Ozgur Ozmen

From flying drones to operating robots to testing small Internet of Things electronic devices, Ozgur Ozmen can often be found in the field, conducting real-world experiments designed to test his theoretical analysis of computer security issues.

It was a desire to create impactful solutions to real-world problems that drew Ozmen to computer science. After receiving his doctoral degree from Purdue University, he pursued research focused on improving the security and privacy of emerging computing platforms and their interactions with physical environments.

Ozmen joins the School of Computing and Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, as an assistant professor in computer science and engineering. He is a past recipient of the Diamond Award for Academic Excellence from the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security and the Computer Science Merit Recognition Award at Purdue. His research has been selected for publication by numerous top security conferences.

While Ozmen’s cybersecurity chops are impressive, don’t even think about challenging him to a game of ping-pong. The computer scientist spent his youth as a professional table tennis player and later defeated his colleagues in a company tournament at the Toyota Research Institute North America during his time there as a cyberphysical systems research intern.

Still, Ozmen hopes to connect with colleagues, saying, “The School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence hosts many very valuable faculty that I am excited to collaborate with and produce high-impact research.”

He notes that both the rapid growth of ASU’s computer science program and the Fulton Schools’ efforts to encourage multidisciplinary research drew him to ASU. He is especially excited about university-wide security opportunities available through the Global Security Initiative.

Ozmen will officially begin teaching in the spring of 2025. In the meantime, he plans to build a dynamic and vibrant research group that will explore the security issues of cyberphysical systems such as self-driving cars, robots, augmented and virtual reality devices, and batteryless electronics.

As part of these efforts, Ozmen aims to recruit doctoral students who are passionate about tackling various security and privacy problems.

“My commitment is to provide support and the necessary resources to help my students become successful in their careers,” he says.

Ozmen is ready to get to work, saying, “ASU’s strong emphasis on security makes it clear that my research in computer security and privacy will be highly valued and supported.”

Meet the newest faculty members of the Fulton Schools of Engineering here.

Written by Kelly deVos