikari is a driven and accomplished Cybersecurity Consultant with a strong academic foundation and hands-on experience supporting Fortune 500 clients. She holds a Master's degree in Computer Engineering with a focus on Cybersecurity and Networks from Virginia Tech, where she also contributed to cutting-edge research in 5G security protocols.

She currently works at Ernst & Young, where she has led multiple enterprise-wide compromise assessments and leads projects related to SOC operations and vulnerability management.

Email: Poornimaathikari[at]gmail[dot]com