Alvi Ataur Khalil | Computing and Technology | SIU

Computer Science

Education:

Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering – Florida International University (FIU), USA, 2025

Current Research:

Cybersecurity, Reinforcement Learning, Blockchain, Game Theory, Intrusion Detection, Formal Verification, Zero-Knowledge Techniques

Principle Investigator: Transformative Innovation for Trustworthy AI and Network Security (TITANS) Lab

Dr. Alvi Ataur Khalil is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. He received the B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bangladesh, in 2018, the M.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Florida International University (FIU), Miami, USA, in 2024, and completed and defended his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from FIU in 2025. From 2018 to 2019, he worked as a Software Developer at MazeGeek Technologies BD Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh, and served as a Lecturer at Daffodil International University. From 2020 to 2025, he was a Graduate Assistant at the Analytics for Cyber Defense (ACyD) Lab at FIU, contributing to research projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Dr. Khalil's research focuses on blockchain security, particularly off-chain Layer-2 vulnerabilities and defenses, intelligent UAV control using reinforcement learning, and AI-driven cybersecurity solutions for cyber-physical systems. He has authored over twenty peer-reviewed papers and journals that are published in leading venues such as IEEE TNSM, Elsevier Computer Networks, IEEE/IFIP DSN, ACSAC, CNS, ACM DLT, LCN, CNSM, SMARTCOMP, and COMPSAC. He is a recipient of several awards, including the Outstanding Graduate Scholar of the Year at FIU (2023–24), the Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) Honor Society Scholarship (2024), the FIU Dissertation Year Fellowship (2025), and multiple NSF and IEEE travel and poster awards. In 2023, he was selected to present his research at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL). He also received the NSF I-Corps award as an Entrepreneurial Lead, conducting over 100 customer discovery interviews.