REU Site: Hardware Security

In this project, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL) will host a summer program annually from 2025 to 2027 to train 10 students each year in computer hardware security. Over three years, a total of 30 students, particularly those from schools with limited research opportunities or from underrepresented groups, will participate in the 10-week program. During the program, students will learn the basics of computer hardware security and work on research projects related to detecting and fixing security issues in computer hardware, mentored by experienced faculty and doctoral students. The program will also include academic and social activities to help students build essential skills in research, technical writing, and communication. With computers being an essential element in many systems and infrastructures that are pivotal to national security, this program aims to prepare the future workforce capable of defending national security. Interested students can apply through NSF's Education and Training Application portal: https://etap.nsf.gov. This program on hardware security offers undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to participate in high-caliber research projects with mentorship from faculty and graduate students. Students will be engaged and involved in state-of-the-art and challenging research problems that are fundamental to complex system security assurance. Students will learn the critical concepts and knowledge of computer hardware security problems and their implications. They will be introduced to recent advances in hardware security vulnerabilities, their countermeasures, and other assurance methods. All students will present the results of their research in a poster competition and at a university-wide research symposium. By engaging women and individuals from underrepresented groups, the program seeks to broaden participation in computing, and to prepare them to successfully tackle a job or pursue advanced degrees in Computer Science and Engineering or a related field. To measure the program’s success, the Computing Research Association’s Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) will help assess its outcomes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.