Collaborative Research: REU Site: TRUST: Training Research for Undergraduate Students in Secure and Trusted Systems

Semiconductor microelectronics hardware devices must be trustworthy in automotive, aerospace, business, communication, healthcare, and mission-critical military systems and related areas. Unfortunately, these devices are increasingly fabricated and integrated into insecure physical environments, making them susceptible to new cyber and physical system attacks.

The Training Research for Undergraduate Students in Secure and Trusted Systems (TRUST) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site aims to enhance cyber defenses and strengthen the future workforce, alleviating the workforce shortage in trusted and resilient domestic semiconductor supply chain manufacturing. Furthermore, the program seeks to recruit, prepare, train, and retain a diverse cohort of nine students per year, prioritizing efforts to recruit from underrepresented groups, community colleges, and institutions with limited research opportunities.

The award emphasizes the societal benefits of a secure and resilient U.S. infrastructure. The project positively impacts the economic landscape of the domestic semiconductor supply chain and chip manufacturing, aligning with the recent CHIPS and Science Act.

TRUST is a collaborative effort involving Wright State University, the Air Force Institute of Technology, and the University of Kansas. The team has the support from the Air Force Research Laboratory and industry partners to enhance the knowledge and skills of domestic undergraduate researchers in secure, assured, and trustworthy microelectronic applications.

Over three years, the REU interns will undergo ten weeks of hands-on research training each summer, which will equip them as skilled professionals to address cybersecurity challenges across various industrial, government, military, and aerospace applications. The comprehensive training will allow REU students to explore research in emerging cutting-edge topics on hardware security related to Internet of Things (IoT), embedded artificial intelligence security, detection of electromagnetic field side-channel attacks, mitigation of power and voltage side-channel attacks, localization and detection of hardware Trojan insertions and modifications, and firmware and embedded system security and trust.

This award by the NSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Division of Undergraduate Education within the NSF Directorate for STEM Education, and the Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences (ASSURE) program within the U.S. Department of Defense. This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program

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.