Department of Computer Science at VCU College of Engineering welcomes new chair, Kemal Akkaya, Ph.D.
Akkaya joins VCU Engineering from FIU, bringing more than 20 years of networking and cybersecurity experience to the college
Kemal Akkaya, Ph.D., a distinguished professor and cybersecurity expert, will join the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) College of Engineering as the new chair of the Department of Computer Science.
“Under Dr. Akkaya’s leadership, VCU Engineering’s computer science programs will continue to grow, educating students and producing technologies that serve our communities and the world at large,” said Azim Eskandarian, D.Sc., the Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. Dean of the VCU College of Engineering. “Dr. Akkaya’s exemplary work at FIU is a preview of great things to come at VCU. We are excited to welcome him as a VCU engineer.”
Akkaya comes to VCU from Florida International University (FIU), where he was an Eminent Chaired Scholar Professor in the Knight Foundation School of Computer and Information Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2005.
At FIU, Akkaya directed the Advanced Wireless and Security (ADWISE) Lab, conducting research in cybersecurity, privacy, trustworthy AI, Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems, and blockchain technologies. His work has garnered over $20 million in research funding at FIU and resulted in approximately 300 peer-reviewed publications. He also holds 10 patents.
“Leading the Department of Computer Science at VCU is a great honor for me,” said Akkaya. “I look forward to strengthening the College of Engineering’s already established programs, supporting faculty and students, and finding the research niches we excel in to continue capitalizing on what makes the VCU Engineering experience unique.”
Akkaya co-founded Cybersecurity@FIU, a program unifying research and education efforts across the university. In 2023, he was appointed co-director of the Center for Integrated Security, Privacy and Trustworthy AI (CIERTA), the technical research arm of Cybersecurity@FIU. These initiatives have attracted more than $35 million in cybersecurity research and education funding at FIU since 2018.
A leader in academic innovation, Akkaya spearheaded the creation of the first IoT Bachelor of Science degree program in the United States. He also developed new IoT curricula and courses. For the past decade, Akkaya has directed numerous NSF-funded research programs in cybersecurity and privacy, mentoring a large number of graduate and undergraduate cybersecurity students. His research and education activities have been featured in major news outlets, including NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, NBC6 Miami, and Forbes magazine.
Akkaya is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a senior member of the Association for Computing Machinery. He serves as associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security and area editor for Elsevier’s Ad Hoc Networks and Computer Networks journals.
Recognized among the top 2% of scientists globally by a Stanford University study since 2020, Akkaya has received multiple awards for research excellence, including the FIU Faculty Senate Excellence in Research Award and the FIU College of Engineering and Computing Research Award in 2020 and the FIU Top Scholar Award in 2023.
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